From these God-approved occupations in the Bible, we can see a basic principle: Man must receive or take from nature, or he must earn his wages in exchange for his time and labor. These are the principles of occupation outlined in the Bible.
The sower sows a grain of wheat into the ground. After some time it bears many grains, a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold (Matt. 13:3, 8). One grain becomes a hundred, sixty, or thirty grains. One seed is sown into the ground, but it grows and bears many grains. This is to receive from nature. Nature is rich in its supply, and anyone can extract from it. God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust (5:45). This clearly hints that God sends these things for the purpose of farming. God intends for man to obtain his supply from nature. The same principle applies to livestock farming. One raises sheep which give milk or bear many lambs. This is an increase of production. It is something supplied by nature, not something acquired by other means.
In the New Testament we see fishing as an occupation. Fishing takes something from the rivers and seas. This again is to receive from nature. We do not make anyone poorer by fishing from the rivers and the seas. We can become rich by taking something from the rivers, and these riches will not make anyone poor. When my sheep bears six lambs or my cow bears two calves, no family becomes poorer because of this. When I till the ground, no one is hungry or suffers loss because my field has brought forth grain a hundredfold. The basic principle of a God-approved occupation is to gain without incurring loss to anyone. This is the kind of noble occupation that God ordains.
The same principle applies to Paul’s tentmaking. He did not receive directly from nature. Fishing, raising livestock, and farming receive from nature directly. But Paul manufactured something by adding value to his raw material. This increases the value of goods. A piece of fabric may cost one dollar. When I cut it, sew it, and make a tent out of it, it costs two dollars. Its value has increased, and my wage is the increased value of the good. I do not make anyone poorer by receiving money from the increased value. No one became poorer or suffered loss through Paul’s tentmaking. When I increase the value of a piece of fabric, it is only proper that I receive my wages because I have put in time and skill. Therefore, another principle of a God-approved occupation is that it increases the value of goods.
Another principle can be found in hired laborers, craftsmen, and medical doctors. In such cases one earns his money and wages through his own labor. This neither takes from nature nor adds value to raw materials, but one puts in his labor, pays a price, and provides a service to receive his income. The reward that comes as a result of one’s labor is also acceptable to God.
There is one occupation of which the Bible particularly disapproves. Please pay special attention to this matter. If a new believer has the ability to choose his profession, I hope that he will not take trading as his occupation. Why? We should consider this matter from a broader perspective. Perhaps that will give us a clearer picture. Suppose there are one hundred persons here and each one has a million dollars. If we put them all together, we will have a hundred million dollars. Suppose I begin to trade as one of them. Naturally, I would want to make money. I would like my one million dollars to become two million dollars. Forget for a moment how I handle my business, whether it is done righteously or unrighteously. After a month I have two million dollars. This means that someone must have less money. This must be the case because there are only one hundred persons, each of whom had only one million dollars. Even if I conducted my business in the most righteous way, I would still have caused someone to lose money when I increased my money to two million.
I am a Christian, and let us say that you are a Christian also. You are my brother. Does it look good for me to make money and become richer by making you poorer? Certainly not. Even if you are a Gentile and a heathen, I am a Christian. I am a child of God, and I have my standing and status as a child of God. God’s children should not cause an unbeliever to become poorer by increasing their own money. I would feel bad even if I employed righteous means to gain other believers’ money. I would feel equally bad if I used righteous means to gain an unbeliever’s money. This is what it is like to engage in trade. You cannot take money from another’s pocket and put it into your own pocket. It does not matter how you do it. As long as you turn the money in another’s pocket into your money, you are causing a loss to others. This is a fact.
Of course, the basic God-approved occupations in the Bible pose no such problem. Suppose I am a tiller of the ground, and I have harvested a hundred loads of rice. This will not cause another brother’s possession to be reduced from ten loads down to nine loads. I cannot cause him to have any reduction. My hundred loads of rice will not reduce anything from anyone or cause anyone to become poorer. This is not making money; this is increasing the abundance of the land. We must completely differentiate between the two: Making money and increasing the abundance are two different things altogether. God does not want His children to make money just for the sake of making money. God wants our occupation to increase the abundance. This basic principle is quite clear. A new believer should not have his mind occupied with money day and night. Do not try to constantly consider how you can make money. Please remember that as long as you have made some money, others have lost money. The principle of trade is that when one’s money increases, the money of others decreases.