Generosity is a virtue. It is widely held that Christians with resources have a moral obligation to give away some portion of their bounty, but our moral obligation also extends to how we make our money. We should be concerned with the giving we can do with our money at the end, once our wealth has been amassed. We should also be concerned with doing good each step along the way. The way that we live our lives is just as important as the ideas we espouse or the causes we support. And the way we make our money is just as important as what we do with our money.
What Is Poisoned Profit?
I can’t navigate these questions without thinking of my dad’s oldest brother C.M. Mammen. His life casts a long shadow over my family. Though he’s my uncle, because he was twenty years older than my dad, I called him Veliyapappa (granddad). Veliyapappa was a civil engineer, and when he was young, the whole family struggled for basic survival.
Around the time that my dad was just a boy, Veliyapappa and my dad’s older siblings found my Appacha (grandfather) in his bed late one evening, crying because of how hungry all his children were, and he didn’t have anything to give them. So, when a government job came open in the north in Amlai City, Veliyapappa went. He hated being so far from his wife and four children, but they—along with his parents and seven siblings—needed money.
As Veliyapappa moved up the ladder, he began to understand how everything worked via bribes. Nothing moved forward without someone sliding rupees under the table. Worse, the higher-ups expected managers to create fraudulent expenses that they could bill to clients and skim the extra to pad their own pockets.
When Veliyapappa asked questions, everyone shrugged. “This is just how it works,” they said. “How it’s always worked. You can’t change anything. Accept it.” But my uncle couldn’t do that. Core truths guided his life, and for him, his job represented more than merely a way to make money. His work was integral to who he was and to how he wanted to live in the world.
Why the Way We Earn Matters to God
His work was part of how he thought he was supposed to make the world better. He refused to profit from dishonesty. He would not accept ill-gotten gain. So instead of putting his head down and securing his future, he resigned. My uncle had no prospects and no idea how he’d put food on the table, but he did know that his work, no matter how lucrative, had to be honest. Surrendering his values for a paycheck was too high a price.
“You’re foolish,” his co-workers told him when he turned in his resignation. “You’re a fool.”
He did pay a high price. For several years, as Veliyapappa tried to start over at a paper company, his family suffered. Many nights, they went to bed with empty stomachs, uncertain if the next day would be any different. However, their home overflowed with love and joy.
Veliyapappa had his integrity, and he woke each morning, knowing that he was giving his life to something honorable and that his work mattered in the right way and for the right things. My uncle believed that his work itself had to have integrity and insisted that it had to do good. And most importantly, he trusted God to be their provider.
As a founder of Eventide Asset Management, I often think about this legacy of sacrifice from my family. It motivates me and fills me with a desire to live up to their integrity. Often, when I’m in a meeting poring over businesses we’re considering for investment, I think about Veliyapappa. Is this a business that Veliyapappa would be proud to work at? Would this business be worthy of Veliyapappa’s commitment to truth and goodness?
Poisoned Profit in the Bible
God leaves no ambiguity here. He wants nothing to do with this false brand of generosity. Poisoned profit, even if it is supposedly put to good use, is considered by God to be hypocrisy, a farce.
The prophet Moses’ words from Deuteronomy are stark: “You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of male prostitute into the house of the LORD your God to pay any vow, because the LORD your God detests them both” (both refers to the profits, not the people).[1] As Christians, we discover that genuine love for our neighbor, which requires resisting evil and injustice, is more important than profit.
Integrity as Worship
When Christians shun poisoned profits, they can create new opportunities to exercise greater collective power for good. It’s easy for companies to turn a blind eye to greed and injustice if doing so doesn’t cost them. But together, Christian investors can make it cost – this is how power works in the financial markets. Investing is one of our most potent opportunities to put our faith and values into concrete action right now.
Choosing Righteous Gain Over Poisoned Profit
Investing is a way that we proclaim a fierce, unflinching no to evil, no to violence, and no to all the dehumanizing forces that we worry over but often think we have little power to resist. We can resist evil by investing wisely, living generously, and doing good each step along the way
This communication is provided for informational purposes only and expresses views of Eventide Asset Management, LLC (“Eventide”), an investment adviser, and Robin John, Eventide’s CEO. This communication does not constitute investment advice nor is it a recommendation or offer to purchase or sell or a solicitation to deal in any security or financial product. Eventide does not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. Eventide’s values-based approach to investing may not produce desired results and could result in underperformance compared with other investments. There is no guarantee that any investment will achieve its objectives, generate positive returns, or avoid losses.
[1] Deuteronomy 23:18 (NIV).
Robin C. John is the author of The Good Investor: How Your Work Can Confront Injustice, Love Your Neighbor, and Bring Healing to the World. He is the co-founder and CEO of Eventide Asset Management LLC, an asset management firm dedicated to honoring God by investing in companies that create compelling value for the common good.
This article is adapted from The Good Investor © 2025 Robin C. John. Used by permission. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.
