Christian Business Builder

I am working on a new set of videos that will be out shortly. In these videos I will be trying to answer the most common questions Christian entrepreneurs ask about starting a business of their own as well as what they should be asking.

I hope you will find these short videos both enlightening as well as motivating. You see, I don’t think that Christians can be “salt and light” without being engaged in our world. This means that we cannot shrink from our responsibilities in/to society. It also means that we must declare God’s glory in every area of our lives which includes our business/profession.

To be a Christian Business Builder necessarily requires you to be a Christian first and a business owner second. My hope is that this video series will help you understand this idea more fully.

I will keep you up to date on its release.

Talk more later ….

PS - If you have any questions you would like to have an answer to, just leave a comment and I will attempt to answer it in a future video.

OK - so now we have looked at Proverbs 3:5-10, one of the most familiar passages in all the scripture. We have looked at it as it applies to the establishment of a biblically successful business. What I would like to do here is to put all that we have learned into a short and very practical approach to business success.

1. God needs to be in control. When we look to ourselves for anything we, as Christians, limit our abilities to succeed.
2. We need to acknowledge God’s involvement in our business. I once read a book about a Christian man who ran a plastics company in Ohio. He created a one page testimony of his salvation and placed that one page testimony in every box shipped from his plant. He didn’t try to “cram” his religion down the throats of those he sold to, but he did acknowledge God and his place in his life to every customer.
3. We need to remember that when God blesses our business with success we need to consider him a worthwhile partner and honor him with our substance. God’s work needs to be funded at rates far in excess of the tithe. If we give to God first, he will be inclined to make our businesses more successful and more prosperous.

God really does want to bless his people. The book of Proverbs is full of passages that speak to this desire. If we would simply pay attention to them all (not just the one’s that speak to our desires), God will bless and we will be successful!

Talk more later ….

Well, we are finally coming to the end of this series. It has taken me longer to get it out than I anticipated, but life has a way of slowing the process. This is a lesson in the success process as well. (But I digress)

Today I want to turn your attention to the seventh step in the Biblical pattern of success. Note Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

God’s word is pretty clear here. It reminds us that we need to remember that our business is merely an extension of our relationship with the Lord and as such we should share in the rewards with him. God does not need the money, but the use of that which we gain through our business efforts for the greater good of the kingdom reaps eternal benefits that would not otherwise be accomplished.

Remember that throughout the scriptures the tithe belongs to the Lord. In Malachi 3 we are told that those who rob God are those who forgo both the tithe and offerings (those things not required by command). In the New Testament, Paul tells the church at Corinth that their giving testified of the sincerity of their love for God.

Generosity and a willingness to bless others ought to be the hallmark of every Christian business. As I write that I am reminded of the parable of the rich man who tore down is barns to make bigger barns so that he could store, keep, and use for himself the bountiful crop given him by God’s grace. His unwillingness to share his abundance caused God to call him a “fool” and to bring his life to an abrupt end.

On the other hand, God promises in Proverbs 3:10, that if we learn the lesson of generosity, given through our honouring of the Lord, our barns will be full and our press will overflow with new wine. One caveat I would make: Remember that God knows your heart. You may look like you are honouring God to me, but God knows if you are real or are just show.

In my next article, I will try to pull all this together and bring some concluding thoughts. As always your comments are appreciated.

Talk more later ….