If you are a Christian woman in business, you may have felt called into business because God planted a thought in your head of something you wanted to do that would not leave. I was like that, and probably that’s how most of us got started. We all have many different reasons that we are in business. Here are some of the more common reasons for starting a business:
- Following your passion
- Taking control of your schedule
- Being more creative
- Making more money
- Getting out of the corporate environment
You may have felt a calling. You know that pull on our hearts to step out and do something for God and help other people. We may have thought, “this is what God wants, so He is going to bless it.” And for many of us, that meant He would bless it financially.
Measuring Success
How do you measure success in your business? As a businesswoman, many of us count and need to measure these ROIs:
- Gaining a certain number of new clients a month
- Meeting your financial goals each week/month
- Checking off tasks completed
- Meeting new connections
Is what the Bible Says About Success In Business the same as our ROIs, or is there a different reason God has for us to be in business?
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The Reasons To Be In Business – My Story
As an educator and trained teacher by trade, I always had a part-time teaching business that paid for my girls’ piano lessons and dance classes. At first, I was content making extra money that I needed to support my family, and I was happy to be working in my “zone.”
Then God allowed me to make more money through a sales company, and I was all in! For a while, I was in it for the money and the recognition.
But as you know, God has a way of changing us, right?
God Changes Us On Our Journey
I was thinking about who could use the products I was selling and who had the money to buy my products. So, I decided that Christian Businesswomen would be my target audience. Although, at first, this was my idea of a great marketing tactic, little did I know that God was orchestrating who my IDEAL CLIENTS were going to be and why He had me go into business.
To provide a place where I was sure my IDEAL CLIENTS would be hanging out to ‘sell’ my products, I started a networking and mastermind group for Christian Businesswomen. As we gathered, I heard them express how much guilt they placed on themselves about not showing up ‘serving God’ because they couldn’t get to church. They are too busy with work and family obligations to volunteer at church.
Listening to the guilt, these women carried on their shoulders honestly broke my heart. I wanted these women to see that they were serving God by running their businesses with integrity and excellence. I want you to see that too.
Shifting and Stepping Into God’s Plan
Soon my idea of business success began to shift, and I started to step into God’s plan for success. My focus wasn’t on how much money I could make. Instead, I shifted to doing what the Bible says about success.
So what does the Bible say about success in business, and how does God measure success? Well, He measures it in obedience. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells us what to do.
“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
What the Bible says about business success is about being obedient and making disciples. The significant part that shifted and changed for me was that we, as Christian women in business, get to do what Jesus told us to do via our businesses.
Shocking, I know.
God is building your character through your business. He is making you more like His Son, transforming you, and He wants you to duplicate yourself by making more disciples. That’s the God-centered business He desires for you.
Leading Your Business With Godly Wisdom
What does that look like for you and me as we work with Godly wisdom in our daily businesses?
In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter calls us Royal Priests.
“They (those who reject Jesus) stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
The author Darren Shearer breaks this down by saying that you have two different ways to lead in your business as a royal priest. First, as a royal, you have the responsibility to provide for and to protect. Second, as a priest, you have the responsibility to sacrifice and to proclaim.
These are the four things that are lived out in your business when you are doing it in God’s way. These are things you do for your clients, business partners, team members, and others in your sphere of influence.
As A Royal Priest, You Provide and Protect
As a royal priest, you have a responsibility to provide for your people. Here are just some ways you can provide through your business:
- Giving more value than is expected.
- Using your spiritual gifts, which are Spirit infused, to help others.
- Creating collaborations.
- Offering opportunities for others to grow themselves.
As a royal priest, you have a responsibility to protect your people. Here are just some ways you can protect your people in your business:
- Praying for them.
- Making wise choices about the type of help they need.
- Affirming them and encouraging them through your words.
- Speaking God’s Truth to them, so they have correct, biblical thinking.
As A Royal Priest, You Sacrifice and Proclaim
As a royal priest, you have a responsibility to sacrifice for your people. Here are just some ways you can sacrifice through your business:
- Forgive a payment that is due.
- Give extra time to someone.
- Give up selfish ambition for God’s calling to help others.
As a royal priest, you have a responsibility to proclaim for your people. Here are just some ways you can proclaim through your business:
- Conducting business with transparency.
- Modeling integrity and making wise choices.
- By being in a relationship with unbelievers for the opportunity to share the gospel.
- You simply show God’s goodness.
How do you feel about this shift in the way of thinking about your business? Is your mind beginning to shift?
Live out God’s reason for your business
So now we know What The Bible Says About Success In Business and how to live in obedience through our businesses, but how do we start making disciples?
We go back to what Jesus said in Matthew 28. This mandate of Jesus has been called the Great Commission. And, we each have a personal Great Commission.
This is NOT about standing on a street corner and preaching. It IS about living your godly life in front of everyone in the marketplace. That means being intentional with your words and your actions.
Simple Technique To Help You Make Disciples
Three steps, three words: Pray, Friend and Share
Pray
Ask God to show you the five people in your life who need to know Jesus. Then, begin to pray for these five people. They could be your clients, your business colleagues, your networking partners, etc. Who are the five in your sphere of influence that you see/talk to frequently? Just start praying for them.
Friend
Start a relationship or deepen one with one or two of these people. It could be a simple lunch invitation, a one-on-one coffee meeting, or a social event invite. Start to find out about that person’s life and become a true friend over time.
Share
As the opportunity arises, tell your story about being in a relationship with Jesus. You may be the only ‘Jesus’ this person ever sees. By building the friendship, you have gained the opportunity to share your story. Jesus IS the Good News. You want your friend to know.
Living Out The Great Commission
Imagine what the business world would look like filled with Godly wisdom! Each believer is living out the Great Commission and leading with provision, protection, sacrifice, and proclamation as the reason they are in business.
Imagine what your business can look like when you follow God’s reason for business by taking these responsibilities seriously and obeying God.
Galatians 6:4-5 tell us this, Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
That’s what God wants for you, satisfaction in a job well done. He gives that to you when you obey Him. This shift in the reason you are in business also translates into a shift in the FOCUS of your business.
God is not asking you to do more, so you can make more money so that you can give Him more. He doesn’t need your money. Instead, he is asking for your total focus to be on Him, so you give Him more of you.
Are you looking for true satisfaction and wanting to make a more significant impact for God? Let’s have a conversation and see if the Calling Clarity program is right for you. Then, click on the link and make your appointment today.
I am on a mission to grow your faith so it fuels your business. That’s the reason God gave you your business.
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