Apostles In The Market Place.

Assignment 1

Write a 5-page paper which lays out Biblical

principles for living a life of living a life of
integrity and working for God in the
Marketplace.
By

Ifeoluwapo Olowu.

Integrity is defined as the quality of being honest and having strong moral
principles. In modern day business environment, it is a very difficult task
to maintain ones integrity and honesty as the todays society generally
accepts dishonesty as something necessary to go by in the world.
Today, bribery and other forms of corruption exists in almost every aspect
of the business environment, and as a Christian, one is constantly tested
through various temptations that creep up from every nook and cranny in
the business environment.
To be a Christian is to live by the word of God and one of the most
important attributes of a good Christian is Honesty.
To understand the challenges faced by true Christians in the marketplace,
one might need to first understand the reasons why people are usually
predisposed to resolve to dishonest acts.
1. Laziness: Laziness is a disinclination to activity or exertion despite
having the ability to act or exert oneself. Lazy people often look for
short cuts, trying to find the easy way out of things. The bible
clearly states in Proverbs 20:4 that the sluggard does not plough
after the autumn, so he begs during the harvest and has nothing.
But when people do not make hay when the sun shines, they are
driven to do desperate things to make ends meet. People who are
unmotivated and want things to come easy will lie, bribe, slander
and do many other dishonest things.
2. Confused Morals: A persons background and society plays a big role
in determining a persons behaviour and moral code. If a person was

brought up in a dishonest community or in one where dishonest

activities were norm, the chances of that person becoming
dishonest is high. When in the market place, such a person may lie,
cheat, steal, and do so many other dishonest things and not feel in
any way that he is wrong.
3. Financial Situation: Sometimes, a persons financial status may pose
as a temptation to commit to dishonest things. One might begin to
phantom excuses in their mind to justify these acts. But a godly
Christian knows that God will supply every need of yours according
to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). 1 Corinthians
10:13 says No temptation has overtaken you except what is
common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he
will also provide a way out so that you can endure it so one has to
remain strong in the face of such trials, for they will pass.
4. Greed: Greed is defined as intense and selfish desire for something,
especially wealth, power, or food. It is the tendency to selfish
craving, grasping and hoarding. The greedy make a life of getting,
taking, scheming, and thinking about how to keep what they have
and how to get more. It is a wild fire that just keeps consuming and
destroys all else. At work, many hold very sensitive positions which
makes it easy to get away with looting and stealing. But the bible
says better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is
crooked though he be rich (Proverbs 28:6).
5. Peer pressure: The saying birds of a feather flock together brings
light this. One who chooses friends of bad repute and character is

usually influenced by them. As times goes on, this influence could

lead to a complete change in the orientation/moral code of such an
individual who isnt strong willed. Chronicles 13:7 says and
worthless men gathered about him, scoundrels, who proved too
strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when he was young and
timid and could not hold his own against them. One must make
conscious efforts to watch out for the character of friends he
chooses to surround himself with. The assumption that because
everyone else is doing it, it has to be right comes largely from peer
pressure. Exodus 23:2 says: "You shall not follow the masses in
doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after
a multitude in order to pervert justice.
6. Lack of Skills: People who do not work on developing their skills and
talents find it very difficult to excel in the market place. Usually
these people also want recognition and fame but for their lack of
requisite skills to achieve these, they resolve to lying and cheating
and many other dishonest acts just to get by.
Dishonesty compromises integrity, and leads a person further and further
away from his Lord. In the book of Exodus, the Ten Commandments list
out clearly the acts a true Christian must avoid. The Bible admonishes us
not to commit idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, theft, dishonesty,
and coveting.
Proverbs 11:3 says: The integrity of the upright guides them, but the
unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

To live a life of integrity and work for God in todays Marketplace, one
must possess faith, diligence and the ability to pray fervently to mention
but a few.
1. Faith
The bible says in Mathew 7:21 that Not everyone who says to Me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My
Father in heaven. As true Christians we all seek to make Heaven, we
should always strive to always do the will of, believe in and have faith in
the Lord. For Proverbs 16:4 says The LORD works out everything to its
proper end-even the wicked for a day of disaster meaning that no matter
what the situation a person is going through in his/her day to day
activities in the marketplace, the LORD does not forsake his own.
2. Diligence
Proverbs 21:5 says The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage,
But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. To be diligent is to
show care and conscientiousness in one's work or duties; to be hard
working. In the spiritual and physical sense, diligence in many other
passages in the bible point to the fact that the LORD loves diligent people
and blesses the works of their hands. One should seek to always be
upright and diligent in his/her activities in the market place.
3. Prayer
One is always faced with temptation to commit dishonest acts in the
market place, one should therefore always watch and pray. Watch that He

or She may recognise when this temptations arise and pray that one may
be granted the strength to overcome them. 1 Peter 5:8 says: "Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring
lion, seeking whom he may devour".
We can only remain faithful when we are devoted to prayer. In prayer, we
continually allow God to forgive us, cleanse us, teach us, and strengthen
us to obey Him (John 14:14).
Finally, if truly we make the constant efforts to continually live aright in
integrity, the Lord will reward us in the end. Of what gain is it for a man to
gain the whole world and loose his soul. Gods promise to us in Proverbs
20:7 says The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are
blessed after him note: His children are blessed after him meaning he
himself is blessed and so will be the rest of his generation.