So what is Christian faith? And what does it have to do with running a business?

It’s easy to be a bit cynical about the business world. It seems to reward greed and duplicity just as often as honesty and desire to do good. Almost as bad: crass commercialism tends to drive out beauty and sensitivity. The (until recently) popular market fundamentalist view of the economy makes things worse, promoting selfishness not only as acceptable but as the dominant human motivation.

Especially when you’re starting out, it’s tempting to adapt to this environment. High-minded ambitions are worthless if your business fails at its inception, and so moral compromise beckons.

In the face of this, some people manage to maintain good values out of their own strength of character. We admire these people, but we’re not like them.

For Ben and me, our awareness of the fact that God is there, he is good, and he’s ultimately in charge, overturns our approach to business. It removes the need to choose between success and doing good; because we know that in the end goodness wins, and success is not just about money. Even more so, the example of Jesus’ dying so as to enable our own peace and healing encourages us to make ourselves vulnerable as we try to do what is right.

Unfortunately that doesn’t mean that we never compromise – sometimes we lack even the imagination to see a better option. But our goal is clear, and we trust in a powerful and loving God who will get us there.