Ken Costa: God at Work
In February, I attended a talk by Ken Costa, an investment banker from Lazard International in London, who is also Chairman of Alpha International which promotes the Alpha course. The event was part of the North West launch of the God at Work course, based on the book Ken has written.
The relevance of the Christian faith to the modern workplace is a timely subject for us in responding to the global crisis that has affected many people.
Because God cares and is interested in every aspect of our lives, the workplace is no exception. He is interested in what we do at work everyday. He understands the environment in our offices, boardrooms and meeting rooms where we are under constant pressure and face tight deadlines. God knows that these are hard places to be, and He wants to invest in us so that we can invest into our colleagues.
The credit crunch is a good opportunity for us to shine Jesus in our workplace. It is important to reconcile the financial world with the kingdom of God, because our lives should not be lived within a sacred/secular divide. No market and no stock exchange is outside His rule and reign.
Jesus is Lord of the money market, and the Bible is our prospectus. The Holy Spirit is the deposit and the guarantor that there will be a tomorrow in Christ our Lord. Jesus has risen from the dead, and He has overcome the ‘bear’ market.
Ken equated many examples from the Bible with our present financial status, even reminding us that Jesus was a carpenter and was therefore part of a commercial life. 
The kingdom of Tyre in Ezekiel 27 had merchants come from Syria, Damascus, Persia and Libya to trade spices, jewels, gold and embroidery. It was comparable to our present day New York and London Stock Exchange, but Tyre was ultimately destroyed because it had been corrupted with pride, violence and dishonest trade.
But praise God, for those who put their trust in Him will be unshakable, because His kingdom is unshakable! It is the world and those who put their trust in its system who will be shaken.
Ken also gave practical advice on how to overcome the situation, such as:
- restricting problems of the day to the day
- rejoicing in what we receive and thanking God for what we have
- embracing the reality of the situation instead of living in denial
- remaining faithful in tithing and generous in offerings
This, he says, is not optimism but realism.
Ken exhorts us to talk about money openly, corporately and individually. Praise God that during Life in the Spirit meeting last Thursday, Gavin and the elders prepared a report on the church’s finance, discussing our income & expenditure as a church and encouraging us to pray for the increase of heaven in our finances as a church.
Money is a sensitive subject to be openly discussed among friends and family, and we praise God that we have elders who set us an example to follow, to open up our lives so that others can minister to us on money matters that are affecting us.
I am encouraged by Ken and the elders to invest more in the unshakable kingdom of God – to not hold back my tithe, to remain generous and to put my faith firmly in God, who provides for all my needs!
Wan Phing Lim
