Lately there has been a raging debate in the media regarding the relationship between religion and business with some advocates bluntly saying that the two cannot co-exist while others opted for a compromise.
The emergence of what is commonly referred to as “prosperity gospel” in some congregations has torched some unnecessary competition as followers battle to outdo each other to show how well “God is working for them”.
Some critics have pointed out that religion has been transformed into an enterprise they have coined as “gospreneurship” to milk money from the followers and effectively transformed the livelihoods of the leaders.
At the expense of exposing my standing on the subject, I would like to say that organised religion is big business and this is not only unique to Zimbabwe but it is a global phenomenon and it has to be viewed from this perspective. According to the Christian doctrine, the concept of business can be traced back to the Old and New Testaments.
In Luke 6:34, Jesus asked his disciples, “If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you?”
Although this may be a general injunction to disinterested benevolence, it has also been read as a condemnation of interest or usury. Jesus referenced this especially when one lends to another believer, the idea being that, as a Christian with an eternal mindset, ultimately God is our rewarder and lending to a fellow believer should be left to God to reward over collecting nominal interest.
I quoted this in the context of the proposal by TN Holdings’ (Lifestyle Holdings) chief executive Tawanda Nyambirai’s suggestion that we should now look to the church as a source of raising funds for distressed companies.
His suggestion has come under attack from many quarters with some saying that Nyambirai wanted to reap where he did not sow. They wanted a line drawn between banking and Christianity and feared that this creative way of raising capital would end up in a scandal of some sort.
In America, the Organised Religion Organisation stands out as a shining example of taping the rich pickings in the word of God.
Using the anti-materialist words of a poor carpenter as its mission statement, the ORI has made a significant mark in the American economy.
In real estate alone, the ORI has control of trillions dollars in property. And it’s not just property ownership that has economically entrenched the organisation, it’s all the jobs attached to that property.
In addition, all the auxiliary economic activities generated by what goes on in ORI-owned buildings, all the training facilities for the people who run these activities, all the people employed by the hierarchical institutions who decide what these activities should be.
A report carried in The Washington Post spells out the commanding financial presence of the ORI in the state of Virginia. In 2009, Thomas Road Baptist Church (church, private school, and private universities) was the second largest employer behind Central Health.
In the Jewish community, there are also some guidelines on how to conduct business. In the Torah (Holy Book), there are more commandments concerning the kashrut (fitness) of one’s money than the kashrut of food.
These laws are developed and expanded upon in the Mishnah and the Talmud (particularly in Order Nezikin). Laws concerning business ethics are delineated in the major codes of Jewish law (e.g. Mishneh Torah, 12th c.; Shulhan Arukh, particularly Choshen Mishpat, 16th c.). (Wikipedia)
Leviticus 25:14 teaches: “When you sell anything to your neighbour or buy anything from your neighbour, you shall not deceive one another.” The Talmud (Bava Metzia 49b and 50b) and later codes (Rambam, Mekhira, Chapter 12) expand on this verse to create a series of specific laws prohibiting monetary deception.
The prohibition is on the sale of an article at so much more, or to the purchase of an article at so much less, than its market value that fraud or the taking of an undue advantage is presumed.
A discrepancy of one-sixth enables the wronged party to secure the cancellation of the sale or purchase; that is, an article worth six money-units in the market may not be sold for seven or bought for five (B. M. 49b).
It seems that overcharge by the merchant selling to the consumer was the most frequent instance in which the application of the rule was called for.
The claim had to be made as soon as the buyer had had an opportunity to show his purchase to a merchant or to one of his friends.
It is said that R. Tarfon taught at Lydda that the discrepancy must amount to one-third to justify an action, whereupon the merchants rejoiced; but when he extended the time for rescission to the whole day they demanded the restoration of the old rule.
Either seller or purchaser, whether merchant or one in private life, may make the complaint, notwithstanding the opinion to the contrary of R. Judah ben Ilai. The purchaser imposed upon may ask either for rescission of the transaction or for the return of the excess paid by him.
For Islam, the basis of these laws is the Qur’an, and they are amplified in the Hadith. Moslem wealth ethics include avoidance of the exploitation of people in need through lending them money at interest (riba) and prohibitions against false advertising; under Islamic law, if a vendor sells an item by making false claims about it, the customer has the right to have the transaction cancelled. (The International Institute of Islamic Thought).
There is no doubt that the debate of religious ethics in business differs from each setting, but the bottom line is fair business conduct that is ethical.
As always, let’s make money.
Mr. Kangondo Lives in Zimbabwe
