In the arena of your responsibilities what is “Thy kingdom come” looking like as Jesus’ prayer is being answered and what is “Thy will being done “ looking like as it is playing out “on earth as it is in heaven?” Even though it was only the size of a mustard seed, I was recently privileged to see the kingdom of God at work in my particular arena; the marketplace.

It is the following words gathered from our Romans 12 passage that are prompting me to write about the kingdom of God as it expanding into arenas of commerce. By all means take time to enjoy this passage in Romans.

I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment….you are all one in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly…. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor…Bless those who persecute (or oppose) you..Be of the same mind toward one another, do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly (even employees). Do not be wise in your own estimation…Respect what is right in the sight of all men…If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. (my commentary)

The CEO of a company in which I and many of my friends have invested allowed myself and a small company of other investors to offer our views to him and to freely interact without censure with his employees. If you are unfamiliar with typical CEO’s and their organizations, you will understand how threatening interaction like this might be. Horizontal exchanges of differing ideas are countercultural to the vertical authoritarian management structures that are overseen by most CEO’s. The transparency that characterized our sessions would be the worst nightmare of most CEO’s. The tensions that were created by the candor of our dialogue are not what most CEO’s welcome into their boardrooms. Ironically,  that is exactly what they need. Permit me to explain.

This company is managed, staffed and funded by mostly people who call Jesus Christ their Savior and their Lord. As the employees and investors of this company are working their salvation out in close quarters and in trying circumstances, Jesus as Lord, is endeavoring to expand His kingdom with its countercultural values into their space. While there is a temptation at this time for everyone to throw up their hands in despair or just walk away, I hear the Lord say, “Do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways know me and I will make your paths straight. Don’t be conformed to this world (and its conventional reasoning); instead, renew your mind; allow your thinking to be transformed so that you can witness my good, acceptable and perfect will being done on earth as I have decreed it in heaven.”  (my commentary)

God’s ways are so much higher than our ways that the values of His kingdom may appear as nothing more than an odd notion on the periphery our consciousness when God first introduces them to us. These still small presentations are the invitation of the Holy Spirit to press on by faith into the unfamiliar and the eternal. The Lord is faithful and skilled at creating the conditions for His little kingdom seeds to grow. Most often, the conditions involve pressure that encourages the germination of the seed. The pressure of trials will produce doubts regarding the status quo-nature of our thoughts. As the plant breaks through it may first appear in the form of deep questions such as; “What is amiss here? Where is God’s provision? What are the obstacles between our present situation and His blessing?” Is the kingdom showing signs of breaking through in your theater of operations? 

The challenging thing to grasp for CEOs who are becoming agents of the Kingdom is that the immediate and pressing issue is not money as the world has trained them to believe. The immediate and pressing issue is always our hearts. If our hearts are not right with Him, He will not add His blessing. It would be cruel to His children and counterproductive to His Kingdom if He were to just provide money for some earthly venture when He is endeavoring to entrust us with the stewardship of His eternal Kingdom. He who is faithful in little…….

Everyone carries their load in the kingdom. Those who this world has labeled as employees owes their honesty to that person the world has labeled boss. The boss owes it to his employees to create a safe space for them to be forth right.  The board, in their accountability to the shareholders has the stewardship responsibility of a dialogue that must be informed and transparent. For children of the light, transparency and colaboartion are the intended pathway. We are stewards of of truth. Our honesty is one of the main ways we partner with the Spirit of Truth and make our contribution to His kingdom. This means that we must militate against all shades of gray in our speech. If we do not we will find ourselves partnering with the wrong kingdom.

I think if Paul had the opportunity to water and fertilize the kingdom seed that I have seen growing, he might say something like this;

I urge you CEOs to present your everyday corporate lives to God as your spiritual service of worship. Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought. Invite those who are opposed to you into your inner circle. Because you are members one to another, associate with the stakeholders in your venture; respecting, honoring and even preferring what is right from their perspective. Become a devoted listener. This will guard your heart from haughtiness. Listening acknowledges the oneness you have in Christ and connects you to the complimentary gifts God has placed around you. Listening will provide you with the sound judgement your stewardship requires of you and enable you to exercise true authority which derives from love not from title, as the world would have you believe.

In God’s kingdom the redemption of all things is possible. Where evil has abounded grace can abound all the more. Our worst nightmares, (either existing or unfolding) are His premier opportunities. While the circumstances of this company are challenging they are also optimum for an expansion of God’s kingdom. If the CEO of this venture can build upon the openness that he recently invited into his venture, I believe he will transfer rightful ownership to the One Who owns all things. I believe he will overcome the evil fostered through autonomy and replace it with the good born of inclusivity.  Do your associates consider you a good listener? Are your piers gravitating toward you out of trust? Is your circle of confidants growing or shrinking?

Father, may all those invested financially in these kingdom ventures of Yours become invested in heart as well, holding out in faith and prayer for the hundred fold kingdom return you have intended for it.  Bless these seeds Lord. Teach us to nurture them in truth. Amen.