The Most Overlooked Success Secret in the Bible

Get ready to see something quite familiar in a completely unfamiliar way.

I believe it has been hidden from the church at large by a sincere but misguided attempt at piety, and a belief or adherence to dualism that says that spiritual things are good and matter (things of the physical world) are bad.

This belief system exalts spirituality and minimizes, shuns or even disdains the physical world, despite the fact that God called what He created… “good”.

When Jesus found His disciples arguing about who would be the greatest among them, He didn’t chide them for desiring greatness… He showed them how to achieve it!

He starts in Matthew 20:25 by telling them it’s not about lording it over others and being the big man on campus. He simply states if you want to be great, be a servant.

Whenever I’ve heard this taught, it was always implied to NOT reach for the stars, and to NOT aspire for great accomplishment, especially in the areas of business and finance. It was always implied that the highest callings were along the lines of cleaning toilets and low level positions in this world and we should never desire to be great here on earth. But…

Desiring greatness is a good thing.

Otherwise Jesus would have told them not to desire that.

Instead, He told them HOW to accomplish that.

The Greek word translated as “great” is “megas”, where we get “MEGA” from. The path to MEGA (greatness) in business is through service. That means putting your customer first. You think your goal is to make the sale, get something from the prospect (i.e. money), but your goal should be customer focused.

How can you MAXIMIZE THE VALUE YOU PROVIDE to your customers or clients? Always think in terms of the maximum value you can offer. What is the most good you can provide? That doesn’t mean providing your product or service at bargain basement prices so you barely make a profit. If you love your customers, always strive to find the highest good and greatest value you can provide.

Then set your pricing as a reflection of that value.

Don’t be bashful about price. If something has a perceived value of $1,000 and you ask $2,000 for it because that’s what you need or want, lots of luck with that.

If you ask $1,000 for it, they will likely shop and compare. If you ask $10 for it, they won’t believe it really has a $1,000 value.

Ideally, you want to make the value proposition (cost vs benefit) so strong that they will feel foolish for turning it down. But if it’s too extreme, (i.e. $10 for a $1,000 value), they won’t bite and they won’t trust you.

They will logically deduce that either the value isn’t there, or that it’s a trap. Can anyone say “time share”? It’s where you get a free weekend at a luxury resort, but have to sit through a sales “presentation” by people who many times have been trained to apply maximum pressure to close the deal. Not a pleasant experience! (Ask me how I know.)

Our job in business is simply to create value, sell that value, and then deliver that value. The better you are at those three fundamentals, the more successful you will be in business. You can build a great (MEGA) business that way.

But Jesus didn’t stop at greatness. He raised the ante. “And whoever desires to be FIRST among you, let him be your SLAVE just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27-28)

Jesus was recognized as “great” because He served greatly. But He went beyond great service and became FIRST by “giving His life a ransom for many”.

Not only does Jesus tell His disciples HOW to be great, but He even tells them HOW they can be FIRST! In the Greek, the word for “first” is “prōtos” where we get our word “prototype” from.

Prōtos encapsulates the idea of “firstness”—whether in time, rank, or priority. It highlights what stands at the forefront—the earliest, the highest, or the chief among equals.

So in business, great service (great, unmistakeable value) makes for a great business, but what does it mean to be a “slave”? Jesus modeled that by giving His life a ransom for many, but how does that translate into business?

In truth, I would suggest you answer that for your business, but I will share my perspective here…

The word translated as slave is “doulos“. In the ancient world there was a difference between a servant and a slave. They were not the same thing. In ancient times, a doulos was a person under another’s authority—legally owned or bound in service. Sometimes individuals sold themselves into service to pay off debt or secure protection. This arrangement made them a doulos, subject to the master’s will.

A diakonos (servant) still retained personal autonomy and had specific, recognized responsibilities. They served, but were not “owned” by anyone. A doulos (slave), had virtually no rights and owed absolute obedience to their master. In today’s context, I believe doulos is about complete submission to Christ, and diakonos is more about the action of serving others.

Here’s how I apply “doulos” in business…

I am not a slave to any man.

I’ve been bought with a price by the blood of Jesus. He owns me, lock stock and barrel. So, while in business serving my clients, He sometimes gives me uncomfortable directives.

For example, when I was invited to another country to train the sales force of a multi-national life insurance company, I was instructed to not give any Biblical references. When I asked the Lord about that, He told me that He wanted to start a fire in that country.

By that, I understood that He wanted me to give an invitation for the sales team to receive Christ at the conclusion of my training. Even though the company president was a Christian man, he found that idea to be completely out of the norm, but agreed to let me do so.

I did my training in two different locations on two different days in two different countries to a total of about 75 sales reps. At the end of each training, I shared a powerful illustration and gave a simple invitation. In both cases, instead of maybe one or two responding, the entire sales team came forward to pray with me, one-on-one, as the president sat on the front row and wept.

I knew this was against all business norms and protocols, but I am a “doulos“. I know Who owns me. I endeavor to hear His voice and follow His every directive while serving as a “diakonos” to my clients. I have many, many stories like this. I should probably put them all in a book.

If you want to learn Biblical strategies for succeeding in business and life, I encourage you to check out the Jesus School of Business. Hundreds have joined. Maybe you should too.

If you have a business with a few employees and would like to experience a high level of diakonos from me or my team (who know assuredly they are a doulos serving at His pleasure for your highest good), by all means email me at mpink@michaelpink.com and let’s chat.

I’d love to hear how YOU can apply both diakonos and doulos in business to demonstrate and achieve greatness in your field of work, so feel free to drop a comment below.

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