Meet Thomas. You will see he is standing by a door that could set the world record for the world’s smallest recording studio. It is under a stairway and measures about 3 ft by 8 ft.I had not seen dreadlocks in Congo before I met Thomas. Thomas is a musician and does music production for singers and bands. Our pastor friend, Paul, introduced us to Thomas. Paul had me speak with about 20 people who were involved in business already. The topic was: “Who created business? Why was business created?” Have you considered those questions? Probably not. I certainly had not. At its most fundamental level, business is the creation and distribution of goods and services to people or organizations that want or need them to live well. (Congo forces one to think at a fundamental level — a good thing.) In Congo, employment and employees are good while business owners, businesses and profits are bad. Those beliefs like many beliefs in Congo (and in America) lack consistency. But we must deal with those beliefs. It is no surprise, given those beliefs, that business formation and growth are not prevalent. So at the seminar, I explained that God created the need for organizations like businesses when He made us like Him. He made us to create, to organize and plan, to rule, and to subdue the earth. Businesses are a logical means to accomplish those objectives. He also made us to rest, but on these trips, we always seem to forget that fact. Mike and Ben have been quite busy as well and have done a great job of teaching and building relationships. Because the audience was a mixture of Christians and non-Christians, I merely mentioned Genesis 1-3 as the source of my conclusion that God created business so that we could work and subdue the earth. When we met Thomas two days later, Thomas said that he did not know that business was from God. He said, “After the seminar, I went home and read Genesis 1-3. And I saw it just as you said.” Thomas was excited about learning these truths. No longer did he feel guilty about owning a business. The truth had set him free. Praise God!
For the team,
Greg
P.S. We return tonight. Thanks for praying for our work these last two weeks.