Principles for Biblical Entrepreneurship #1: “You are God. I am Not”
I try to instill this deep down in my heart and even try to pray some form of this prayer multiple times a day. Not because I fear God is having some kind of identity crisis. I know He’s been around forever and all, but He’s not suffering from dementia. As I declare His identity back to Him, I realize that this is one of the principles of biblical entrepreneurship where I’m really reminding myself of who I am in my business (or in this case, who I’m not). There’s life in this prayer. Even though it’s one of the principles of how biblical entrepreneurship should be modeled, the exercise doesn’t come naturally. I don’t care what your enneagram number says, whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, an alpha dog or a passive follower, there’s one thing I know about you:
You want to be God.
So do I.
We want to dictate our own course, be the masters of our domain, create the narratives of our own lives, our own way, for our own purposes and pleasure. While we were created to “live under” our Creator, to reflect His glory, since Genesis 3 we’ve bristled and rebelled at this undercard role. To know this is to understand one of the principles in biblical entrepreneurship.
But before we get there, we spend our lives pursuing our calling our own way, striving to leverage our good, God-given gifts for our own empowerment and self-fulfillment, all the while wondering why we can’t seem to find the meaning and contentment we long for in our relationships, our religion, or our everyday work. Even those of us who profess faith in God tend to evoke Him like He is blue, lives in a lamp, sings show-tunes, and is voiced by Robin Williams. This is the exact opposite of the principles that biblical entrepreneurship thrives under.
It’s time to flip the script.
I wrote this in my journal last week as a kick in my own pants:
We serve at the pleasure of The King.
His will may lead us to influence or leave us anonymous.
We may understand our circumstances or struggle to see the “why.”
We may feel bold and confident one day and wrestle with deep insecurity the next.
Even as we lead we’re being led.
It’s His Kingdom and His will, not mine.
We serve at the pleasure of The King.
This true knowing that we serve God is how we align these principles with biblical entrepreneurship. Our natural instinct prays “God, please come and empower my agenda today!” Our Gospel-saturated, Spirit-renewed instinct prays, “God, allow me the joy of playing my role in furthering your agenda today!” It doesn’t matter if we are performing brain surgery or sweeping the floors, the submission of our will is where our true identity lies.
Do you want to find renewed meaning and contentment in your calling? If you’re currently learning principles of biblical entrepreneurship, help yourself out by praying this aloud and praying it often:
You are God, I am not.
Principles of Biblical Entrepreneurship #2: What if Your Success is Anonymous?
A few years back, I sat in my car outside our neighborhood Walmart and wrote myself an email. Some people just talk to themselves, but I prefer to put my neurotic episodes in writing. At the time I may not have realized that I was writing an important part within the principles of biblical entrepreneurship, but I was.
While I was obviously proving every stereotype about the crazy people who shop at Walmart, I was also sending myself a sane reminder. A much–needed butt-kicking I needed to remember clearly when I got to the office the next morning.
Here’s what I wrote to myself:
You don’t have to start the next big movement to make a difference. Sometimes, I think you get paralyzed because you want everything to scale or become so big that it’s mass-marketable and gets people talking. You don’t have to start something that becomes “known.” Just do something that makes a difference.
From your seat. With your experience. With your assets. It doesn’t have to be any bigger than that.
Anonymity is not a lack of impact. In fact, it might mean more impact (and less distraction). Remember, most people don’t want to change the world, they just want to be known for changing the world (Lencioni).
Don’t fall victim to that.
Do what you are called to do. Period. Seek to make a difference, not to build a reputation. That will take care of itself.
Now let’s get to it.
Sincerely,
Your Sane and Sober Self
I believe this is one of the hardest principles of biblical entrepreneurship to swallow. Keep in mind, there’s nothing wrong with accolades, book deals, speaking at conferences, or sharing and scaling your ideas; I’m all for it. But being known doesn’t mean that you matter. Being known doesn’t mean you’re making a difference. Being known isn’t the point.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but this is one of the key principles that biblical entrepreneurship thrives under:
If you could make a major impact on the world but nobody ever knew it was you, would you still be satisfied?
What if your success is anonymous?
Principles of Biblical Entrepreneurship #3: Find Opportunities to Partner with God
To explore the last of the principles for biblical entrepreneurship, we have to visit the Hoover Dam. My family visited back in 2018, and I remember nothing could’ve mentally prepared me for the sheer size of this engineering masterpiece. There is enough concrete in the dam structure to build a 4-foot wide sidewalk around the equator of the earth! That’s a lot of cement.
As we toured the massive infrastructure and listened to the courageous stories of how it was built, my mind wandered to the principles of biblical entrepreneurship that lie within it all. Yes, my kids are right, I really can find theology in anything.
Go with me for a minute. Have you ever wondered why God just made a garden? Why did He just make raw materials? Why didn’t he build roads, and houses, and cities, and dams?
Because it’s our job. The Creator of the universe has offered us a partnership agreement.
God made man to fill the earth, to have dominion over it, and to subdue it (Genesis 1:28). You can’t gaze on Hoover Dam without seeing this Creation mandate (and clearly, principles for biblical entrepreneurship…) in full view.
Subduing Creation
Water is a major issue in the Southwest, and the Colorado River brought water down from the mountains as an uncontrolled force through the region. To harness this natural resource, engineers started by rerouting the Colorado River! Over nineteen months, they dug multiple diversion tunnels into the canyon walls and literally moved the raging flow of water, drying the riverbed for construction of the dam.
Then thousands of men worked in three shifts, 24-hours a day, 363 days per year to build the dam structure, completing it two years ahead of schedule. Hoover Dam now provides hydro-electric power for 1,000,000 people and diverts the water in a controlled manner through the arid region allowing for human flourishing.
What About You?
When we go to work each day, we too have the opportunity to partner with God, to have dominion over creation and subdue it to the glory of God and the love of our neighbor. You don’t have to build a modern wonder of the world to make this happen. Again, whether you’re a brain surgeon or sweep floors, your job is an opportunity to partner with the Creator of the universe. Each of us carries this mandate.
“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28
You don’t have to reroute the Colorado River to have meaningful work. Here is another one of the questions you need to ask yourself to further understand principles within biblical entrepreneurship:
