The Coffee Isn't the Point

The Coffee Isn't the Point

A business owner asked me a question recently that stopped me in my tracks: what's the actual purpose of being a Christian in business?

Is it to make money? Is it to give generously to the church? Is it so we can reach more people and create more impact? All fair questions. All the kind of questions most of us have wrestled with at some point. But none of them are actually the answer.

It's not about the coffee

Here's how I answered him. Success in the Kingdom, when it comes to business, is simply friendship with God.

Think about meeting a mate at a cafe. You're not there for the coffee. The coffee sits on the table while the real thing happens — the connection, the conversation. That's exactly what business is meant to be. You're meeting with God daily, and the deals, the decisions, the pressure, the way you lead your family through it all — that's just the table. It's there to facilitate something much bigger.

Business puts you in the room with fear and risk every week, and that's not a bad thing. It forces a level of trust with God you'd never need sitting comfortably on the sidelines.

Find the assignment, not just the answer

So when we bring it back to something practical, it comes down to one question: what's your assignment? What has God actually called you to in this business? That's where the relationship stops being theoretical. That's where it gets real, and vulnerable, and honest.

But there's a bigger picture too. Our overall assignment is to bring heaven to earth. So what does that look like inside your business specifically? What does it look like for heaven to invade your team, your decisions, your everyday work?

Your work carries more than you think

Your clients aren't just meant to encounter your excellence. They're meant to encounter the love of the Father through you. Signs and wonders were never meant to stay locked inside a church building — they follow those who believe, wherever they're standing.

Consider Paul's handkerchief. Handkerchiefs that had touched his body were carried out and people were healed, demons cast out. It wasn't a ceremonial cloth — it was likely a sweat band from his trade as a tentmaker. Ordinary work, carrying enough of God's presence to bring healing across the ancient world.

Even Genesis backs this up. Adam was placed in the garden to tend it, and the word used for "tend" shares its root with the word for worship. The work itself was worship. Which means wherever you work, God is over that. Even the ordinary effort of your day can carry His presence.

Purpose, discovered

Most of the disciples Jesus chose weren't found in a temple — they were in the marketplace, familiar with pressure, sales, provision. That's exactly the kind of pressure that drives dependence on the Holy Spirit daily. He's called the Comforter for a reason — you only need comfort when you're genuinely uncomfortable.

So here's the invitation. Go back to God and ask Him plainly: what's my purpose in this? What's my actual assignment? If you don't know yet, that's a good place to start from.

There are two truly great moments in a person's life — the moment you give your life to Christ, and the moment you discover your purpose. Wherever you're at in business this week, bring it back to the table. Let your business be the place where friendship with God gets real.

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