Being a Christian entrepreneur is not always an easy job to handle. Sometimes, we are asked by God to do something with “our” small business that we would rather not do.
Have you ever been reminded by God that it isn’t “your” small business, but it’s His? As Christian entrepreneurs, we are mere stewards with what God has entrusted us. I’ve needed to be reminded of this over and over again throughout my life. I’ve found myself treating God as more of a silent partner in my business ventures rather than the owner.
It’s scary to make dramatic changes when we know why we are doing it and where we are going. It can be terrifying when we’re asked to do this given neither.
Are You Willing to Leave Your Boats Behind?
I often wonder what Peter and Andrew thought as Jesus approached them on the shore. They were fishing away enjoying their business, and then drop everything to follow Christ.
Matthew 4:18-20 gives us this account:
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.
Wow, what would you do? We often think that this was the first meeting between Christ and Peter. It may well have been, but since Christ had been living and preaching around the Sea of Galilee before this, it is probably a safe guess that they had heard of Him and His message before this moment.
Do You Really Trust God to Be in Control?
Even if they had heard Him preach, it took an incredible amount of trust to drop their nets and follow Him. They didn’t need to discuss it, to arrange their affairs first, or ask any questions. The Bible simply says they did it “at once.”
Too many Christians today have such a small view of God. We’ve tried to make Him small enough to fit inside a box that we have created. The problem is that what we created and put in the box is not God, and it is not worth trusting.
A.W. Tozer puts it this way in The Knowledge of the Holy:
Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him, or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a God we can in some measure control.
A god that needs to be, or can be, controlled is not a god worthy of our worship or trust. When we fail to trust God and let Him be the master of our business, then we create a false god – an idol no better than one made of wood or stone.
Our failure to trust God is our failure to really know Him at all. I highly recommend The Knowledge of the Holy if you have never read it.
It’s Hard to Be a Living Sacrifice!
Someone once said that the problem with living sacrifices is that they are constantly crawling off the altar. This is exactly what Paul urges us to do in Romans 12:1. I’ve had such an issue with this in my own life that Romans 12:1 is now my life verse.
Even Peter though, who had instantly dropped his nets to follow Christ, quickly fell back into his old profession after the crucifixion. In John 21 we find that a dejected Peter decided, “I’m going out to fish.” This might have been the first example of when the going gets tough, the tough go fishing.
When all hopes seems lost, the economy too bad, a major client leaves you over being too Christian to cut a backroom deal, or a key employee leaves taking several important clients what do you do? Do you continue the course God set? Or do you pick up your nets again and go fishing?
To his credit, Peter jumped out of the boat and ran to Christ when he knew who it was. You see, God was never surprised how the whole narrative of the Bible played out. He is in control – even when it appears from our point of view He isn’t.
So Who Really Owns Your Christian Small Business?
Is your business just another business with a Jesus fish slapped on it? Being a Christian entrepreneur means more than a logo, more than just doing things the “right” way, more than being good, kind, and generous.
It’s first, and foremost, recognizing that whatever you create is really just something God is allowing you to use, and you are the mere steward of it. Second, that God is not put into a box. If you can put Him in your box then it isn’t Him.
Finally, understanding that there is only one rule book that applies to all of your life – business and personal. One set of standards that applies to all, and you do not get to draft them. Is it time for you to put down the pen, hand over the deed, and just learn to trust Him?
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What? Why would you apologize for that?
You are indeed correct. My chronology is off here, and it's what I get for trying to respond before heading out the door to a meeting. You are absolutely correct that Christ appeared to the disciples before this, but I wonder what they must have really thought. After all, the only other resurrected person they had seen was Lazarus and he certainly did not appear through walls.
It's interesting that on the beach, Christ asked Peter three times if he loved Him. Was this redemption for the three denials earlier? I tend to think so. Peter must certainly have been wondering about His position as a disciple after his acts of denial.
For me, John 21 is not about filling idle time. It is about Peter being lovingly restored (if only in his own mind) back to his place before the denials. I hate to disagree with Matthew Henry, but when Christ sent the disciples out by twos he told them not to worry about food or housing, I don't see any reason why that should have changed.
Anyway, like I said earlier, it is hard to know for certain. My comments about Peter thinking Christ was dead were wrong though. Thanks for catching that. I'll try not to respond off the cuff like that again, but knowing me I will so please keep me honest.
P.S. I think the Sea of Galilee (Sea of Tiberius) is over 60 miles away from Jerusalem, so I am not sure it qualifies as staying in Jerusalem.
Try as I might to convince myself I am more like Paul, my actions are so much like Peter. I agree that he was definitely not afraid to leap, but I'm not so sure they were always so calculated.
Absolutely, it's frustrating that with such a wealth of knowledge available in the Bible about business that the church has done such a poor job equipping us for it. There is not one set of rules for your life and another for your business life; however, I think many Christians live this way.
Well, as you might recall from an earlier comment I don't want to be a “walking Bible-verse-squirt”, that's why I apologized
P.S. I didn't try to say that being at the Sea of Galilee is staying in Jerusalem. I tried to say that the disciples stayed fishing until they received further instructions. The instruction was to stay in Jerusalem, so they fished until they went to Jerusalem.
Anyway, thanks for this nice little discussion
It's good to be in this blog community!
LOL … Are you still trying to make that catch on? It still makes me laugh by the way. You brought up some great points to ponder. I'm glad you're part of our community. You always have interesting insights.