Success requires finding the right mission in heaven
【Successful Heavenly Enterprise】Series 4
Translated by Lin Yu
▲Discovering the mission of heaven requires earnestly seeking God, just like drawing water from a deep well.
How to bring the Kingdom of Heaven into your corporate mission? The last article mentioned that to see the Kingdom of Heaven operating in life requires a paradigm shift and “investing everything” into the Kingdom of Heaven. If you run a business, that means taking your business with you to heaven. After entering, what national mission will you and your company have? What is the purpose and role in heaven?
In helping people who are struggling in the corporate world understand their Kingdom mission, I have discovered three possible reasons: 1) getting into the wrong business; 2) getting into the right business, but for the wrong reasons; 3) getting into the right business, but using the wrong business model. Before we take a closer look at these three situations, let’s talk about your mission in heaven and what you want to accomplish.
Learn your heavenly mission
Once we enter the Kingdom of Heaven, the Lord assigns us a place within the Body of Christ (see Ephesians 4:15-16). Unfortunately, this is not something we can decide for ourselves. It is entirely His decision and has the right to move us as He sees fit. He arranges and directs different tasks according to the seasons of life. Understanding our mission in heaven depends on who we are: disciples of Christ Jesus; called to follow in his footsteps; and our mission should reflect his mission as we live more and more like him every day.
To the world, Christians are "little Christs" who are entrusted with preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing diseases, raising the dead, casting out demons, and making disciples of all nations.
No matter what else the tasks include, taking being a business owner as an example, our first calling is to be "little Christs", bringing the kingdom of heaven and the power of Christ with us wherever we go and whoever we meet. We cannot separate our corporate mission in the world from the people we have become.
So how do we know the unique mission in heaven assigned by the Lord Jesus? After bringing enterprises into the kingdom of heaven, is it still our task? Or will it become a different business, or even a completely different mission? How do we discern His heart? In a word, the mission of heaven is your gift, like deep water to be found and opened; it is a passion to be absorbed.
The mission of heaven is like a hidden treasure that must be found. Some people discovered it intuitively early on; some claimed to have met God, heard His revelations or saw visions in their dreams. The rest of us have to dig into the Lord’s heart for our lives; spend time in His presence and listen to the small voices of love.
We can use different tools to find our strengths and strengths, such as StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Gallup, to help identify the mission of the Kingdom of God. This is an answer and analysis from my own perspective. However, looking back on the past can also be helpful in recognizing your mission in heaven, because the Lord may use your past experiences to lead you on the path to your mission. What have you done that was recognized and successful? Is there a main thread running through these scales and shattered armor? In addition, seek the advice of people who know us well, who are more likely to see recurring patterns in our lives, to discern our strengths, weaknesses, and patterns in our lives that they themselves cannot see.
Wrong mission to heaven
Business people who enter the wrong industry or choose the wrong heavenly job often fail to prosper. Because of the lack of passion, they only regard running a business as a tool to make money, and they pursue wealth rather than the mission of the kingdom. Such a sad situation should only happen to people outside the gate of heaven.
Yet many Christians fail to understand that God sometimes wants them to fail in business. Have you ever thought that if God blesses everything you do, how can He allow you to let go of your own will and seek His will? If your business is not going well, God may have a better plan. The sooner you let go, the sooner He can put you in a business that He wants to bless. Even if the wrong business succeeds, "good" can be the enemy of "excellent". Failure to switch from the wrong business to the right business can make the difference between a successful business but a miserable life, or a successful business and an abundant life in all aspects.
Ho Si, to put it nicely, is a business broker, but to put it less politely, he is an opportunistic broker. What he is looking for is an opportunity where one party has certain needs in order to close the deal. Through some "pathways" with varying degrees of integrity, he builds bridges for different companies. When a few deals are completed, He Si gets a commission.
The businesses that fell into Ho's hands included procurement brokers for foreign governments, railroad equipment, tankers, oil and gas rights, computer software applications, unusual real estate deals, and drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Although he was a solid Christian, he never considered why these businesses came to him, nor did he ask the Lord whether he should accept these businesses. He always thought that it was from the Lord and He would bless him. He never thought that others might have more common sense than him, so they would leave these businesses to him.
Hoss knew that his calling was in the corporate world, but he never took the time to seek the Lord to understand his true mission. What’s more, he never sought how to expand the kingdom of heaven and serve the King of heaven from these transactions; he never understood the purpose of transactions from the perspective of the Lord Jesus. He only cares about how much money he can make, has no heavenly purpose, and lacks passion. The value he brings to others is so little that it has nothing to do with serving the King of Heaven. These transactions could not have been his heavenly mission.
In the right field but for the wrong reasons
Many Christians see businesses as cash cows just to line their pockets; they serve mammon rather than the Lord Jesus. They failed to understand what Jesus wanted to achieve through their business, and they failed to walk with God in business, so they struggled in every possible way.
Why is it so important to understand why you got into business? This is about who to serve, what to serve, and where to serve. The motivation behind a company not only determines who it serves, but ultimately also controls corporate policies, regulations, procedures, and how to achieve its goals. From the motivations behind unbelievers' businesses, such as mammon, greed, pride, and fear, we can see that Jesus will give us better things in the kingdom of heaven.
There is nothing wrong with businesses wanting to be successful and profitable. However, if you put your faith in relying on profits to gain food, clothing, and happiness, you are actually creating an idol in your heart. Only the Lord Jesus Himself can provide and satisfy. In the heavenly kingdom, wealth and prosperity have a purpose and a mission, and should be viewed as tools to achieve the mission. Don't chase wealth, wealth should chase us; wealth will come when we need it, but we must not let wealth own us.
▲ Only by finding the mission of heaven can we take the company in a direction that is in line with the purpose of heaven.
Businesses can thrive for the wrong reasons. Those who serve mammon, greed, fear, and pride do not care about the reasons why their business is booming. However, for those of us who serve the King and the Kingdom of Heaven to be truly successful, we need to understand why we enter business, how it can further the Kingdom of God, and who we are called to serve. Business must be conducted in a way that glorifies God and as if He were the CEO of the company. If we only serve false gods in the corporate world, the Lord is no longer the Lord of the business.
Fu Lan is a natural salesperson. He calls himself a Christian, but God is on the outside of his world, and the inner circle is family, business, and ever-increasing debt. He wanted God to be more involved in his life, and often prayed in this way, but he often couldn't make ends meet, and his business was sporadic. Fu Lan wanted to squeeze God into his busy schedule, but found that there was always no time; he was busy serving his family, business, and debts.
He loves the business but lacks enthusiasm for his customers. He put a lot of effort into making customers see the benefits of his product and company, but he didn't take the time to think about what the customers wanted, and they didn't respond according to the planned timetable. He had trouble getting along with his employees, and had trouble attracting and retaining good ones; they always seemed to lack knowledge, integrity, and neatness.
Maybe Fu Lan is not good at dealing with people and cannot interact with others as he should. The bigger problem, however, is that he does not understand the purpose that business can fulfill for the King and Kingdom of Heaven. To him, it was just a tool that allowed him and his family to pursue their dreams and get out of debt. Fu Lan entered the right field, but with the wrong motives.
In fact, what Fu Lan needs is to spend time with God; dedicate the company to God and invite Him to be the owner of the company; and understand how he and the company should serve God and His kingdom. Perhaps God wants to use the electrical appliances he sells as a stepping stone to share the gospel with customers and employees. Perhaps God wants His employees to pray for each product before delivery so that customers who use it can see God in dreams or visions. Perhaps God will use this company to provide financial needs for other Kingdom ministries. Only by truly knowing God’s will for him and the business he operates can he realize his mission in heaven and achieve the success he wants.
Whoever you serve is a slave to him; if you pursue money, you are a slave to mammon. If you still want to seek financial gain and success from the corporate world, now is the time to get off this merry-go-round. Spend time face to face with God and cry out to Him that He has something better for you. This will be the most exciting adventure of your life. The next time someone asks you why you got into this business, the last answer you should give is "for the money."
In the right industry, but with the wrong business model
Some people's business is not going well because they are in the right industry but don't have the right business model. If you study the autobiographies of outstanding entrepreneurs carefully, you will find that certain parts of the story are passed over in passing. These are usually the difficult and even less successful stages of a business's start-up period. Then they experience a lightbulb moment, and then talk eloquently about their prosperous years. But what did you do before the aura appeared? It's possible they used the wrong business model.
When IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) approached Bill Gates about developing an operating system for personal computers, Gates was writing a translation of the BASIC computer language for microprocessors. This changed Microsoft's business model from developing software languages to developing software processing systems. This change in the software licensing business model turned Gates from an entrepreneur to a billionaire. Would Gates be a household name today if he had continued to develop Base language for personal computers?
McDonald's, the first drive-thru chain, only sold hot dogs, not hamburgers. Later, a McDonald's Grill was established and burgers appeared on the menu. They finally saw that burgers, milkshakes, and fries, not barbecue, were the real profitable products. If they continued to sell only hot dogs, would anyone still have heard of McDonald's today?
It’s important to ask God to reveal which industry to enter, but it’s equally important to spend time in His presence to figure out what business model to use. Your calling may be to go into computer software, but exactly what kind of software product? Is the target targeted at consumers, businesses, or the government? Is the product market niche or mass? How to decide product price? What are the unique selling points of your product compared to your competitors? If this kingdom mission is from the Lord, He can answer these questions. Spend time with Him seeking answers and adjusting your business model to be successful.
Lu Yi is the owner of a small media company with an annual business target of US$5 million. Most of the projects we handle are in the range of US$5,000-25,000 and are not very difficult, so there are many competitors facing the same customer base.
He realized that the business would not be viable if the current model continued. The entire design, development, quality control, and execution process is like a funnel, and only a few people in the entire company can do the narrowest end of the work. Once there are six to ten projects going on at the same time, manpower will be tight. Even if you get 25,000 yuan for each business, you still need to complete 200 projects within a year to reach the goal of 5 million yuan.
Lu Yi saw that what the company needed was a few businesses worth more than 150,000 yuan as a foundation. If time allowed, he would accept smaller contracts to train new employees. When he understood what kind of business model would be successful, Lu Yi and the prayer team began to pray, asking God to give them bigger projects that they might not have dared to do before.
After a while, they began to see, bid on, and win projects worth more than 100,000 yuan, and there were also several opportunities to bid on projects worth 5 million yuan. If we had not seen the limitations of the original business model, there would be no new situation today.
If you have not yet recognized your Kingdom mission, continue what you are doing, but set aside time each day to go to the Lord and seek your mission. It takes long enough to see the right business model, not just a general business concept. Seek the heavenly purpose of the mission; become passionate about the mission; be as serious about giving an account as you will need to give an account. Study your opponents; do your homework; become an expert in your field. After all, we are servants who do not stand before the lowly, but before the King of this world, that we may proclaim the King of Heaven and His Kingdom.
Understanding the Kingdom mission and performing it according to God's Word and for the right reasons are keys to the Kingdom paradigm. In the next article, we will explore together how to manage heavenly tasks for God.
Jeff Ahern, a former naval officer, has provided consulting services on management and business process improvement for Fortune 500 companies and government departments for more than 20 years; he is the author of "Kingdom Business Success" (Chinese temporary translation). Co-founder of Sozo Services, a spiritual consulting firm that assists corporate leaders in achieving personal and corporate goals using Bible-based, Holy Spirit-guided solutions.