For 14 years I worked at a very large company with billions in sales. They could afford the best of everything, including consultants to help us form a corporate culture. And what they chose to do is use biblical principles. They didn’t say that out loud, but it’s what they did. And it’s what many do, because it works.

Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. – 2 Corinthians 2:17

For the customers, they created a culture of service: addressing you by name, taking you to the item instead of telling you the aisle number, bagging your groceries for you, etc. It seemed Christian, but it was all about keeping your job or getting ahead. Those “secret shoppers” could be watching you at any time. I was in the meetings with the senior management. Some of them were even Christian. But none of this was done in the name of Jesus. It was for profit.

such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. – Romans 16:18

For management, they created a culture of respect. I was in many courses that re-taught me everything I’d learned in Sunday School. I couldn’t believe the company invested so much energy in training these high-powered managers to follow the basic laws of scripture. But without God, these principles had no power to transform hearts. People just tried to act nicer to not get in trouble.

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. – Hebrews 7:18-19

For the store employees, they created a culture of love. What!? That really surprised me. They were more comfortable using the word “love” than some church settings I’d been in. I was at a convention with over a hundred store managers. One of the speakers declared: “We’re not selling groceries, we’re loving people! We’re creating a way for families to eat together at home and love each other.” They made love the motive for everything we did, just like scripture.

Do everything in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:14

These “biblical principles”, without the Spirit, are what the Bible calls “the law” or “circumcision”. They are of no value at all. In fact, they bring death, as people try to imitate the work of the Spirit with their own efforts.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. – Galatians 5:2-6

I started listening to sermons differently. My question became, would my company preach this? Of course they’d take out the references to God, but could they preach the essence of the message? At the highest levels of management, I’d seen what I would consider not just bad or selfish decisions, but real evil. Why would teaching biblical principles work for them?

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. – 2 Corinthians 11:14-15

I still use this as a lens to evaluate my message. If Google and Starbucks and Coca-Cola would all agree with me, am I preaching the gospel? If my friends are cheering, am I still preaching some form of the law?

Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. – Galatians 5:11