People engaging in business or employed at one point or another enter into contracts with other parties. A contract is a legally binding agreement that parties commit to fulfill their duties as per the agreed terms. All the parties involved in a contract should be of legal age and right mental state. The elements of a contact include an offer where one person or party makes to another and the other accepts it. The offer must be differentiated from a person’s willingness to engage in a negotiation (Anonymous, 2016). Provided that the parties agree the terms of the offer, it is binding. Withdrawal of the proposed offer can be done before being accepted and this withdrawal can only be effective if the proposer informs the other party that the withdrawal has been done. An offer is said to have been accepted if the person answering provides a statement or show his acceptance through an act. The acceptance must be beyond reasonable doubt and effective communication done otherwise the person will not be legally involved in the offer.
Secondly, there must be a consideration. This is the price that is paid to the party making an offer. Although it must not be in monetary terms, the price must possess good value. Some binding contracts do not require consideration if the involved documents have a seal. Another element of a contract is the intent to enter into legal relations. Most commercial agreements involve a legally binding agreement and the intent should be easily inferred when the circumstance under which the agreement was made is taken into consideration. The parties involved in a contract should have the legal capacity and those in problematic consent such as prisoners, mentally impaired, minors, bankrupt, and corporations must be dealt with appropriately (Greg, 2008). The last element is consent. The parties entering into an agreement must have a free will and should understand what they are undertaking. The consent from both parties must be genuine and matters such as false statement, undue influence, and duress must be avoided so as to have proper consent.
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Contracts differ from biblical covenants in various ways. The bible refers to contracts as covenants, which means a pledge. In a contract, violation of the agreement by one party results into breaking of the contract while both parties in a covenant agrees to keep their promises regardless of whether one party fails to keep their part or not (Cree, 2012). A covenant is not considered broken if one party violates the agreement. Secondly, the difference between a contract and a covenant comes in when attitude is considered. In making a contract, the involved parties try to reduce chances of liability to make the results favorable. This implies that both parties ensure that things work a planned and even force a reluctant party to fulfill their part of the agreement. On the other hand, the parties in a covenant take into account the desires of the other party and works towards fulfilling them. This is manifested in Jesus’ example where he values the life of his sheep just like his own life (Cree, 2012). The Old Testament provides several instances when man entered into a covenant with man. After the great flood, Noah and God made a covenant not to destroy the world with flood again, and he gave rainbow as a sign. When man makes a covenant with God, man gets satisfaction through the power of God if he keeps his part of the covenant.
When God created man, He gave him authority over all living and non-living things on it. God is the sole owner of everything on earth and man is just a steward. In the book of Genesis 14:19, Melchizedek said ‘Blessed be Abram of God most High, possessor of heaven and earth.’ This shows that God is the owner of all things that humans have and He demands that the people be obedient since they are caretakers of God’s order (DeMar, 2010). The New Testament in the book of 1 Cor. 10:26 also tell us that the Lord owns the earth and everything that it contains. God is sovereign and humans have no complete possession of property. Although the bible emphasizes that God is the owner of our property, it does not imply that humans cannot own property. It just means that owning property is more of being a steward. Godly men fulfill the dominion duty under God by possessing property. Leviticus 25 encourages families to have land as a way of exercising dominion. Taxation was not allowed and no family land could be disposed to pay debts but rather passed down through the generations.
The bible acknowledges private property and those who deny it refuses the command for stewardship from God. A person’s property is significant to the future since it is considered a family property that insures dominion on the future (DeMar, 2010). In 1Kings 21:3, Naboth says ‘The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.’ Since God is the owner of property, everyone must account for the property under their possession. The parable of the unfaithful steward in the bible tells us what God expects from us. If man does not recognize himself as a steward, then he does not understand that it’s the power of God’s hand that gave them what they have. In Mather 25:21, the bible tells us that God will ask all stewards to account for their faithfulness in handling what was bestowed upon them.
The bible tells us to do business until Jesus comes back. In the parable of the unfaithful servant, the nobleman give three servants different amounts of Minas and asks them to do business until he comes back and hand over the amount with the interest. In the Old Testament, the bible teaches us how to make our businesses successful and what to do with the profits accrued. It emphasizes of social responsibility by not forgetting those who lack food. Every business person should use their business to improve their community so as to receive blessings and the bible in Proverbs 11:24 says, ‘The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.’
Human beings are expected to see their businesses as a means rather than an end. Helping others gives a sense of fulfillment and for every business that brings an improvement in another person’ life becomes successful since it works for the good of others. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 says, ‘our work is meaningless unless it is to do good.’ This shows that no matter how successful a business is and it is not used to help others, it is useless. Furthermore Christians have an obligation to show integrity. They should live a life that is centered in Christ and do the right thing rather than what is convenient.
Every business decision made should have a basis on God’s principles and standards. Righteousness, honesty and trustworthiness should prevail such that every action it does reflects the action of a Christian. They should always commit to pursue excellence and this will help them applaud the word of God. Such commitment to excellence should also be reflected in their commitment towards its people. The employees should be promoted, recognized for excellent performance, giving personal and professional growth opportunities among other ways of fulfillment.
References
Anonymous (2016). The law handbook 2016. Retrieved from <http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/07_01_01_what_is_a_contract/>
Cree, C. (2012).Contracts vs. Covenants – Why the Difference Matters. Retrieved from <https://newcreeations.org/contracts-vs-covenants-why-the-difference-matters/>
DeMar, G. (2010). A Biblical View of Private Property. Retrievd from <https://americanvision.org/3756/a-biblical-view-of-private-property/>
Greg, G. (2008). Covenant versus Contract. Retrieved from <https://latterdaysaint.wordpress.com/2008/05/25/covenant-versus-contract/>
