Profit and Generosity: A Biblical Approach for Christian Business Owners
Faithful Business: A Biblical View of Stewardship and Growth–Part 2
Have you ever hesitated before telling someone your price? I have. Especially when I first got started with coaching and charging someone hundreds of dollars for talking with them. It took me some time to become comfortable with the value of my services and feel like I could charge a reasonable rate.
Have you looked at money left in the business account and immediately felt like you needed to justify what you were going to do with it?
These are questions that I often work through with my coaching clients. And, they all center around the topic of PROFITS and how we choose between profits and generosity.
Is It Wrong for a Christian Business Owner to Make a Profit?
A business owner can be so concerned about taking advantage of people or being afraid of being too profitable that they start taking advantage of themselves–giving away time, emotional labor, products, discounts, etc. And, eventually, the business cannot support the owner, their employees, or the people they want to serve.
Or, maybe the business owner is so concerned with having enough security that they stockpile reserves and resources to the extent that it stunts the growth of their business.
The faithful business owner isn’t called to choose between profit and generosity, between caring for self and caring for others, but to steward their resources well.
What Proverbs 31 Teaches Us About Profit and Stewardship
Does Scripture actually give us a picture of someone doing both?
Yes! Let’s take a look at the business structure in Proverbs 31:16-31.
We’re going to look at this passage through a different lens than you might have been presented before. As a bookend to this beautiful book of Wisdom, this final chapter of Proverbs describes quite plainly and explicitly the nature of a business person. This passage is describing a woman, but the principles of earning, investing, providing, etc. that she is exhibiting are principles of wise stewardship for any Christian business owner.
This is not a financially passive person. This is a remarkably sophisticated picture of economic activity. And, her profitability is not portrayed as a moral problem.
Take some time to notice the verbs in the passage. Don’t just look at what she has; look at what she does.
Considers | Buys | Plants | Makes | Sells | Supplies | Opens her hand | Provides | Watches over
Her wealth moves. She isn’t accumulating money simply so she can possess more money. Her resources are continually being converted into productive work, provision, investment, generosity, and security.
This leads the reader to a key realization: wealth is active. It creates, provides, protects, invests, and gives.
What is the mindset of a person who is active with their resources? What allows someone to hold resources loosely enough to invest, provide, and give rather than clutching them out of fear?
Biblical Abundance vs Scarcity Mindset
This is a constant source of re-framing in my life! As a mom of three, owner of two businesses, and a person with a lot of interests and passions, I can often feel at the end of my rope and like I don’t have enough time, money, resources, energy…you name it!
Several years ago, I found comfort in this verse:
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having sufficiency in all things at all times, you may bless others abundantly. 2 Corinthians 9:8
In this portion of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the focus is on generosity and being a cheerful giver. We are each blessed. It may be with money, love, faith, or something else entirely. But, we are not blessed simply for our own provision or enjoyment. We are blessed with the purpose of blessing others.
I also don’t take this as a promise that I’ll always have everything I want. Or even everything that I think I need. But, I’ll always have enough to be a blessing to others. So I need to stop focusing on my lack, and instead focus on my blessings and how I can share with others.
What does abundance mean to me, personally? Margin in time and money. Paying someone well for their services rendered. Having enough to share without sacrificing myself and my family. Having margin to share with the community. Keeping resentment and jealousy at bay.
Biblical abundance isn’t a promise that faithful Christians will become wealthy. It’s a posture of trusting that God is our provider and asking how whatever resources we have can be faithfully used. That’s very different from “Give to God and He’ll make you rich.”
Why Healthy Profit Matters in a Christian Business
If abundance gives us capacity to serve and give, then healthy profit can create that kind of capacity within a business. Profit provides capacity for a business to be able to endure, employ, invest, serve, and give.
I’ve been able to experience the importance of running a profitable business at a much different level since taking over ownership of The Studio Downtown, a co-working and event space in the heart of downtown Conway. Profit isn’t theoretical when something needs repairing (hello, HVAC and commercial printer!). Or when you want to invest in improving a space. Or survive a slow month. (JULY??!!! What’s up??!!) Or support something happening in your community. Profit isn’t money I’m taking away from the mission. Profit is part of what makes the mission possible.
What Should a Business Do With Its Profits?
Retained earnings. Saving for future business expenses so that we can make purchases without relying on debt. Build stability.
Compensate the owner and/or investors that have poured resources into the business.
Invest in future growth.
Support generosity. Plan for giving. Helping those who don’t have access to your services.
How Much Profit Is Too Much?
Y’all. Let’s just be frank. Running a business is scary! Money and profits are a major part of running a business and they can be the source of a lot of that legitimate fear. However, money and profits are inanimate objects. They do not dictate the heart of a person; they reveal the heart that is already there.
Profit isn’t the purpose of a faithful business owner. Profit is one of the resources a faithful business owner is called to steward.
Here are some helpful things for you to consider when you’re walking through these decisions as a business owner:
What is my profit allowing me to do?
What am I afraid would happen if I charged what my work is worth?
What does the way I’m handling money reveal about what I believe about God?
As my capacity increases, is my generosity increasing too?
This is the second 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.
Growing your Business without Guilt was the first blog in the series. If you missed it, you can see it here!
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.