In today’s society, some people will go as far as saying that faith is just flat out wrong. They despise it. It’s an extremely unfortunate thing to hear this because our world needs faith right now just as much as it ever did. The decreasing number of believers is becoming more evident as we see crime, poverty, etc., continue to rise. When looking into the business world, it can be fairly easy to envision a big dollar sign. In order to get that dollar sign, its really easy for an entrepreneur to cheat just a little if it means they will make more money. Maybe this means lying to consumers or swindling shareholders. I mean after all, everyone does it right? Faith, morals, and ethics have been pushed to the back burner for most companies. Whatever is going to get the extra dollar seems to be the first choice. In an economy like this, how is it possible for a company to have morals?
Redemptive entrepreneurship is making a breakthrough in all sorts of areas. In my hometown which is mainly rural, I have seen many small startups arise that seem to have a redemptive backbone. This may be as simple as having Christian music playing in the background. They also stand firm in their morals. If we are going to see a change in the way the business world works, it is going to be through Christian businessmen and women who are willing to stand firm in their faith amongst the norms of society. It does not even have to be a place where the Gospel is shoved in their face but rather just a Christian atmosphere. Because of our secular society, many people do not know what a Christian atmosphere even looks like. I believe any business can be redemptive and with the rise of redemptive entrepreneurship, we are going to see more of that diversity.
I also wrote in one of my blogs about the fact that we need to trust God with our businesses instead of trying to get ahead unethically. You’re right–when we live faithfully, we may even create an environment that leads people to understand what Christianity is or to ask about why we do things differently. Especially as our culture veers farther from Christianity, as you mentioned, our lived-out Christianity will stand out as more and more. It may be hard to live out, but the resulting atmosphere may be the breath of fresh someone is craving.