In Genesis, we find the origins of human organization: work and society. Humans are created with the divine mandate to multiply in number, have dominion over the earth, engage in work using the resources of the earth, and to do all of this in community with others. The capacity for meaningful work is a part of creation itself. God called this human organization that He created “good” because it is a reflection of his own nature as a active creator. Mankind was also created as an inherently social creature. It was not just the single individual in isolation given “dominion” over the earth, but the family unit, and, by implication, society itself. Working in community with others is an integral part of what it means to be a human being.
Therefore, human organizations are not merely human constructs. The concept of ‘organization’ is not something mankind invented nor is ‘organization’ a merely impersonal structure useful for little more than accomplishing certain tasks. Organization (and organizations) are an indispensable part of the fabric of human life. And no domain of life is unaffected by some form of social organization, be it family, political, business, or cultural. Human organization reflects the community and order found in God himself. Creative collaboration, growth, productivity, and creation of wealth/resources are all a part of divine creation and purpose.
Genesis 1-3 gives us the profound truth that organizational identity is ultimately rooted in the transcendent nature of God himself. There is more to the identity of an organization than merely a collection of bodies. The Bible speaks of a unity in plurality, a BODY made up of many parts (1 Cor. 12:12-31) and treats the BODY as if it is something discernibly different than just the collection of people (Eph. 4:16). The exact nature of this entity is perhaps elusive, but it nonetheless is a prominent fact in the biblical text. There is a completeness to the human person when connected in relationship to others (Zizioulas, 1997); i.e., to be a person means to be in relationship with others. This is the essence of any organization: a network of people interacting in intentional and purposeful ways. Because humans themselves are created for community, any organization, however small, is something profoundly more than just the sum of its parts.
Organizations — because they are human creatures made in the image of God — become dysfunctional or destructive when they attempt to establish their organizational identity and engage in their own purposes with no regard for the person of God. Organizations, like individual people, begin to drift, decay, or atrophy when they disconnect from the divine purposes of human organization and activity.
The creative origin of human community means that human activity is intended to be a) collaborative, b) productive, c) good, d) sustaining, and e) related to the management of natural resources. An organization is free to experience its full purpose and success when the people (both leaders and followers) who make up that organization seek to corporately live out those activities in light of a harmonious relationship with God the Creator. Organizations rooted in a biblical worldview can more fully nurture the significance of its work, the stewardship of its resources, and the spiritual, economic, physical, and social welfare of its people.
