March 11, 2026

Business by the Book

James 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:

James gives us the essence of business …buy and sell, and get gain. It is as simple as that. Someone once said, “Making a million dollars is easy, buy a quantity of flour for one dollar, sell it for two dollars, and do that a million times.”  

The fictitious duo of Bubba and Winston decided to go into the watermelon business. They bought a truck load of watermelons for $100 and sold them for $75. After a while Bubba said to Winston, “Something is wrong; we are losing money.”  Winston responded, “Yeah, I know, been thinking about that. What we need to do is get a bigger truck.”   Bubba and Winston were breaking a foundational law of business by selling their products for less than they cost.

In the complex world of commerce today the actual cost of an item is sometimes difficult to calculate. Cost accounting is a branch of accounting that few are drawn to and in which even fewer are skilled. Obtaining the true cost of products or services is elusive and very much overlooked. Therefore at the end of the accounting period some businesses are no more successful than Bubba and Winston’s watermelon business.

In context James is bringing his readers to the point of having God’s direction in business decisions, but in doing so he states a formula that is so simple it is usually overlooked. …buy and sell, and get gain. This is what business is all about unless the business is a “non-profit” type of organization like a church, social aide program, or some other legal not for profit business endeavor.

When considering your business there are many issues that need to be understood, but none are more basic than the need to …buy and sell, and get gain. Keep this formula in proper proportion and the business will succeed. Violate this formula and nothing will help, not even getting a bigger truck so that you can sell more.

Dr. William Howe