Numerous theories have defined ways through which a Christian can best serve God, many of which, as Keller asserts, do not complement each other. The prompt that making as much money as possible in order to be as generous as possible is the way to serve God contains a hint of truth. Christians are expected to practice generosity whenever it is necessary, given that they are obligated to help the less fortunate and generally give to society. The argument in the prompt has several implications which debunk the theory therein.
First, the prompt seems to lean more towards the shareholder theory than the stakeholder theory. In fact, its most vivid meaning is that the organization that makes higher levels of profits serves God better than one that makes lower profits. In many cases, this assertion would be false especially if increasing shareholders value is done at the expense of other stakeholders (Smith, 2003). No matter how divergent they get, Christian worldviews generally apply to all people (Keller & Alsdorf, 2014). This means that an organization should be run for the maximum benefit of all the people involved, which is essentially the stakeholder theory.
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Second, rich people are not necessarily generous, nor is generosity determined by wealth. The prompt exemplifies an interesting phenomenon in which the wealthy are only able to give because they have more than they need (Dalzell, 2013). Biblical generosity connotes sacrifice and transfers all glory to God, much unlike most cases of generosity as exemplified by the rich who must publicize the extent of their giving to gain praise among men. Based on the argument that generosity is linked to sacrifice, it is therefore not dependent on wealth (Dalzell, 2013). A person who gives 70% of $1,000 can be considered much more generous than one who gives 5% of a billion dollars despite the latter having given a larger amount in cash because the former sacrificed more or what they had. The prompt is therefore not correct.
References
Dalzell, R. F. (2013). The good rich and what they cost us: The curious history of wealth, inequality, and American democracy. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.
Keller, T., & Alsdorf, K. L. (2014). Every good endeavor: Connecting your work to God's work.
Smith, J. (2003). The shareholders vs stakeholders debate. MIT Sloan Management Review, 44, 4.
