Question

Regarding your blog on being spiritually minded in Rom 8:6, how do you run a business and move forward without some thought to the earthly side of things? The Bible says:

For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either (2 Thess 3:10).

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15).

These verses at least show that some involvement in worldly affairs is necessary. Businesses don’t run and workers don’t get paid unless someone has sold someone else something, and a profit has been realized by the maker, the seller and even the user. So how does one remain spiritually minded and operate a profitable business? 

Answer

Thank you for the question and the opportunity to clarify. Does focusing on the Spirit mean never thinking about earthly concerns like running a business?

No, I don’t think that is implied by Paul’s point about being spiritually minded.

However, I can understand why people might think so. Many religions think of spirituality in terms of escaping the world and of becoming detached from “worldly” concerns. But Biblical religion is not like that.

Think of Paul’s life. He was spiritually minded, but does that mean he was too spiritually minded to run a business? No. Paul was a self-employed leatherworker (or the word may refer to tentmaker) and worked to support his Spirit-led ministry.

Focusing on the Spirit does not mean becoming oblivious to the world, but it shoudl mean seeing it in a new light and living in the world with new priorities.

Again, think of Paul. Yes, he worked a job, but would he have seen leatherworking as an end in itself or as the great purpose of his life? If someone had nothing more significant to live for, then maybe he would invest his job with that much meaning. But not Paul. He was spiritually minded. Would he prioritize the long-term profitability of his business at the expense of doing ministry? Of course not. His priorities would have been different, shaped by the Spirit’s goals for his ministry.

Here’s another example of how the Spirit would lead you to engage in the world more. Do you think a spiritually minded person would love his neighbors and family more, or would he love them less? I think being spiritually minded would mean seeing the true value of the people around you. These are people whom God created and is now drawing to His Son through the Spirit. Instead of becoming more aloof, I think a spiritually minded person would become even more fully engaged in the world (in a godly way).

In sum, while you can focus on the world to the exclusion of the Spirit, you can’t focus on the Spirit to the exclusion of the world.