When he went to church, entrepreneur John Marsh felt shame for being a Christian in the business world. He doesn’t feel that way today after hearing the message of vocation.

Transcript:

You know, one of the most difficult things I’ve experience in my walk in business work and ministry is this idea that you have to make a choice. I mean “Christian entrepreneurs” seemed like you were saying two words that didn’t fit together. Like “Christian and entrepreneur? You mean build and make stuff and enjoy growing stuff, and be a believer?”

I felt like there was so much shame in the church world where, you know, show up and give money was like: “Hey, go make money, but bring it here and let us help to show you how to make it holy. So you go make it and give it to us and we’ll support missionaries and our ministries and our building and our other things and it’ll be good money.”

But it just always rubbed me the wrong way that we couldn’t work to the glory of God. That a plumber plumbing to the glory of God was not amazing. Because I could see the beauty in the work they did and the way they did it.

So it was a lot of shame in the beginning, but some of the biggest shame was that I loved God and understood how to make money.

I really felt like I didn’t have the shame rolled off of me around business and work until I heard the message that vocation is from God. He cares about where you work. And he calls some to be, you know, bakers and builders and makers. That we could do that to the glory of God and that he loves when we prosper.

Watch the full film Beauty Out of Brokenness from Seattle Pacific University.

This video serves as an illustration to the TOW Bible Commentary article Tent Making and Christian Life (Acts 18:1-4).