Yes, a Christian can be successful in business but that depends on how you define success.
Sure you can define success as having lots of money but the BIble says, “The love of money is the root of all evil” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Besides, do you really like to define success just like the rest of the world does? Wealth, power, and fame, really? Those are not something that a true Christian should go after.
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world” 1 John 2:16. These are fleeting and will only bring you misery and death.
You want to define success as something more permanent. The Bible has something to say about success. You might be surprised.
What is success according to the Bible
The Bible defines success as more eternal, spiritual, and brings lasting joy. We are told in Matthew 18:19-20 to “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”
And in John 15:11, Jesus said,” These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
Come to think of it, aren’t these the things that people want in life? People don’t want money for money’s sake. We want to be rich because we think money and fame will give us joy and lasting fulfillment.
That’s not going to happen if you drift away from your identity as a child of God.
Worldly success is all about selfish glorification. There was a guy who fell from heaven because he was the ultimate ego lifter (Isaiah 14:12-16; Ezekiel 28:14-18). Don’t be like him.
True success according to the Bible is about glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31) in everything that we do.
This is what success looks like.
Develop spiritual sons and daughters
We are called to share the Good News (Matthew 28-19-20). That is our only calling. What we do for a living, an employee, farmer, soldier, politician, or an entrepreneur are mere afterthoughts.
Do you think God will ask how successful your business was when you face Him one day? He will be asking how you used your business to bring Him back the glory.
There is no other glory that you can ascribe to God than by producing spiritual sons and daughters. That is the success that will matter in light of eternity. This is the fruit that will last that Jesus talked about (John 15:16).
He wasn’t talking about money, wealth, and fame. You will have the first two more than you know what to do with when you get to heaven. The third is as fleeting as the wind and will surely not matter in eternity. Only God is worthy of fame.
The point of going to church, maturing as Christians, spending time in prayer, and reading the Bible is to be able to share Jesus with someone. Or else God would have beamed you home the very moment you accepted Him as Lord and Savior.
Produce leaders who will produce leaders
Another measure of success is to produce disciples who will also produce disciples.
While he was marching towards the cross, Jesus didn’t bother to own anything. He didn’t stop to write a book. Think about all the things he could have built or invented but didn’t. Spending time on anything else was just a distraction. He did devote time, energy, and a lot of patience teaching and training the disciples.
There were probably no more than 500 believers who gathered around Jesus. That can hardly be called a successful church if you go about using today’s standard for megachurches. Jesus was going for quality, not quantity.
He transformed these bickering and quivering lot into world-changers and history-makers. In Acts 2:41 Luke writes,” Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.”
I wonder how many of those first believers became early church fathers?
This is what happens when you train leaders. Leaders train leaders, And so the cycle continues. That’s what God wants you to do with your influence as a business owner.
An incredible love for God and the Church
As we learn from our previous two examples what success is according to the Bible, I hope we are beginning to notice that we cannot separate our business from our Christianity.
This is surely the same for our third example because it is about growing our love for God and Church.
Loving God and growing that love is more than just performing religious acts. Our church attendance, community work, donations, and tithes are all just filthy rags without love. We think we can bribe our way by being nice on Sundays so that God doesn’t bother us the rest of the week.
But are you trying to know God? Seeking the One who blesses instead of the blessings?
Your love for Him will not grow if you don’t get to know Him deeper. Don’t try to make your business succeed so hard that you fail to include the very One who can give you success. He’s the reason you have a business in the first place.
Spend time in prayer with God. Search His Word. Calm down and breathe. “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10. God is not far from those who seek Him (Acts 17:27)
The more you get to know God, the more your love for Him will grow deeper. There’s just no resisting the beauty of His amazing love. The Almighty God who created this mind-boggling universe cares about you. What incredible grace.
And then you get to know His attributes like holiness, righteousness, and justice. Each of these was met by Jesus’s substitutionary death on the cross for you. You can’t help but fall in love with Him in all humility.
Falling in love with God is to obey Him. Because the Church is the body of Christ, that bevy of forgiven imperfect people (1 Corinthians 12:27). Take great care to be of service to the Church.
We show our obedience to Christ by striving to live in the Word often shared, studied, and applied through the Church. This obedience stems from the love borne out of being saved by God.
Never put service before love but love births service.
Final thoughts
A business owner who loves God will pull his business into God’s kingdom. You will never know if it is in God’s will for your business to be the next unicorn. But you can be sure that God wants your employees to be saved (2 Peter 3:9).
What are you gonna do about it?
Finishing strong
Paul writes to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
That is what success looks like.
