The Purpose and Fruitfulness of Profit
God’s heart for redemption encompasses all aspects of life, including the marketplace.
This deep truth comes from Jonathan Wilson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of ThirdWay Capital. We recently hosted Wilson on the BAM Canada Network, and he had some compelling ideas on the redemptive power of profitable business.
Jesus as Lord Over All
Colossians 1:13-23 paints a majestic picture of the supremacy of Jesus Christ in all things and over all things.
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
This is the gospel message Jonathan Wilson grew up hearing in a remote part of Indonesia where his parents served as missionaries.
Unlike Western Christianity, there was no separation of the sacred or the secular for the new believers. Once they had been rescued from darkness into light, every aspect of their life was made sacred through Christ. Not only were the local people given hope for eternity, but they were also given hope for their present circumstances.
It is this experience that gave Jonathan the faith to believe that God could redeem all areas of life, including business.
The Power of Service
As an adult, Wilson has had a wide variety of professional experiences. From political mediation in the Global South to corporate consultancy in the North, he has marketplace experience in vastly different contexts.
He shared two important things he learned in this time:
As Christians, we have the unique opportunity to be any and everyone’s servant.
The marketplace has the power to transform lives.
The two go hand in hand. Rather than seeking to exploit those around us to get ahead, we can show the love of Jesus by serving them instead.
In a corporate culture that often prioritizes profit and power over people, these radical principles have the power to transform lives and reveal the heart of God for whole-life redemption.
The True Purpose of Profit
Milton Friedman, a famous American economist, once said, “The social responsibility of business is to increase profits.”
While this sounds logical on the surface, Wilson ran a simple thought exercise that revealed the dangers behind this philosophy.
If you believe your business exists to make profit, you will:
Focus on earnings.
Extract as much value as possible.
This extraction-driven model leads to the exploitation of people and resources, ending in the destruction of their value.
What if it’s the other way around? What if the social responsibility of business is to make life better?
Then, you will:
Focus on excellence.
Provide as much value as possible.
When profit becomes the means, not the end, it reproduces value across all sectors of society.
Impact Investing for Social Transformation
When you combine a desire to see marketplace transformation with the understanding that profit creates value, you get ThirdWay Capital, a firm focused on systems-changing investments across Africa.
The story of fairafric, one of the companies they've invested in, shows just how powerful profit can be.
Despite being home to 65% of the world’s cocoa production, West African countries like Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire account receive less than 5% of the $145 billion industry.
By producing premium chocolate locally, the value of each individual bean is maximized by 400%!
Together, ThirdWay Capital and fairafric are making an impact by:
Contributing to the formalization of Ghana’s economy.
Increasing local exports and decreasing foreign dependency.
Improving private sector social services like health and education.
Addressing the need for sustainable and renewable energy solutions.
This all stems from an understanding of profit as a tool to bring value to others, and the marketplace as an area where God's transformative power is revealed.
Moving forward
For the business leader wondering how to become more redemptive in their business model, Wilson has one piece of advice. Ask yourself this question:
“How do I become someone who serves my people so well that they become more servant-hearted themselves?”
In short: it starts with you. As a leader, you have the unique opportunity to set an example of service and love for those around you. The transformative power of this heart posture is endless.
