27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:27-28)

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Thanks for tuning in to GLOBAL REACHOUT. I am Sister Angelie, and starting from November, we have launched the program called the "Kingdom Business Culture". This program is based on the workplace training course by GLOBAL JIREH entitled "Christ-centered Entrepreneurship”. This course was compiled by Pastor Tony TAY Meng Hiang to help brothers and sisters live out Christ in the workplace.

The Bible tells us that man has the image of God. This means that man has certain attributes of God. So, what does the image of God look like? Ephesians 4:24 says, "... to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." From this we see that the image of God has the righteousness and holiness of the truth. When a man is determined to obey the truth, he can live out holiness and righteousness—holiness means that our lives are not defiled by sin; righteousness means that we have not done wrong to others.

For Christians in the workplace, the image of God should not only be reflected in our personal lives, but also in our work and our business; we must reflect this through the work we do and the businesses we build. The most beautiful image. We must pursue truth, righteousness, and holiness in our work. In this way, people will be convinced when they see our brand. The reason is simple, when people see us embracing truth and upholding high values in practical actions, they will believe that our work is valuable; when people see our actions reflect integrity and righteousness, they will then know that we are responsible; and when we are determined to imitate the Lord Jesus and remain holy, people will trust the products and services we provide because of our integrity.

When our work and our business reflects God's image, our work glorifies God, and that's the value of a business. Now, let us see how to make the enterprise possess the truth, righteousness and holiness through a few specific examples in the business operation.

The first point to make is that we should respect intellectual property rights and not infringe the copyrights of others, or use others' invention patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications, etc. without authorization. Through such actions, we express our adherence to the truth; at the same time, we protect legal property rights so that we will not infringe on the property of others. This also shows that we value benevolence and righteousness, uphold holiness, and are unwilling to take part in sin.

In terms of building their own brands, if professionals and entrepreneurs are determined to participate in God’s plan, they will surely find a clear vision and understand where they should specialize; if we aim to serve others, we will surely see its own unique mission. On this basis, there is a brand positioning. In the process of building a brand, if our behavior is in line with righteousness, we will not do anything to live up to consumers, so that the credibility of the brand can be gradually established. We always uphold holiness in our operations, we can establish healthy connections with customers, and the brand will naturally arise.

Today, in the intelligent era of Industry 4.0, the business model of enterprises needs to gradually move towards the integration of the three modes of online sales, physical sales and direct sales, keeping pace with the times. For Christians in the workplace, we need to emphasize the truthful online business model – Sky-net; the righteous dealer model – Earth-net; and the holy direct seller model – People- net. The integration of Sky-net, Earth-net and People-net will lead to the creation of many new consumption channels, so that consumers not only spend money and consume, but also earn certain benefits in the process of consumption, becoming a consumer (Prosumer). This is a win-win situation for the business and its customers, which in turn enhances the company's image.

As a Christian in the workplace, we know that no one can know all the truth, so we need to keep learning and keep our minds aligned with the truth. At the level of truth, we should constantly measure our own sense of innovation to ensure that the existence of enterprises really solves people's needs in lives. At the level of righteousness, we need to constantly measure our practical ability to benefit the people we serve. If a company lags behind others in term of righteousness, we will lose customers; therefore, we should always maintain a sense of crisis and constantly think about how to provide customers with better products or services. Finally, at the level of holiness, we must constantly measure our own connectivity with the outside world, and strive to effectively complement and cooperate with other companies and others.

Dear friends, this program is based on the workplace training course of GLOBAL JIREH entitled "Christ-centered Entrepreneurship”. We encourage brothers and sisters to enroll in this course. Because it is easy to forget what we hear in our ears, but if we participate in the course, discuss and encourage each other with the brothers and sisters in the group and some other kingdom business operators, we will be able to implement the theory into practice and truly live out Christ in the workplace. Interested friends can see our contact information at the end of the text manuscript of the program, and register by email.

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Discussion

1. "For Christians in the workplace, the image of God should not only be reflected in our personal lives, but also in our work and our business." Do you agree with this statement? Why?

2. "That company has already made enough money, and it's okay to use their stuff for free." What do you think of this statement about intellectual property?

3. In actual work, how to inspect an enterprise from the level of truth, righteousness and holiness?