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Business is built on transactions.

Customers exchange money for products and services. Employers exchange compensation for labor. Vendors negotiate prices. Lenders assess risk. Managers allocate resources. Companies compete for market share. In every case, numbers matter. Contracts matter. Profit matters. Efficiency matters.

But Christians in business are called to remember something equally important:聽there is a person on the other side of every transaction.

That person is not merely a customer, employee, borrower, vendor, competitor or account number. That person is a neighbor.

Jesus summarized our responsibility toward others simply: 鈥淲hatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them鈥� (Matthew 7:12). We know it as the Golden Rule. Elsewhere, when asked, 鈥淎nd who is my neighbor?鈥� Jesus answered with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29鈥�37).

The implication is uncomfortable because Jesus does not allow us to define 鈥渘eighbor鈥� only as the people we like, understand or find convenient.

That has enormous implications for business.

When the Transaction Gets Difficult

It is easy to talk about serving customers when customers are pleasant.

The Golden Rule matters more when the customer is angry.

It is easy to value an employee when that employee is exceeding expectations.

The Golden Rule becomes more revealing when an employee makes a mistake.

It is easy to maintain a good relationship with a business partner when both parties benefit.

What happens when the relationship becomes adversarial?

The marketplace regularly places people in situations where one party possesses more information, more money, more leverage or more power than the other. Ethical business requires more than asking, 鈥淲hat am I legally permitted to do?鈥� Christian business practice introduces another question:

How would I want to be treated if I were sitting on the other side of this transaction?

A memorable example comes from the relationship between Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner.

Wagoner played a critical role in Parton鈥檚 early career. She joined聽The Porter Wagoner Show聽in 1967, gaining exposure to millions of viewers and building the foundation for what became one of the most successful careers in entertainment.

Their professional relationship eventually deteriorated. Parton left the show in 1974 to pursue a solo career, and several years later Wagoner sued her for millions of dollars over contractual and financial claims. The lawsuit was eventually settled for approximately $1 million.

Then their circumstances reversed.

By the early 1980s, Wagoner was struggling financially. His television program had ended, his relationship with RCA had concluded, investments had gone badly, and he faced substantial tax obligations.

Parton, meanwhile, had become enormously successful.

She later explained that when she learned Wagoner needed money, she decided one way to help was to purchase his publishing interests. Wagoner received badly needed cash, while Parton acquired a legitimate income-producing asset.

From a business perspective, nothing about that transaction was necessarily charitable.

Wagoner received liquidity. Parton received copyrights capable of producing future royalties. She could profit from the purchase, and by Wagoner鈥檚 own later account, she did.

That makes what happened decades later more significant.

Wagoner eventually approached Parton and asked to have the songs back. He offered to repay what she had originally paid him.

Parton could have accepted his money. She could have negotiated the current market value of the assets. She could simply have kept property that legally belonged to her.

Instead, Wagoner recalled that Parton wrote to him saying he would pay her nothing because the songs were his and that she was giving them back free of charge.

Wagoner鈥檚 response was simple: 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 Dolly Parton.鈥�

Business Is Full of Moments Like That

Most of us will never negotiate ownership of a music catalog worth substantial sums of money.

But the underlying decision appears every day.

A customer misunderstands a policy. Do we hide behind the fine print simply because we can?

An employee makes an honest mistake. Do we embarrass the person, or do we correct the problem while preserving dignity?

A vendor is desperate for our business. Do we use our leverage to squeeze every possible dollar from the relationship, or do we negotiate firmly and fairly?

A competitor experiences difficulty. Do we celebrate the opportunity, or do we remember that competition does not eliminate neighborliness?

A salesperson realizes the more profitable product is not actually the best solution for the customer. Which one gets recommended?

The Golden Rule does not mean ignoring financial realities. Businesses must earn revenue, manage expenses, enforce contracts and make difficult decisions. A company that consistently loses money will eventually lose its ability to serve anyone.

Christian ethics do not require poor business judgment.

They do require us to remember that聽profit is not the only category by which a decision can be evaluated.

Sometimes the question is not merely, 鈥淲hat can I get from this transaction?鈥�

Sometimes it is, 鈥淲hat does love of neighbor require of me within this transaction?鈥�

More Than a Customer-Service Strategy

There is also a danger in treating the Golden Rule merely as another business technique.

Treating customers well often improves customer retention.

Generosity can strengthen a company鈥檚 reputation.

Ethical leadership may improve employee engagement.

Trust can produce long-term profitability.

All of those things are good.

But for the Christian, they cannot be the primary reason for treating people well.

We do not love our neighbor because it improves the quarterly report.

We love our neighbor because Christ told us that our neighbor matters.

I asked several FHU alumni working in business and nonprofit leadership what living out the Golden Rule looks like in their own work.

Sid Gray, Director of Finance and Administration for Hope for Haiti鈥檚 Children, put it plainly: 鈥淚f our customers are our neighbors, we are to treat them as we want to be treated. We are to love them as we love ourselves.鈥�

Jonathan Pettus, Senior Director of Customer Experience at American Residential Services, described his responsibility as seeing every customer and coworker as a fellow image-bearer鈥攕omeone who may be carrying burdens he knows nothing about.

Robbie Mackenzie, Lending Director at The Credit Union for Robertson County, added an important distinction: Christian service is not a strategy for earning recognition, advancement or God鈥檚 approval. 鈥淲e serve because we have already received mercy.鈥�

That may be the most important distinction of all.

Christian business practice begins not with the desire to appear virtuous but with the recognition that we ourselves have received grace.

Grace received becomes grace extended.

Everyone Is My Neighbor

The Golden Rule does not ask businesspeople to ignore reality.

It helps define reality.

The customer is my neighbor.

The employee is my neighbor.

The person sitting across the negotiating table is my neighbor.

The difficult client is my neighbor.

Even the person with whom a business relationship has gone badly remains my neighbor.

The marketplace tells us what something is worth.

Contracts tell us what we are entitled to receive.

Financial statements tell us whether the business is healthy.

But Christ reminds us who is standing on the other side of the transaction.

Everyone is my neighbor.