Click photo for link to my YouTube channel
April 26, 2021
Entrepreneurship is often perceived as worldly, ungodly and unspiritual, it does not evoke spirituality. Dictionery.com defines an ‘Entrepreneur’ as one who;
(1) “A person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.” (2) “An employer of productive labor; contractor.”
In everyday conversation, an Entrepreneur is one who is willing to take the risk of jumping out of employment’s safety net into the unpredictable waters of self-employment in order to achieve their dreams and fulfill their goals.
An Entrepreneur's greatest dream is to grow a successful business. Every entrepreneur aspires to build a business that will transcend cultures and nations. When a friend or relative tells you that they’ve become Entrepreneurs, what comes into your mind?
The first thought that runs through most people’s minds is; do they have what it takes to succeed? Why do we think this way? Because we equate entrepreneurship with hard work, crazy schedules, constant juggling of duties, fast talk to close deals and for the lucky few, success - glitz, glamour and pomp!
It’s not common to hear a pastor preach a message on how entrepreneurs should serve God with their entrepreneurial skills without having to go into full-time ministry. Yet Entrepreneurs have as much calling on their lives to spread the gospel just as Pastors and Evangelists.
God, is the first Entrepreneur. In his book Called to Create Jordan Raynor states, “An entrepreneur is anyone who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others” God created the world, he didn’t have any material, he created it out of nothing for our good.
In this article, I will share 5 ways you can emulate and serve God as an entrepreneur.
We are created to create
In Genesis God introduces himself as the creator. For five days he creates the universe and the earth, on the sixth day, he creates man. But just before creating man, God makes this profound statement;
“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26
We are created in God’s image, and in his image we are creators! We see God’s creative nature in Genesis 1:2. He brings substance out of nothing. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
All Entrepreneurs conceive nonexistent ideas. Through imagination, they bring these ideas to reality.
Work as an act of worship
The Cambridge dictionary defines ‘Worship’ as -“to have or show a strong feeling of respect and admiration for God or a god” the Merriam Webster dictionary defines the same word as “to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power”
God created us to reverence Him. When God created Adam, his first assignment was to work the land, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15.
We don’t see anywhere in this scripture where God asks Adam to sing as a form of worship, but we see him instruct Adam to work. We can imagine that, as Adam worked the garden observing creation, he reverenced God. His Spirit exulted, songs of worship burst from his lips. They blended with nature’s music, ascending to the throne of God as glorious worship.
Adam’s second assignment was to name all the creatures God had created, “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19.
Everyone isn’t called to full-time ministry, but everyone is called to worship. Worshipping God in Spirit and truth is a natural phenomenon, unfortunately, it doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Godly Entrepreneurs emulate God’s creative nature. When they create, songs of praise and worship burst forth from their spirits.
Emulating God’s Entrepreneurial Character
Our work as Entrepreneurs should emulate God. The definition of an entrepreneur is, ‘one who takes a risk to create something new for the good of others’ All entrepreneurs create something new from the figment of their imaginations.
God created the earth and gave it to us, to rule, subdue and have dominion. Entrepreneurs exercise dominion when they create products or launch services that didn’t exist before. To emulate God, they must have God’s heart. God desires everyone to have a relationship with him. He desires that “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” I Timothy 2:4
When we emulate God in our Entrepreneurial activities we will use our business as a platform to make disciples for Jesus. Billionaire Samuel Truett Cathy founder of the fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A said,
“My business grew on my understanding that customers are always looking for somebody who is dependable and polite and will take care of them. As Christians, we have an obligation and responsibility to abide by the principles of the Bible.”
God revealed himself in Jesus Christ as the source of all goodness. As Christ-followers we should show his loving character to the world. We should use our entrepreneurial work to treat our customers, employees and the public right.
Empowered to work by God’s Spirit
God is the first entrepreneur. He is the source of all ingenuity and creativity. God’s Spirit empowers us to be creative. In Exodus 31 Moses had to build a tabernacle, he had the design from God. He, however, needed help to translate God’s blueprint to reality. God instructed him;
“See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah" He revealed further, "' See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also, I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you “Exodus 31:2,6
Albert Einstein, the famous scientist who discovered the theory of relativity, said, “I want to know God’s thoughts; the rest are just details.”
When you have God’s Spirit as an Entrepreneur, you have God’s mind, He gives you: “a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.” Isaiah 50:4.
God values our work, he has promised to bless us through the work of our hands, we should seek to be empowered by his Spirit who will guide us in our entrepreneurial journey.
Reflecting God’s Character in Entrepreneurship
God the first Entrepreneur revealed his character as a creator. He calls us to be co-creators. God created the world, he left it largely undeveloped and uncultivated, instead, he gave us the mandate to subdue and dominate the world. He wants to see his creative character reflected in us.
Since we are created in God’s image, we reveal his nature by being creators. Our work is the mirror that reflects our god-like nature to the world. God is filled with joy every time he sees us creating just like he did at creation; He uses our work to accomplish His will on earth.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 instructs us, even as it reminds us of our mortality, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Entrepreneurship gives us the opportunity to work, it’s a platform that helps us to express what God has deposited in us.
We reflect God’s Character by our entrepreneurial productivity and how we live as Christians. Colossians 1:10 says, “so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
Successful Entrepreneurship demands complete immersion. We have to reconnect with God. His Spirit releases a creative power in us, we need this power to create.
As Christians, we have the help of the Holy Spirit who gives us the mind of God - the first Entrepreneur. 1 Corinthians 2:10 says, “these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” We can create just as God creates.
Comments