Is Profit Evil? (Part 1)

Posted October 29, 2018

by Mike Hatch

This was a question I personally struggled with for a while without realizing it. At the heart of the paradigm through which I viewed business and commerce was this idea of the inherent evil of profit. Although it took me a while to recognize this prejudice in myself, it suddenly became clear when I considered the false dichotomy between profit and "non-profit."

For example, at least on a subconscious level, the term "non-profit" sounded more virtuous to me, as if a company that was non-profit was free of the corruption of profit driven businesses. It felt as if non-profits had purer motives. Of course this is ridiculous because businesses can be corrupt regardless of whether they are for profit or non-profit. Profit, in and of itself, is amoral. Only people can be corrupt.

In the last year the Bible has taught me that profit is a very good thing. In the kingdom of God profit is the fuel for production and prosperity, and a key element in God's plan to bless and redeem the world.

Part 1 - Profit is a God-ordained Fruit of Obedience

It's unfortunate that the most misquoted verse in the Bible about money happens to be, "money is the root of all evil," or "the love of money is the root of all evil." This has had a lot of influence on my (and our culture's) perspective of money and profit.

The actual verse says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1 Timothy 6:10, NIV) This verse was a warning to wealthy Christians to be careful not to find their security in their wealth rather than God. Instead of being eager for money, they should be eager for God and use money to honor Him.

The narrative behind that misquote has made its way into the psyche of our culture, and for good reason. Just look at the 2008 housing crisis. It revealed to many of us just how greedy and corrupt the business world, financial industry, and government can be. Unfortunately this has caused some, including myself, to be suspicious of profit in general, associating it with greed, corruption, and evil intent. But this prejudice does not exist in the Bible.

God's command to "be fruitful" in Genesis 1:28 encompasses working, producing, earning a profit, and investing surplus capital in business and commerce to multiply profit further. Profit is a God-ordained fruit of hard work and ingenuity.

Like water running through a mill wheel this fruit also serves as an agent of production and prosperity.

RC Sproul Jr, in his helpful book, Biblical Economics: A Common Sense Guide to Our Daily Bread, uses this very illustration of the mill wheel. He points out that production leads to profit, which leads to surplus capital. When that surplus capital is invested in tools, production becomes more efficient leading to greater profits, and so on.

This is one of the foundational biblical concepts of fruitfulness through production. When we produce, we are obeying God's command to be fruitful and one of our rewards for production is profit.

What do you think? Have you had the same unfounded prejudice toward profits? If you are a business leader, or maybe own your own business, how has your perception of profit affected your thinking or decisions? In my experience working with men, it seems as though this negative perception has led to a lack of production and unnecessary guilt for many.