Looking to God when starting a business
Dear Friends,
I spent a few days last week with some financial advisors who are earnestly seeking to follow the Lord in how they implement their faith in the workplace. It is so energizing to me to be with people who are following God at work. If you are endeavoring to follow God at work each day (whether you run your own company or are an employee), it is important to remember Jesus’ teaching in John 17: 13 – 19 (NIV), “I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them. I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This passage gives rise to the familiar saying that Christians are to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus wants us to be fully active in the world, and He wants us to be set apart within the world because we follow Him.
When we work or run a business according to the world’s ways, we are exposed to the dangers of idolatry and attack; when we work or run a business according to God’s principles, we keep ourselves in God’s protection and in the sanctification process.
What are God’s principles? First of all, I would encourage you that discerning God’s principles best happens when you are in a relationship with the Lord and when you are reading His Word to seek His counsel in your life. God will speak to you, personally, through His Word about His will for your work.
Additionally, though, the biblical financial principles that apply to our home life apply equally to our work life. Remember the basics: God owns it all, spend less than you earn, avoid debt, build margin, set goals, and give generously. If you practice these principles, you will be continually looking to God for direction, surrendering your future plans to His will, and living within wise financial parameters as you make decisions.
May God’s peace encourage you as you pursue financial wisdom and depend on His Truth.
Blessings,
Ron
Click here for the video transcript
I spent a few days last week with some financial advisors who are earnestly seeking to follow the Lord in how they implement their faith in the workplace. It is so energizing to me to be with people who are following God at work. If you are endeavoring to follow God at work each day (whether you run your own company or are an employee), it is important to remember Jesus’ teaching in John 17: 13 – 19 (NIV), “I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them. I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.”
This passage gives rise to the familiar saying that Christians are to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus wants us to be fully active in the world, and He wants us to be set apart within the world because we follow Him.
When we work or run a business according to the world’s ways, we are exposed to the dangers of idolatry and attack; when we work or run a business according to God’s principles, we keep ourselves in God’s protection and in the sanctification process.
What are God’s principles? First of all, I would encourage you that discerning God’s principles best happens when you are in a relationship with the Lord and when you are reading His Word to seek His counsel in your life. God will speak to you, personally, through His Word about His will for your work.
Additionally, though, the biblical financial principles that apply to our home life apply equally to our work life. Remember the basics: God owns it all, spend less than you earn, avoid debt, build margin, set goals, and give generously. If you practice these principles, you will be continually looking to God for direction, surrendering your future plans to His will, and living within wise financial parameters as you make decisions.
May God’s peace encourage you as you pursue financial wisdom and depend on His Truth.
Blessings,
Ron
Click here for the video transcript
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