Growing Your Business Without Guilt: What Jesus Teaches About Stewardship and Success
A business owner asked me a question recently that stopped me in my tracks:
"How do I confidently grow the business God has entrusted to me without crossing the line into greed?"
If you've ever felt a little guilty for setting big goals, increasing your prices, or dreaming about a thriving business, you're not alone. It's a question many Christian entrepreneurs quietly carry—and one worth exploring.
Are We Asking the Wrong Question?
It’s not that you lack ability, vision or ambition. Maybe it’s because you’ve been asking the wrong question. Rather than asking, “is it wrong to want my business to grow?” what if you asked
“Why do I want my business to grow?”
God is all about creation. And we are invited to participate in that creation. It started in the Garden of Eden when Adam was invited to participate in naming the animals and continued after the fall when both Adam and Eve needed to labor to bring new life into the world. Planting a seed and watching it grow. Tending the children and guiding them along. Building a community and nurturing healthy relationships. All of these are acts of creation.
There is a profound difference between building a business to elevate yourself and building one to faithfully steward what God has entrusted to you.
As I sat with this business owner’s honest question, I realized the answer wasn’t going to come from a business book or another productivity framework. It would come from scripture. Specifically, from a parable Jesus told his disciples about a master, three servants, and the responsibility of stewarding what had been entrusted to them.
The Overlooked Lesson in the Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:14-30 sits nestled in a collection of parables and teachings that Jesus is giving to the disciples on the Mount of Olives. He is about to enter Jerusalem for the last time and he’s preparing them for being left to continue teaching in his absence.
This particular story tells of a master who entrusts his servants with part of his wealth before leaving on a journey. Often, we focus on the talents in this story (what the master gives to each servant). This time, I invite you to focus your attention on the relationship. What does each servant believe about his master?
What Did the Servants Believe About Their Master?
Right off the bat, we see that the master is trustworthy and believes his servants to be the same. In the first verse we’re told the master calls his servants to him and “entrusts” his property to them.
Next, we see that the master knows his servants well because he gives to each “according to his ability.” The master does not give more than each servant can handle or is prepared to deal with.
And then he leaves. He does not look over their shoulder, dictating what actions each servant should take. Seemingly, he has left them alone…but has he? He’s given them space. Room to test their strength and abilities. Trust and freedom.
What do you do when God gives you responsibility and then seems silent?
CUE ANXIETY
Rest assured, dear one, this is not because God has abandoned you. It’s because God is giving you the space to steward well. Room to test your own strength and abilities. Trust and freedom to try things out in a safe environment.
In the parable, what each servant does with this space and freedom to act shows what they believe about their master. Two of them act with confidence and skill. One of them chooses another path, which will reveal his beliefs about his master.
After a long time away, Jesus tells us, the master returns to the servants to settle accounts with them. Here, the beliefs each servant has about their master are laid bare.
The master does not chase after any of the servants. The servants approach him. The first two share how they have invested their portions and freely give the earnings to the master. And we see the master respond with praise! “Well done, good and faithful servant…Enter into the joy of your master.” This is not empty flattery, but honest appreciation, promotion in service, and then celebration as a community!
The third servant, however, believes the master to be, “a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed.” So this servant hid his resources. He did not share them with others. He did not invest in the community. He only gave back to the master what he was given.
But, catch this, the servant did not believe the master was giving him a portion of his wealth. The servant saw this as still belonging to the master. He did not see himself as a steward. He saw the master as a taker and not a generous person. He did not see this as a statement of confidence and trust in the servants skill. So, the servant was cast out of the kingdom.
A Question Every Christian Entrepreneur Should Ask
Every one of us is answering the same question those servants answered:
What do you believe about your master?
As a business owner, I invite you to consider yourself a steward of the wealth and opportunity you’ve been given. Your Master has given you your own unique portion of wealth of which you’re responsible. You have been given a unique set of dreams, goals, resources, and placement in the world.
How are you going to invest and utilize your portion?
I hope you believe your Master to be generous, abundant, and wise. Realize that you have been entrusted with a portion of wealth, invest it wisely, return it to the Master, and hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”
Perhaps the question was never whether growing your business is greedy.
Perhaps the real question is whether you’ll faithfully steward what a generous Master has already placed in your hands.
This is the first blog in a series Faithful Business: A Biblical View of Stewardship and Growth. In the posts to come, we will be digging deeper into topics I help my clients navigate every day.
Profits. Can money become a tool for the Kingdom instead of an idol?
Decision Making. Using our values as a litmus test or filter for making decisions.
Success. What if God’s definition of success looks different from ours?
Are you looking for more support in growing your business as a Christian Business Owner? Would you like to be able to dig into scripture and use it as a basis for understanding how to steward your business as a resource for the kingdom? I would love to chat with you about what it looks like to receive coaching in this season of your business. Schedule a chat with me here for a free consultation and to find out if this is the next right step for you.