Squeezing Profits

Dear Victorious,

I work in a company that is owned by a so-called Christian. But the man is a penny-pinching miser. I understand the need for making a profit. However, he takes it "over the top" most of the time. We've got several examples of him chiseling the employees and the customers to squeeze every last penny out of a transaction. Business is good and he lives well, so we are hard-pressed to understand how he can call himself a Christian and yet be so miserly. Yet when we complain he defends his cheapskate ways and says they simply reflect his Christian virtue. Is this true?

Elton R. - Tampa, FL

Dear Elton,

No, I don't think it's true. Christians are supposed to be good stewards of their money, and not wasteful. At the same time though, Christians are supposed to be fair in business and generous to others - including those who work for them.

God established a concept in the Old Testament called "gleaning." It was an agricultural economy and God instructed the Israelites to leave some of their crops in the field, unharvested. This was for others who were needy to come along and harvest a bit for themselves.

This reveals to us God's intent for business owners. We can be good stewards of what God gives us without "squeezing every last penny" out of our business. In other words, Christians should run their businesses in such a way as to be generous to others. One way I could think of to do that would be to focus on giving everyone you do business with more value than they've bargained you for.