The Moral End of Business: Virtue Beyond Acquisition

There is gold, and a multitude of rubies.—Proverbs 20:15

The moral end of business transcends mere acquisition. We must distinguish between the purpose for which property is sought and the moral purpose answered by the process itself. Business—barter and commerce—exists not simply for sustenance, which the animal races obtain by easier means. For man, there exists a higher end: moral culture.

All things were made and ordained by Providence for a design extending beyond themselves. The inanimate creation serves the welfare of living creatures, particularly the intelligent creation. Yet human welfare lies essentially in moral development. We are not appointed to pass through this life barely that we may live, nor impelled to buy and sell merely that we may do so. There exists an end in business beyond supply; an object in the acquisition of wealth beyond success. The final cause of human traffic is virtue itself.

This doctrine aligns with elevated philosophy and true religion: life is a probation. Business constitutes a vital part of that probation—a school wherein lessons must be learned. The end of a lesson is that truth, rectitude, and virtue be acquired and practiced. Therefore, every transaction, every exchange, every negotiation serves the Adonai's design for moral character. Gold and rubies pale before the riches of a conscience refined through righteous conduct.