Business Christ
Wanda's Dilemma: What the Bible Does Not Prohibit
Wanda is right to be concerned about her partnership with unbelievers for several reasons, and the passages in 2 Corinthians that seem to prohibit such partnerships might seem to be compelling evidence at first. A better understanding of this passage, however, makes it clear that certain partnerships are still permissible, even if they should be undertaken with extra caution and introspection. The belief that any business partnerships with unbelievers are to be shunned seems to be striving towards a literal interpretation of 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, which tells Christians, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. & #8230;.what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 'Come out from them and be separate,' says the Lord." A true literal interpretation of this passage, however, would mean that Christians should live completely apart from unbelievers, which is not only wholly impractical in today's society but also runs counter to any attempt to spread the gospel and to make the world a better place according to Christ's instructions. The world is not populated solely with believers, and so it is in a sense incumbent upon believers to attempt to change their world and the people in it for the better. Living apart from all unbelievers and cutting off contact from them as this passage suggests would make working towards such change impossible.
Just as modern Christians do not need to literally remove themselves from all unbelievers in society, they do not need to refrain from all business contact. Starting a partnership with an unbeliever might not be a good idea, but a corporation would not be a problem so long as the bylaws and the ethical concerns of the business were made clear from the outset. Likewise, Wanda does not need to worry about owning shares n a company that may (and almost certainly does) have shareholders that are unbelievers, though making sure that a business keeps to the principles and basic rules of fair dealing and Christian ethics is essential to investing as a prudent Christian.
