Proverbs 29:18 tells us that, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.”  That is to say, without a vision for something—whether one for your health, your family, or your business, you will not do the things you need to do in order to achieve it.  You are ‘unrestrained.’ 

An athlete, for example, if he ‘sees’ the trophy, will take those steps necessary in order to put him first across the finish line.  

Parents, if they picture godly children. If they want their children to grow up in the “fear and admonition of the Lord,” will take the time to love, train, and discipline them.  

So too, the business owner, in order to fulfill his God-given role, must have a compelling vision for doing so.  What I mean is an overarching vision, a far greater one, one that is so grand, so far reaching, so motivating, that you are excited to get up in the morning to go after it.

This vision is the kingdom of God.  It is the kingdom of God here on earth, right here in Lansing, Michigan (or wherever you live).  Each of us has a vital role to play.  It is our job to bring God’s kingdom to our sphere of things.  

Three verses from the book of Matthew underscore the point.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (45-46).

This is how valuable the kingdom of God is—it is worth everything we have.  It is so great, so glorious, so much the treasure, so much the pearl of great price, that it is worth everything in order to have it.  

Not that we go out and sell everything we have—where would that put us but homeless and broke!  What is meant is that God’s kingdom is worth giving your all.  

I believe the purpose of the Christian is twofold—he is to glorify God and further His kingdom.  This was the Lord’s purpose.  The night before He was betrayed He prayed to the Father,

“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:3).  

So too, our purpose is to glorify God.  Paul said, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We glorify God by doing—and accomplishing—the things He has given us to do.  

And furthering the kingdom of God?  This was the fundamental reason for Jesus coming to earth.  

We understand He came for a variety of reasons.  It was to seek and to save that which was lost; to set the captives free, and heal the broken-hearted. To destroy the works of the devil.  To bear witness to the truth. To serve as the Mediator between God and men.  He came into the world to save sinners.  These things said, they were all in the context of the kingdom.  He said, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).

Jesus came to inaugurate heaven’s rule to earth.  He began His ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Fast forward to the first chapter of Acts.  There we see Jesus appearing to His disciples over a period of forty days.  What He is says here are His last words before ascending into heaven.  What was He was saying? 

“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3).  

He was “speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”  I think it safe to say that all that follows in the New Testament has to do with one thing:  God’s kingdom.  

What does all this have to do with business?  Everything!  Inasmuch as we are told we must “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” it is our responsibility to seek God’s kingdom in everything we do—including running our businesses. 

What is the kingdom of God? Here is how the Bible defines it:  

“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV).

The kingdom of God, then, is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Notice it is in the Holy Spirit, it is all in the context of the Holy Spirit; you won’t find it anywhere else.   And then it is a matter of power—it is all about power.  

In a prayer virtually the whole world knows, Jesus taught us to pray that God’s kingdom would come and His will would be done.

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

This is God’s vision for the earth! His kingdom come and His will be done.  And He wants it to be ours too!

Based on this prayer, I believe the kingdom of God is that realm in which God’s will is done. God’s kingdom exists in heaven; there, His perfect will is done.  When we pray this prayer, we are asking God for that to come to earth. That’s the picture.  

Think of it this way:  your life, your family, your business, is to be a little microcosm of God’s kingdom.  That is the way Jesus would have it—this is the will of God.  In each area of your life Jesus reigns supreme as Lord, and His will rules the day.  He is Lord over all, and how you operate your business—you find out how He wants you to do that and put it into practice. The kingdom of God is to be the driving force behind everything you do and say.  That is the plan.  That is the vision.   

Here are a few more things about the kingdom of God.

It is not of this realm.  It is other-worldly.  Translated into business, that means it runs counter to the ways of the world.  Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts; therefore, our job is to find out what God’s thoughts are and operate by them.  We will do things differently in and through our businesses that will, in a worldly sort of way, not make sense.  

It is a kingdom of light.  There are but two kingdoms in the universe today:  the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.  Through faith in Christ we have been transferred from the one to the other.  So we live our lives and operate our businesses in the realm of light.  What does that mean?  In the light of God’s presence.  In the light of His word.  We get up and we go to work and we do what we do knowing that God is both with us and watching over us.  We screen everything through the lens of the word of God.  

It is characterized by power.  That is to say we do not do things in our own strength, but in the strength that God supplies—who is the Holy Spirit.  And not only that, but we seek to operate in power, to exercise that power in terms of the miraculous.  

Its singular rule is love—the Royal Law as James would put it.  Love rules the day in our businesses.  Seems crazy—almost undoable, but do we leave off of the 2nd greatest commandment when we go to work?  No, we go to work out of obedience to it.  

While many books have been written on the kingdom of God, and I could go on, I will give this one final thought:  the kingdom of God is to be furthered.  Psalm 145 says it wonderfully,

“All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,

And Your godly ones shall bless You.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

And talk of Your power;

To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations” (10-13).

Jesus, just before He was taken up into heaven, put it like this,

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Jesus is Lord—that is the message, and that is what we are charged with.  Ours is to operate under His Lordship, observe the things He has commanded us, and use our businesses to further His kingdom in the lives of others.  This is the compelling vision, the thing that should drive us.