The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant

The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant: Principles for Successful Living was an excellent read. The story is set in historic Italy, one of my favorite settings for a book. But the most important parts about this book are the timeless principles.

The narration is a grandfather who has been a successful businessman reading through his journal to his grandson. The grandfather describes his meetings with his mentor every three years and the principles that his mentor taught him. He also covers the important events in his life that helped teach him those principles.

This book covers everything from faith to finances to relationships. It describes how to handle money responsibly for God, using His principles. It guides readers on how to handle money with family. It points out that wealth is not a bad thing, and how it can be used for the good of God and others. The principles of hard work and dedication are all throughout this story.

My only warning is that I believe Christians should study God's Word separately from the book. Some blanket principles are given for all based on a single verses without context (verses are referenced in the back of the book). Most, if not all, of the principles are very good to adopt and follow, but may not be perfect for all and I'm not certain that God meant for it to be exactly as the book states.
For example, Principle Seven is “Be meek before God, but bold before men.” The author uses Matthew 5:5 “the meek will inherit the Earth” as his foundation that we should be meek before God, but gives no reference as to where God says we should always be bold before men. In studying God's word, even the same chapter in Matthew, one can read “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39) That verse is not exactly telling people to be bold towards others. It is another example where God calls us to be meek. This principles is given as a business principle and I'm not saying that we should never be bold. But this is an example of one of the principles where I think readers need to understand the full context of the Bible when determining where God would prefer they be bold vs meek. I believe there may be a few other cases in the principles given in this book that I would recommend readers think for themselves about. Just don't take what this book says about the Gospel as the Gospel.

Aside from warning others to make their own interpretations of God's Word based on their own studies and counsel from their Christian leaders, I believe this book provides many excellent principles and I would highly recommend it. The story is also an enjoyable one to follow.