Why is it that Christians expect brothers & sisters in business to offer them the Christian discount?  You know what I mean. I was doing a Small Business seminar for a church group.  One of the people attending asked me how much I was charging for the notes. I told them the price. He said, “Okay, what is it for a brother?”

Another time, I had a friend who was attending one of my sessions. She forget to bring cash to pay for admission to the event. She was stopped at the door because she did not pay. She appealed to the staff person that she was a friend of mine and I’d let her come in without paying. The staff person came to ask and I told the staff person, no money no admission. My friend was flabbergasted! How dare I require her to pay? Was I not aware of how much she supported my ministry?  Shouldn’t she be extended a little grace?  Is that not the Christian thing to do?

Another time, I was counseling a friend who had a small debt with a rental company. She wanted to call them up and ask them to forgive the debt. I asked her why? She said she felt they make enough money and it is only a small amount and it would not make a difference to them really, but it would make a big difference to her.

Perhaps, if I phrased the question differently, you might get my point. As Christians, why don’t we pay MORE for services or products we purchase from our fellow Christians? Why don’t we bless them by giving them more money than the price for sale?

My problem with this attitude is that Christians buyers always seem to think the blessing ought to flow one way, from the seller to the buyer. It does not seem to occur to them that perhaps they could bless the Christian seller with more money. 

To me this is just plain hypocrisy and is an offence to my sense of justice. Christians ought to pay a fair price for the value they receive and not expect a Christian discount. It tells me that they really do not understand how God uses business to order his creation wisely by adding value. The Bible says, “do not muzzle an ox, while it is treading out the grain!” Business owners need fair reward for the value they add in ordering God’s creation wisely.

To me this is a matter of justice and Christians who think otherwise are hypocrites because their real motivation is to get a free ride at the expense of a fellow believer! What do you think?