By Wayne Grudem
Book Review by Hanisha Besant

For centuries, business has been associated with negative attributes such as greed, exploitation, dog-eat-dog competition, and corruption. Moreover, businessmen are often imagined to be shrewd, brash and cunning like the Shakespearean character of Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. Seldom would one associate business as a direct tool for glorifying God. The very thought of it screams PARADOX in the minds of many. So, for people who are looking to see how business is, in itself, a system that can glorify God, “Business for the Glory of God” is a good place to start.
The book is a quick and pleasant read where Wayne Grudem addresses the gap between the sacred act of glorifying God and the secularized concept of business by expanding on the following components of business:

• Ownership
• Productivity
• Employment
• Commercial transactions (buying and selling)
• Profit
• Money
• Inequality of possessions
• Competition
• Borrowing and lending
• Attitudes of the heart
• Effect on world poverty

Through evidence from scripture, Grudem illuminates Biblical principles which show that fundamental components of business such as profit, competition, money, and ownership of possessions are not morally neutral but in fact are “fundamentally good things that God has given to the human race” (p. 16). For instance, on the subject of competition, Grudem reveals that the Bible condones healthy competition which can be seen in 1 Corinthians 9:25-26 and 2 Timothy 2:5. In fact, it is because of healthy competition that we are able to have new and improved products and better prices. But, just like anything else, competition can go bad if it is intentionally designed to bring others down. Therefore, the attitude of the heart is at the very crux of the matter.

In short, though the ethical questions that businesses often have to deal with are out of the scope of the book, the book lays out a great argument for the moral value of business activities. It is a must read for people who have questions about the morality of business!