Bible Verses On Entrepreneurship: Tithing and Greed

Before we get to bible verses about Entrepreneurship or reference any Bible verses on Missions, I need to say: Keep giving to your local church! 

 Perhaps I’m the right one to say this as I have no direct personal upside from the conversation. What I do have is a deep belief and love of God’s Word, and some knowledge of bible verses on Entrepreneurship that also refer to our giving as Christians. I have a network of dear friends leading this charge in countries worldwide and in local congregations right here in my own community. 

While I don’t draw a paycheck from a church, I love the local Church and believe it is God’s plan to embody and proclaim His Kingdom to the world. We can debate bible verses about entrepreneurship; the Church’s many forms and expressions, whether it’s a building, an organization, or just the people. Still, there’s one thing I don’t think should be debatable for Christians today: when we honor the Church, we’re praising God. 

Like all of you amid this COVID-19 outbreak, I was incredibly concerned about finances – my personal finances, business’s finances, and the financial position of all of you as our economy is intertwined. Those aren’t just self-centered wrestlings. 

And during these scary times, we’ve watched beautiful outpourings of generosity manifest in many different ways – families who delivered food to their elderly neighbors, people who donated and even made masks for front-line medical workers, NBA stars who covered the lost salaries of arena workers. It was encouraging to see humans respond to the needs around them in times of crisis. 

But during this unprecedented historical moment full of countless unknowns, I want to encourage all of us to continue giving to our local churches. 

I’m going to step out on a limb here and risk sounding like some kind of manipulating televangelist, but the Church is not just some other friendly charitable organization amidst a smorgasbord of philanthropic options. As the bible verses on entrepreneurship below suggests, something spiritually unique happens when you give to your church, something that goes far beyond just helping to pay pastors’ salaries, building mortgages, and program costs. 

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 

 – Malachi 3:9-12  

One take away from these bible verses on entrepreneurship is that each time I get paid – whether my check is big or small, growing or shrinking – I give the “first fruits” of that income to God through my local church. I make a tangible declaration to my family and me that God is my ultimate provider and the foundation of my trust. 

These bible verses about entrepreneurship aren’t describing some kind of magic elixir here; neither are the bible verses about our missions giving. Tithes and offerings aren’t snake oil that ward off economic collapse and physical sickness. In fact, suffering is part of the Christian experience. Jesus promised it (John 16:33). 

But, if money is a tangible representation of our lives, our work, our contribution to the world, I should give the first portions of whatever I make to my church. That way, following bible verses where entrepreneurship and a biblical ethos come together means that you are declaring boldly that my ultimate hope and trust are rooted in Christ no matter what is going on around me. No matter what happens, I am under the shadow of His wings and He is with me at all times and in all seasons. That my God will supply all my needs according to His riches (Philippians 4:19). When the world is shaking, there is no place I would rather be. 

 In this terrifying time of uncharted financial waters, I just want to encourage you to keep giving to your local church. These type of bible verses on entrepreneurship aren’t magic. It doesn’t mean you will be exempt from all the sinful effects of this fallen world. It’s not a give to get rich quick scheme. It’s a declaration. Give joyfully as an outward expression of an inward commitment that Jesus is where your trust is firmly rooted in this tumultuous season. 

Bible Verses on Entrepreneurship: Greed Is Not A Business Problem

 As we continue on with Bible Verses about Entrepreneurship, have you noticed who the villains are in the majority of movies and TV shows today?  

Whether it was Lord Business in The Lego Movie, who longed to destroy the lego world by gluing all the pieces together. Wall Street introduced us to Gordon Gecko, who coined the infamous phrase “Greed is Good.” And how about Mr. Krabs, the owner of Bikini Bottom’s favorite eatery? He will sell out his own family for an extra buck. 

The villain is almost always the rich business guy who greedily takes advantage of others for money, power, and control. Part of this could be an anti-business agenda from our friends in Hollywood. Still, caricatures are usually exaggerations of real-life tendencies. We connect with them because they carry some level of truth. 

Corporate Greed 

Just Google “corporate greed” for some quick, real-life examples: Bernie Madoff, the Enron scandal, and the mortgage banking crisis of 2008 are only a few of devastating stories of greed parading around in business attire. When you imagine a greedy person, my guess is that one of the above images of an evil corporate tycoon isn’t far from your mind. 

So does this mean business is inherently selfish? Does this mean business is just some sinful, kill or be killed institution man invented to survive in a fallen world? Is business synonymous with greed? Does business make people greedy? I’d like to pose a different take: 

Greed is not a business problem. It is a worship problem.  

Let me say that again…  

Greed is not a business problem. It is a worship problem.  

Idolatry is the root of all sin, the evil hijacker of God’s intended design for his creation and the creator of deceptive counterfeits. Business is not the enemy; idolatry is the enemy. Business is not greedy; idolatry is greedy. One of the bible verses entrepreneurship revolve around comes from the Apostle Paul, where he lays it out plainly for the church in Ephesus: 

“You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” – Ephesians 5:5 

Paul obviously thought this was important because he repeated the exact same warning to the church in Colossae as well: 

“So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” – Colossians 3:5

Bible Verses on Entrepreneurship: Worshipping the Things of This World  

Greed is not a business problem; greed is a worship problem. When we worship the things of this world, we give them a place they were never intended to own in our lives. Instead of playing the subservient role they were designed to for, they become the actual object of our affection. 

 Money is a great tool, but it is an oppressive master. Happiness is a beautiful byproduct; it is a dangerous pursuit. When power is used to serve others, it breeds beauty. When it’s held up as the ultimate objective, it turns on us and is crushed under the weight of our manic expectations. 

 Greed manifests when money becomes the object of our trust. Greed manifests when happiness takes precedence over obedience. Greed manifests when power becomes the source of our identity. Greed is the worship of created things. 

 Bible Verses on Entrepreneurship: Business is about Giving Not Taking 

There’s this common belief in much of modern Western culture that business is primarily about making money, that business is a mechanism for extracting something from you for me. Success is defined by how much I can get from others and stockpile for myself. No wonder so many find it synonymous with greed. 

 These referenced bible verses on entrepreneurship save the profession from becoming simply about money, power, and happiness. At its core, good business is first and foremost about adding value to other people and the world around us. It’s about seeing a need and meeting it, recognizing a problem and solving it, seeing something missing from the world and providing it. 

Gospel redeemed business is actually the antidote for greed, not the cause of it.  

I love the image this paints for business and the marketplace. Don’t buy the caricature. Business is not synonymous with greed; business is synonymous with service. 

Read these bible verses on entrepreneurship again, and then ask yourself: “What are you worshipping?”