Many people–many Christians included–wonder what they should do with their lives. As human beings, we crave meaning. This requires an aim. Ideas, material things, and work become meaningful in light of some aim. An aim empowers us to articulate an answer to the ever-present question: “What’s the point?” However, the question of what aim to pursue can also become quite vexing. Fortunately, St. Ignatius, himself a goal-oriented, and even ambitious, man, provides an unrivaled starting point: Ad majorem Dei gloriam. The motto of the Jesuits, which means “to the greater glory of God” points us in the right direction. If we want the deepest possible meaning, we should seek the highest possible good. What should I do? What will be my quest? To seek the greater glory of God.
Yes, but…what in the world does that mean?
Ad majorem Dei gloriam contains a paradox. If God is already all-perfect, He has no lack of glory. Certainly, God does not need to be made more glorious by human acts. To resolve this apparent contradiction, we turn to St. Iraneus: Gloria Dei est vivens homo, the glory of God is a living person. This widens our view of God’s glory enough to give insight into St. Ignatius’ meaning. While God’s glorious perfection cannot, by definition, be improved, surely human beings can become more fully alive. The mysterious link between God’s glory and our striving is that, through Christ, God’s glory comes to rest upon us.
Therefore, it is “truly right and just” to seek God’s greater glory by working towards human flourishing. Since human beings are social animals, this intended flourishing ought to occur both individually and socially. On the individual level, virtue is necessary for development towards flourishing. On the social level, the starting point for flourishing is justice, with promises fulfilled and human rights respected.
The virtue of justice, which is “a habit whereby a man renders to each one his due by a constant and perpetual will,” orients each person towards others and, in aggregate, society. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, “it is proper to justice, as compared with the other virtues, to direct man in his relations with others.” While the other natural virtues (prudence, temperance, and fortitude) concern how an action is performed, justice pertains to what is done.
Justice is a virtue particularly relevant to business. If I am acting as a steward of scarce economic resources, I must be careful to “render to each their due” when I make my allocation decisions. I must ensure investors a fair return. That’s what I promised when I issued the shares or bonds. But I also must consider what is “due” to my workers, suppliers, customers, and even the wider community. Yes, I should maximize shareholder value, but I must do so under the constraints of justice, and not simply legal justice. Working towards a just society is not an exercise of how much can I get away with. Instead, I must consider my given word, the human dignity of each individual, and the common good.
Justice requires the keeping of promises. Promises make cooperation possible. This cooperation and the trust it engenders provides a groundwork for societal human flourishing. Breaking promises erodes the trust that is essential to society.
Justice requires that human dignity act as a constraint in every business decision. For example, managers must avoid the creation of “disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons” (Gaudium et Spes, 27). These conditions “poison human society…Moreover, they are supreme dishonor to the Creator” (GS, 27). Here we see that justice to others is a function of justice to God. If we love and honor God, we must love and respect our neighbor.
Businesses impact wider society and therefore business leaders must be concerned with the common good, which is “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment” (GS, 26). In short, business leaders are responsible for contributing to a society that enables human flourishing.
So, what’s a Christian business person to do? Maximize the glory of God by living and working with justice in pursuit of human flourishing.
Brian is a dual-degree graduate student studying theology and business.
He went to BC for undergrad and studied theology and business.
For The Torch, he writes on theology and business.
In his free time, he reads about theology and business.
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- Justice: Business, and Human Flourishing - October 30, 2019
- Business As a Noble Vocation - September 27, 2019
Great article Brian!