In the context of the Bible, the concept of "customers" as we understand it today—individuals who purchase goods or services from a business—does not appear explicitly. However, the principles governing interactions between buyers and sellers can be gleaned from various passages that address commerce, trade, and ethical conduct in business.

Biblical Principles of Commerce

The Bible provides numerous guidelines for ethical behavior in commerce, which can be applied to the relationship between sellers and their customers. Honesty and integrity are paramount in all transactions. Proverbs 11:1 states, "Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight." This verse underscores the importance of fairness and honesty in trade, ensuring that customers are treated justly.

Fair Treatment and Justice

The Bible emphasizes the need for justice and fair treatment in all dealings, including those with customers. Leviticus 19:35-36 instructs, "You must not use dishonest measures of length, weight, or volume. You shall maintain honest scales and weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt." This commandment highlights the expectation that sellers maintain integrity in their transactions, ensuring that customers receive what they are promised.

Love and Service

The New Testament expands on the Old Testament's ethical teachings by emphasizing love and service to others, which can be extended to customer relations. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus teaches, "In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets." This principle, often referred to as the Golden Rule, encourages sellers to treat customers with the same respect and fairness they would desire.

Warnings Against Greed

The Bible also warns against greed and the exploitation of customers for personal gain. In Proverbs 28:8, it is written, "He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor." This verse cautions against unjust practices that take advantage of customers, advocating instead for generosity and kindness.

The Role of Wealth

While the Bible does not condemn wealth itself, it warns against the love of money and the potential for it to lead to unethical behavior. 1 Timothy 6:10 states, "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." This serves as a reminder to those in business to prioritize ethical conduct over the pursuit of profit.

Conclusion

While the Bible does not directly address the modern concept of customers, its teachings on honesty, justice, love, and the ethical use of wealth provide a framework for understanding how Christians are to conduct themselves in business relationships. By adhering to these principles, sellers can ensure that their interactions with customers reflect the values of their faith.5503. sachar -- to go around or about, travel about
... root Definition to go around or about, travel about NASB Word Usage commercial
(1), customer (3), customers (2), merchant (1), merchants (6), roving about (1 ...
/hebrew/5503.htm - 6k

Prayers Answered
... sister and the assistant in the store, seemed, notwithstanding the earliness of
the hour, to have full as much as they could do in serving customers and making ...
//christianbookshelf.org/various/the wonders of prayer/prayers answered.htm

From John Yeardley's Conversion to the Commencement of his Public ...
... At Blacker it was John's business to ride into Barnsley daily on a pony, with two
barrels of milk to distribute to the customers of his mother's dairy. ...
/.../chapter i from john yeardleys.htm

Honorable Submission
... It seemed as though I made good as a waiter, judging by the coins which the customers,
began to forget, beneath their plates, in leaving the table, some call ...
/.../chapter viii honorable submission.htm

The Races --A Letter
... creaked hither across the sea to Martinique, and was now making the round of the
islands, and a very profitable round, to judge from the number of its customers ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/at last/chapter xv the racesa letter.htm

Talking in Salesmanship
... The salesman should know when to speak and when to be silent. Some customers
wish to be told much, others prefer to think for themselves. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kleiser/talks on talking/talking in salesmanship.htm

Godly Fear and Its Goodly Consequence
... if by being religious they could be introduced into respectable society"if by being
religious they would bring some excellent religious customers to their ...
/.../spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/godly fear and its goodly.htm

Pursues the Same Matter.
... his Spiritual children, to make known what a great Workman he is; it turns away
the Envy of other Masters and Teachers, and the procuring more Customers to his ...
/.../the spiritual guide which disentangles the soul/chap viii pursues the same.htm

To the Rev. A. Brandram
... The shop opened yesterday, and several Testaments have been sold, but three parts
of the customers departed on finding that only the New Testament was to be ...
/.../borrow/letters of george borrow/to the rev a brandram 33.htm

A Notice of Aetius, Eunomius' Master in Heresy, and of Eunomius ...
... had imparted to its surface; she was deceived by this for a time, for he was clever
enough in the tinker's, as in other, arts to mislead his customers with the ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/section 6 a notice of.htm

A Sermon on a Text not Found in the Bible.
... places see the sin of it. If there are no customers, there will be soon a
closing of their doors. We call upon all Grocers, Butchers ...
//christianbookshelf.org/champness/broken bread/xli a sermon on a.htm

Customers (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Customers (2 Occurrences). Ezekiel 27:15 The
men of Dedan were your traffickers; many islands were the ...
/c/customers.htm - 6k

Drum
... 13. (vi) To throb, as the heart. 14. (vi) To go about, as a drummer does, to gather
recruits, to draw or secure partisans, customers, etc,; -- with for. 15. ...
/d/drum.htm - 9k

Customer (3 Occurrences)
... a purchaser; a buyer. 3. (n.) A person with whom a business house has
dealings; as, the customers of a bank. 4. (n.) A peculiar ...
/c/customer.htm - 7k

Show (1340 Occurrences)
... often with an indirect object denoting the person or thing seeing or beholding;
as, to show a house; show your colors; shopkeepers show customers goods (show ...
/s/show.htm - 12k

Customs (25 Occurrences)

/c/customs.htm - 14k

Trust (201 Occurrences)
... (n.) To give credit to; to sell to upon credit, or in confidence of future payment;
as, merchants and manufacturers trust their customers annually with goods. ...
/t/trust.htm - 38k

Rope (10 Occurrences)
... 8. (vt) To lasso (a steer, horse). 9. (vt) To draw, as with a rope; to entice;
to inveigle; to decoy; as, to rope in customers or voters. 10. ...
/r/rope.htm - 11k

Post (26 Occurrences)
... house. 3. (n.) The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were
chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt. 4 ...
/p/post.htm - 19k

Passover (81 Occurrences)
... eating the Passover lamb. Booths for wine, oil, salt, and all else needed
for sacrifices invited customers. Persons going to and ...
/p/passover.htm - 58k

Bar (27 Occurrences)
... 11. (n.) A barrier or counter, over which liquors and food are passed to customers;
hence, the portion of the room behind the counter where liquors for sale ...
/b/bar.htm - 21k

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