Entrepreneurs Are Stewards of God's Money
Updated: May 30, 2021
I don’t know about you, but when someone loans me something, I treat it better than my own stuff! For example, if someone lets me stay at their apartment when I’m on a trip, I’ll walk around more carefully, always have the dishes done, and I’ll leave the place cleaner when I leave than when I got there.
I guess I’m like this because I want to continue to be trusted in the future in case I want to stay there again. I want my friend to know that he made the right decision in lending me his apartment.
The people that work as money managers on Wall Street have the same view about money. They know you’re lending it to them, so they want to take care of it, grow it, and have you come back and continue investing in them.
In both of these cases, the attitude toward the “borrowed” possession was the same: it’s not mine, I’m simply watching out for it, and I want to treat it especially well so I can be trusted again.
So if we believe that all money belongs to God, then logically, we’re simply stewards of that money while we’re here. The question is: are we treating it as our own possession or as a trusted loan from God, watching out for it doing good with it?
How come when it comes to money, we aren’t recognizing that it’s all a loan from God? We have this possessive attitude towards money like it’s our property to use at our disposal and defend at any extreme.
Is it possible that we could worry less about money, and focus more on our calling?
I love the story of the master who left his servants in charge of his possessions because it echoes my point.
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey". (Matthew 25:14-15 NIV)
This master entrusted his wealth to the servants. It wasn’t theirs, they were being called to steward it. Steward means “manager” in old English.
Every dollar that comes into your company is God’s. You’re only the manager of it right now. There were many managers before you, there are many around you competing to manage it better, and there will be many after you to manage it.
You might say “But wait, I hustled hard for that money. I ground this business out. I closed the deal. It was my sweat and tears that built this business.” Yes, you labored, but God provided you your body, your mind, the opportunities, and the vision and passion within you to pursue your dreams.
It’s all His.
It’s all a gift from God, you don’t own it, it’s all on loan.
We Godpreneurs are called to be money managers for the 60 or so years of our entrepreneurial careers. Just like we manage the bodies we are in, the relationships we have, and our various business opportunities, we must also have the attitude of managing money correctly.
True possession is actually taking on the attitude that God possesses everything and everything we have is on loan. Then God will trust us with MORE, thus we will possess more of His money to manage. In the story of the master and his servants, the servant that managed the money the best got more money to manage.
I know that I’ve forgotten this important rule when I worry about money. When I’m feeling pressured and stressed, and I leave to work earlier and get home later and sacrifice time with my family, I know I’ve got myself in a possessive attitude and I need to stop and pray. This is a pressure God didn’t intend for us to have. The enemy is at work and wants to convince us that it’s ours and we can solve this by working more to make more money.
Listen, money management is a spiritual battle, therefore it’s a discipline we must study and master. If the enemy can use it against us with divorce and taking us from what we were born to do, then we need to educate ourselves even more in this area.
God is watching us and our ability to handle his money and to see what more he can trust with us, both here and in Heaven. It’s also pressure, but it’s a positive pressure and something amazing to look forward to!
Godpreneur Money Management Rule #2: Godpreneurs remember that God is the owner of the money and we are the managers.
The 19 Rules of Money Management for Christian Entrepreneurs
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