vladimirgrebenar 
Starting business ventures and managing their growth and development is a human creative activity to which the messages of the Holy Scriptures apply equally to all other noble areas of creativity. God the Father invites us to contribute to the expansion of the kingdom of heaven on earth with all our actions during our lifetime. Moreover, it is the key that opens the door to our eternal life! In prayer to the Heavenly Father, we say: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. Therefore, the heavenly kingdom descends from heaven to an individual only if he does the will of God in the concrete circumstances of life. Doing the will of God means loving God above all else. There is no other way to spread the kingdom of heaven on earth than by doing the will of God: “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind!” (Mt 22, 37) and by loving Christ completely. That is why Christians should not start business initiatives that they will manage most of their lives, if they did not come from the Lord.
A business idea must necessarily come from God in order to contribute to the expansion of the kingdom of heaven on earth. God the Father began the creation of the world in Light: “Then God said: ‘Let there be light!'” (Genesis 1, 3). The light by which God began the undertaking of creating the world is the Son of God: “The true light, which illuminates everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came to be through him” (John 1, 9-10). Entrepreneurs and leaders who start business initiatives should not start without receiving confirmation from the Lord that the idea is God’s will! Acting contrary to this is pride, and pride is exercising one’s own will and taking control of one’s life without God’s influence, even if strict Christian piety is maintained.
It should always be remembered that they are very pious but proud people who were rebellious and disobedient when Jesus spoke to them and these people crucified Jesus. On the other hand, Jesus was followed by people who had faith in him, listened to what he told them, where to go and what to do. Piety that does not follow the voice of Jesus in the heart, but that follows rational thinking is barren and such people are actually far from Jesus: “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him” (John 6, 66). Equally, business ventures that are not initiated by God’s will are also barren, because the Light is not upon them, even though according to worldly criteria, they seem to have great potential for profit.
The Holy Scriptures contain at least seven criteria for recognizing whether a business idea is the will of God. The first three criteria refer to general life choices and can also be applied to the field of entrepreneurship. Evidence for such a way of making decisions in the Holy Scriptures is found in the announcement of the birth of Jesus during the conversation between the angel Gabriel and Mary. The other four criteria refer to business initiatives. They are based on Jesus’ instruction to a rich young man to give up all his ill-gotten wealth and start over by following his teachings.
Seven criteria for recognizing whether a business idea is God’s will:
- peace in the heart,
- rational ambiguity,
- faith in success,
- contribution to the kingdom of heaven,
- peace in the entrepreneur’s family,
- benefit for stakeholders, and
- profit potential.
Peace in the heart is the first indication that it is the will of God. However, this is not a natural feeling of calmness after rest or after some activity in nature. It is about the peace of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives du I give it to you” (John 14, 27).
The peace of Jesus is the result of doing the will of God and a life of prayer. Jesus speaks so clearly of a special kind of peace that is felt at deep levels of the spirit and that is so intense that it cannot be taken away by the restless influences of the world. That is why Jesus warns us to preserve his peace in such a way that we do not listen to the world: “Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (Jn 14, 27). When the angel Gabriel approached Mary to convey her life’s call from God, the first words he uttered after the greeting were: “Do not be afraid, Mary” (Lk 1, 30).
Mary had been at great peace until that moment, so the angel actually told her to keep peace in her heart. Therefore, God’s invitations cannot be accepted when a person is in turmoil and has a sense of God’s absence in his heart. With reason, we always believe that God is omnipresent, but with our heart we feel God’s closeness, which brings prayer consolation, or with our heart, we feel our absence from God, which brings prayer dryness. It is very important for an entrepreneur to keep the peace of Jesus in his heart, which came as a grace, while in prayer with Jesus he considers the launch of some initiative. It is the first step of confirming that it is the will of God.
Rational vagueness is the feeling of resisting our limited rational cognition that wants to understand and control everything in order to eliminate fears of uncertainty in the way of carrying out the will of God. But that is not possible! When God calls a man, he calls him to something great with great trust in man. The limited natural capacities of our cognition cannot receive such an amount of information important for ultimate success, and therefore we cannot hear the full answer to the question we always ask: “How can this be?” (Lk 1, 34). On the contrary, we must have faith in God the Father like little children have in their earthly parents: “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18, 3).
God’s call is always a test of our faith in the heavenly Father. God gives us his peace in love, and on the other hand, our weak nature rebels, which seeks control over our own life in such a way that we direct our own steps. To do the will of God means to consciously choose adventure and uncertainty, so that any form of self-control of life’s circumstances and thinking about the future must be rejected as something that resists the supreme results that God wants to give.
Faith in success is the third criterion for the confirmation of God’s will. Due to the rational ambiguity of how the call from God will take place in a person’s life through the dynamics of time, there is no other choice but to place great trust in God. The decision to accept the invitation requires great trust. Many people look for certain signs and even so many signs that they are rationally sure that they will necessarily succeed on that path. But God will give as many signs as are necessary for faith to overcome the vagueness of reason just a little. Man must accept the rest in order to grow in faith with new knowledge through lived experiences. If we knew everything in advance, our lives would be monotonous and we would not be grateful to the Lord or love him.
Our sinful nature is healed and repaired through a lifelong process of trusting God. Mother Mary responded very quickly to God’s greatest call to a human being: “May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1, 38). Mary could have asked many more questions to the angel about how something is possible, how it will be, why it will be, what then when… Our heavenly Mother did not go that way, but accepted in her heart God’s call which she felt in her heart that it is from God. Mary completely blocked rational thinking before God’s will. When a person has so much (belief) in God, then God can do supreme things that a person cannot imagine to be possible.
Our doubt in God and our own abilities when we cooperate with God is the only barrier to the results that God wants. We can be extremely pious and pray various prayers for hours and even years, but if we don’t want to know what God’s will is and do what God has put before us, all that piety has no strength because of a proud heart.
Many are inclined to proclaim their own initiatives as the will of God because some idea does not contradict the Ten Commandments of God, but this is not true! God has specific, not general, calls for us. When we serve God we do not become slaves, but completely free. The mystery is opposed to the rational mind. One wonders: “How can I be free, if I have to make the decisions that God puts in front of me?” But that is a superficial understanding of God’s relationship with us.
Can we imagine a very obedient child who thinks about playing a sport, without talking about it with his parents who are looking forward to it and want to take on the responsibilities of membership fees and transportation to training sessions? Can we then imagine a very humble entrepreneur who thinks about launching business initiatives without discussing them with the heavenly Father who wants to help the venture achieve a top result and glorify God through those who manage the venture. God is Love: “In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins” (1 John 4, 10).