Picture your business or leadership team like a car. As the leader, you are sitting in the drivers seat. In that seat, you are steering the car in a particular direction, for a particular purpose. As owners and/or leaders in our businesses, it certainly feels like we should be the one in total control. Our hands are on the steering wheel and we have a sense that the opportunity in front of us is ours to achieve. Although God has given us free will, abilities, drive and resources to move things forward in our lives, lets take time to consider where these things originated from. Is it top of mind that the ultimate purpose for the business and leadership role you are in is God ordained? This perspective helps us align with who ultimately put us in the drivers seat. This provides a clearer vision for our role as His Stewards. The challenge for us as business owners is we may not always see the businesses we are leading as God’s.
As we head down the road of business in the drivers seat, let us consider our ultimate destination.
Are We Just Seeking an Endorsement
It all started with God creating the earth, as outlined in Genesis 1:1, ‘in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’. Deuteronomy 10:14 expresses that ‘the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God’. In Psalms 24:1, King David wrote that ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains’. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, it tell us ‘Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?’ The Apostle Paul expresses in 1 Timothy, 6:7, that ‘We have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. These verses all point to the idea that God has made and owns everything. I am suggesting that this also includes the businesses in which we own and lead.
It is natural to view our lives as ours, go to church, try to live it well and look for God’s endorsement. We likely seek his approval and input when we need advice or direction. We do not mind God coming along on the ride. Picture yourself driving down the road and you pass a hitch hiker. You don’t usually pick up hitch hikers, but as you pass by you see that it is actually God. Since it is God, you stop and push open the passenger door and wait for Him to jump in. As you wait, there is a knock on your driver’s side window. As you look up to your left, you see God standing there so you put down your window and invite him to jump into the passenger seat. He responds with an invitation to move over and let Him drive.
I love this story image as it depicts exactly the metaphoric relationship when we have a proper perspective of His role versus ours in business. God has put us in the drivers seat to guide, direct and lead within our companies. However, when we release the tight grip we have on the wheel of the businesses or teams we lead, we allow Him to guide and direct as the ultimate owner. When we see ourselves as His stewards and not ultimate owners, amazing things can be accomplished in advancing the eternal Kingdom of God. Viewing God as more of a co-partner or advisor will only bring us a limited amount of peace and joy. The likely reason is that ultimately, we would still be about ourselves and the things of this temporary earth where we now live.
In John 15:5 we read Jesus words with regards to who we are in relation to Him: I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I with Him, you will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. What we need to consider as our focus and mindset is that God has given us not only our lives, but ultimately our businesses. In return, we are a steward of it, serving him, looking after, taking care of, protecting and managing it for God, its rightful owner. How do we remain in Him?
Alignment of Our Hearts, Minds and Actions
How do we carry out this role as His steward? It involves having a proper perspective of God and His authority in our lives. With this view, aligning our mind, heart and actions with Him. We are told in Ecclesiastes 3:11 that God has planted in our hearts a sense of eternity, a divine purpose. A mysterious longing that nothing on this earth can remotely satisfy. We strive towards this purpose by using the passions, talents, abilities and life experiences God has given us for His Glory. What an awesome privilege it is to be a steward of the Almighty and Eternal father in Heaven. To achieve the amazing plans and purposes God has put in our hearts, it will also be key to surround ourselves in the car with others who can encourage and support us in this stewardship journey. This can be within our business, as well as in peer advisory groups, such as We R Stewards.
Monday Morning
As it relates to our marketplace leadership roles, how do we abide in Him, and He with us? How do we apply the scriptures in their operation and leadership? How do we develop a strategy to recruit others to help us grow a flourishing business and see it has eternal purpose and potential? Proverbs 21:1 expresses what God can do when we align ourselves with Him. ‘A kings heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He Wills. We may not be a King in charge of a country, but as business owners and leaders, we have been put in charge of people. The question is where is our heart? How do we put ourselves in a position to hear from Him and allow Him to turn our hearts, and our mind?
If you are looking for the silver bullet or the latest and greatest idea, you may be disappointed. As I have sought the Lord on this through the lens of We R Stewards, I have come back to this age-old truth. Through prayer, studying His Word, and regular consultation with other God-honoring business owners and marketplace leaders. It has and will always be found in the strength of our relationship with our Father, our Master, the one we are stewarding our business for. If I were to hypothetically be in an agreement to buy your business, I would want to learn all I could to be able to move it forward in a healthy way. I would do this by spending quality time with you. It is no different for us as we lead in the businesses God has given us as His Stewards. The more quality time I spend with God, the better Steward I will be for Him, plain and simple.
If you would like to go deeper on these subjects and ways to bring Glory to the Father, please do not hesitate to reach out to me at randy.earnst@we-r-stewards.com, or visit our website at www.we-r-stewards.com
