ProTheism

I just recently finished Loving Monday: Succeeding in business without selling your Soul, by John Beckett; so I thought I would give it a quick review. There are some good points made in the book that everyone could take advantage of:

John Beckett is what you might call an “average guy” that lives a fulfilled and spiritual life. His book, Loving Mondays, brings fourth the humility and dependence that every Christian should embrace. Beckett has been fortunate enough to be able to operate his business and incorporate his spiritual values into the very essence of the work environment. As we will explore further in this review, Beckett has managed to harmonize Christian values, practices and teachings with the work atmosphere; making the Bible, the compass of all his decisions.

Early on, Beckett was not a Christian; in fact he was an exceptionally reluctant convert. There were certain intellectual difficulties that Beckett dealt with. However, as time moved on, he realized how much he relied on God for the things he didn’t know or couldn’t see (49). This seems to be the most contemporary factor for the unbeliever. There are so many misconceptions, misrepresentations, and misunderstandings about Christianity itself, that it becomes a barrier to honest inquiry. This is where Beckett didn’t take it far enough. He gives credit to “faith” for making his heart and mind subservient to Gods ultimate supremacy, but leaves it there. Though faith (through grace) is the ultimate salvation for our souls, there are an abundance of intellectual reasons why the God of Christianity is true. The area of intellectual progression is an act of worship and the defense of the faith is not only condoned, but commanded (1 peter 3:15).

It became clear early on that Beckett was living in two different worlds for the beginning parts of his career as a business owner (53). Christians know this dichotomy all to well. In fact, it may seem that Christianity is the antithesis to life on the job. However, this is a false dichotomy; one that Christians have imposed on themselves. Faith does not start when you walk in the Church door on Sunday and stop when you walk out the door; faith is lived 24 hours a day 7 days a week and evidenced throughout all that you do. One must ask themselves if Christianity were illegal, would there be enough evidence to convict them? Faith is just not prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship; its how one expresses it in their everyday lives—their walk.

As a Christian, Beckett wanted to make a difference not only to his family and employees, but to the community around him (20). This desire of Beckett’s is virtuous by nature, but difficult to achieve. God has put him in the position to achieve this objective. As a business owner, he had the authority to set hiring practices, policies, implement values and oversee and influence all aspects in the business. For many people, the liberty to make decisions is confined by rigid protocol and horrendous red tape. In other words, most people work with what leverage they have to express Biblical principals in decision-making, but sometimes the leverage is not enough to control the environment, let alone affect the community.

Beckett, on the other hand, has gracefully implemented true Biblical business and even if the average employee cannot make the critical decisions that influence the environment, one can still excel in the excellence and glory of Christ. To do so, is by your humble walk in Christ; to set an example for those around you and to be blameless. For most people, Christians are the walking gospel of Christ, their interaction with Christians will be the only reading from the Scripture they get. Consequently, there are instances where Christians unconsciously blemished the true picture of the gospel by abiding in the false dichotomy of everyday life and the walk of their faith.

Throughout Beckett’s book emerged a model of convergence between faith and occupation. There are 10 noted prominent themes in the book that leads to Beckett’s success. These themes are the kind of principals that jump of the page and bite you; they are the very essence of what must be done to bridge the gap of the world of faith and the world of work. Perhaps unknowing, Beckett left nuggets of truth to be discovered by the reader that can be immediately implemented into everyone’s life.

The following chestnuts from Beckett are in no essential order or modal formula; their just unadorned necessities:

1.) The first thing one need to do is submit to God, find out his will and do it (23).

2.) Finding mentors like Max is an essential way to glean from the indispensable principals of integrity, humility, and justice to emergent business men like Beckett (28).

3.) One must realize the things of this world are temporary and not to become too comfortable with them, for we are never fully secure without God (40).

4.) Give your work to God and take the role of a steward (51).

5.) Harmonize your faith with your daily walk and your work (73).

6.) Make the Bible applicable to your life by utilizing it as a compass in your decision making (78).

7.) Treat people as valuable, important and worthy; one who is in the Image of God (92).

8.) Reconcile situations immediately, rather than prolonging an issue (103).

9.) Become a servant of others, rather than being served by others (116).

10.) Order your priorities: “First, our relationship with God; then commitment to family; and only then commitment to our work and vocations” (130). The aforementioned 10 principals are ones that not only can help one to be successful, but glorify God; our ultimate purpose in life.