The Spiritual Art of Business: Connecting the Daily with the Divine by Barry L. Rowan. IVP. 164 pages. 2023
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The author of this book has been a successful executive in several organizations. These forty short chapters and reflections are designed for those who seek meaning and peace even as they are called to live and work in the harshness of this world. The author tells us that this is a different kind of a book from most others we have read—it is intended not so much to be read as to be experienced. The book is an invitation into a conversation with God about things that matter. Each chapter includes stories and insights from the author’s pursuit of meaning in work and in life. Each chapter concludes with helpful reflection questions.

The book is organized into four parts:
PART 1 – Surrendered: Discovering Freedom in Submission to Jesus
PART 2 – Transformed: Learning New Ways of Thinking and Being
PART 3 – Realigned: Bringing Meaning to Our Work
PART 4 – Sent: Fulfilling God’s Will in the World

Among the many topics touched on in the book are humility, belief, trust, freedom, joy, fear, pride, contentment, time, relationships, achievement, competitiveness, stewardship, the divine design, reconciliation, shalom, abiding, money, the poor and eternity.

This book can be read as you would a standard book, or you could choose to read one chapter a day and work through the reflection questions. You could also read and discuss the book with others, using the free discussion guide available at the author’s website.

Here are fifteen of my favorite quotes from the book:

• God uses our work to do his work in us. And as we are transformed by him, he will transform the world through us.
• As we exchange our own plans for the plans of our Lord, it opens our eyes to see and pursue his call for our lives.
• Surrender is a lifelong process that continues its work until it has worked its way into every moment, every decision, and every action we undertake.
• The most radical way of living is in complete submission to God.
• The many hours we will work in our lifetime make our work one of the best places for the Master Teacher to do his work in us.
• My time is not my time. Like everything else in the universe, our time is under the lordship of Christ.
• The purpose of a to-do list is to prayerfully prepare our priorities so that at the end of a day, a year, or a lifetime, we can affirmatively answer the question Did I spend my time the way God wanted me to spend my time?
• There are no perfect jobs; there is only a perfect God. Our call is to express this perfect God in the work we are called to do, however imperfectly we might do it.
• Our view of life shapes our view of work, and we will never find meaning in our work until we properly understand the source of purpose in our life.
• Our call is to bring all of who we are to every moment of our lives.
• We can bring a life-giving or a life-draining perspective to any job. One inspires us; the other tires us.
• We don’t derive meaning from our work. Rather, we bring meaning to our work.
• Our greatest fulfillment comes from serving others—in all parts of our lives, including our business lives.
• I believe the greatest compliment that can be paid to a teacher is seeing those they teach become better than their teacher.
• God uses our work to do his work in us. And as we are transformed by him, he will transform the world through us.