February 27, 2021 | St. John’s, Antigua | Krista Moore
In Part 1 of Biblical Principles for the Entrepreneur, four of seven principles were highlighted. These included: God Should Be First, Understand You are a Steward and Not the Owner, Trust God, and Be Diligent. Part 2 will now address the remaining principles.
5. Lead with Integrity and Fairness
Ellen G. White, in the book, Education (pg. 57), posits, “The greatest want of the world is the want of men–men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.” Christian entrepreneurs are expected to conduct business with integrity and fairness. Fairness is a biblical principle that will improve business relations with employees, co-workers and clients. In Luke 6:31 (NIV), the Bible states, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” In all circumstances, the Christian entrepreneur has a duty to demonstrate honesty and integrity in the conduct of business affairs. Integrity is about Christ-centered living. The organization with integrity will make its business decisions based on the standards and principles of God. Standards that include righteousness, truth and honesty.
6. Team Selection is Important
Finding the right people to work in an organization is essential to business success. Paul’s advice in 2 Timothy 2:2 (NIV) states, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” Paul recognized the importance of identifying the right talent and developing an organizational culture that engenders business success. It is of utmost importance that every company hires reliable and faithful men and women to ensure business success.
The model organizational leader, Jesus Christ, is another example of a leader who recognized the importance of having the right team to support Him in His work. In Mark 3: 13-15, Jesus chose His 12 disciples. Jesus built a team that would support Him and work with Him to establish God’s Kingdom on Earth. He chose them carefully, ensuring they had the right attitude and would understand Him and His purpose on earth. Entrepreneurs have a spiritual responsibility to hire individuals that have the right attitude, and who believe in the business’ idea. This is important to ensure cohesiveness as all work together for a common purpose.
7. As You are Blessed, Bless Others
An important aspect of the biblical view of entrepreneurship is that the entrepreneur must recognize that God blesses the business, not only for its own benefit, but for the benefit of others. In 1 Peter 4:10, the Bible says that each person should use his/her gifts to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace. God places the entrepreneur in a position to receive bountiful blessings so that assistance may come to those less fortunate. Proverbs 3:9-10 (NIV) says this: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” The Bible also says, in Proverbs 3:28 (NIV), that individuals should not turn away their neighbor who is in need by saying, “’Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you’, when you already have it with you”. God is blessing the entrepreneur so that he/she can share the blessings with those in need.
Conclusion
The Christian entrepreneur can today claim the promise in Genesis 12:2 (NKJV), “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing”. What a witness a Christian entrepreneur can be, leading others to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!