Lafayette: How do the worlds of faith, business intersect?

I grew up in a household of faith. Church life was the pivot upon which our weekly schedule turned — and it was the great connector to our closest friends. So conversations about faith were commonplace. During one of these casual conversations, my mother (a saint if ever there was one) offered up this pithy synopsis: "Laura, my faith isn't about fire insurance, it's about what it means to my life here and now." I'm sure my mother has forgotten those words, but I haven't. And as I've grown older, her words have not only echoed in my ears, they have come to represent the fundamentals of my faith. For me, the Christian faith is not about what lies beyond; rather, it is about how we are called to live in the present; and it's about God's abundant grace that invariably, immeasurably enriches our daily lives.

When I consider the question of how we are to live, I return always to the simple, straightforward, yet profoundly challenging command to love one another. For Christians, it is the greatest commandment. But what does that look like? Specifically, a friend asked me recently, how does faith translate into the so-called daily life of the business world?

Always up for some extracurricular theological musings, I was eager to answer that question. Until it dawned on me that an answer would require first a confession: Writing about faith in the business world and living it are two different things. So let me be clear, I am chief among the sinners. In fact, the biblical verse that often resonates most powerfully with me is the Apostle Paul's acknowledgment in his Letter to the Romans that "what I ought to do I do not; and what I ought not do, I do."

So with the proviso that more often than not I fall short, here are some thoughts about the intersection of faith and the daily business grind.

1) Richmond has been and continues to be blessed with business leaders who are unashamed witnesses to their faith. My first "real" job 30 years ago was as a cashier with Ukrop's. I still remember my orientation; the touchstone for our corporate culture was the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. More recently, during a meeting of the Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity Executive Committee, my friend and colleague Imad Damaj arose and quietly asked if there was place in my office he could pray. The time in the day had come to pray and, as a devout Muslim, he heeded the call. No fanfare, no show; just a whisper in my ear. His witness inspires and humbles me — always.

2) People of faith are not immune from tough, maddening and saddening business decisions. I've made budgets cuts before, I'll make them again. Negotiating fiercely to get the best deal for my members at the lowest cost — that's part of the job description. But I feel compelled to negotiate honestly and transparently; it's the right thing to do, and it turns out to be the best business strategy as well. I have fired employees in the past; I suspect I will do so in the future. But when I do, I am compelled to dismiss people in a way that respects their dignity. I can never forget that these individuals are God's own, created in God's own image.

3) The world of business is neither isolated nor insulated from the rest of the world. Because of this, business leaders possess ample opportunities to bring about transformative change, especially in the greater community that surrounds their company. In fact, I would suggest that people of faith who are leaders in the business world have a theological imperative to recognize that the world is not as it was created and intended to be, to identify the changes needed to bring about healing and wholeness, and to work without ceasing for change that transforms lives.

I'm not advocating that business leaders use positions of authority to impose their beliefs on others; far from it. But if our faith means anything to us, it must mean something in all aspects of our lives. A worldview informed by faith — in my case the Christian faith, which offers up the most powerful example of agape love and calls us to follow — compels us to understand our corporate responsibilities as part of a larger whole. And with that understanding comes consistent civic engagement, tangible acts of service and generous philanthropy — all of which enhance our common life. The pillar and promise of faith is "give and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, running over."