The One Lesson Every Christian Entrepreneur Must Learn About Stewardship

Money is sneaky. It can look like a blessing and end up becoming a quiet distraction from God’s purpose. I learned that the hard way.

When I first started my business about ten years ago, I was already a Christian. I loved God, served in church, prayed often. But when I stepped into entrepreneurship, something shifted. I started setting financial goals, chasing numbers, and dreaming of independence. I told myself it was for God, but deep down, it was mostly for me.

It’s funny how easily money can disguise itself as purpose.

As entrepreneurs, we often begin with a hunger to build, to create, to provide. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But when you start believing your business exists to serve you, rather than serve others, you’ve already missed the point.

The truth I eventually realized is this: business is just another form of ministry. It’s how God allows us to serve people, provide value, and multiply what He’s placed in our hands.

When I finally understood that, everything about how I saw work, money, and success changed.

One story that brought it all together for me is the Parable of the Talents.

You’ve probably heard it before. A master gives three servants different amounts of money—one receives ten talents, another five, and another just one. The master leaves for a time, expecting them to manage what they’ve been given.

When he returns, the one with ten talents has doubled it to twenty. The one with five turns it into ten. But the one who received a single talent buries it in the ground out of fear.

When the master sees what happened, he praises the first two and rebukes the third, calling him lazy and unfaithful.

That story used to scare me. I’d always thought, God, why so harsh? The servant didn’t lose the money—he just didn’t multiply it. But now I see the truth: the master wasn’t angry about the loss of money. He was angry about the loss of trust.

Before the master left, Scripture says he gave to each “according to their ability.” Meaning, he already knew what each one could handle. The one-talent servant didn’t fail because he lacked ability—he failed because he doubted the master’s judgment.

When we hide our gifts, delay our calling, or play small out of fear, we’re doing the same thing. We’re saying, God, I don’t trust that You were right to give me this.

That’s not humility—that’s disbelief disguised as caution.

The parable also reveals something deeper. God’s anger toward the servant wasn’t just about fear. It was also about disagreement.

Sometimes God gives us a plan for how He wants to use our business. He gives us a direction that doesn’t look profitable or popular. And we resist it because it doesn’t fit what we envisioned. We think, God, surely this isn’t the way You want me to grow. Surely, there’s an easier route.

But that’s where faith gets tested.

I’ve learned that God’s plans for your business often won’t look like your plans. He’s not interested in building your brand—He’s interested in building His kingdom through you.

And here’s the hard part: He’ll often wait until your motives are aligned with His before multiplying what you have.

Sometimes the reason your business isn’t growing isn’t because you lack skill or strategy—it’s because God is still aligning your heart. He’s pruning away selfish ambition, testing your stewardship, and preparing you for greater influence that won’t corrupt you when it comes.

When I finally stopped praying, “God, bless my business,” and started praying, “God, make my business useful for Your kingdom,” that’s when growth began to happen—internally first, and eventually, externally.

Fruitfulness starts with surrender.

There’s another layer to the parable that we don’t talk about enough—the urgency.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like this…” meaning this wasn’t just a story about money or diligence. It was a story about time.

The master in the parable was urgent because there was a mission attached to the resources. The talents weren’t meant to sit idle; they were meant to expand something much bigger.

And that’s how God sees your business.

Every day, there are people who haven’t heard the good news. People dying without hope, without Christ. When you think about it that way, your business isn’t just a livelihood—it’s a lifeline.

Your product, your service, your leadership—these are all tools to reach and serve people, to model integrity, and to point others toward Him.

That’s why God takes fruitfulness so seriously. Because it’s not about numbers; it’s about impact.

He’s not angry at the servant because of the one buried coin—He’s grieved because of the lost opportunity. The servant wasted a chance to advance something eternal.

As Christian entrepreneurs, we’re called to multiply not just money, but meaning. To use what God entrusts to us to expand His kingdom here on earth.

Over the years, God has even allowed me to meet a few other Christian entrepreneurs—men and women who carry that same mission. They’re not just running companies; they’re expanding the Kingdom. They understand that business is stewardship—of time, of treasure, of talent. And watching them live that out has reminded me that we’re not alone in this calling. God is building an army of builders—entrepreneurs who see profit as a tool, not a prize.

So, how do we do that?

Start by re-evaluating who your business really serves. Are you chasing profit, or are you chasing purpose? Are you using your resources to build God’s vision, or just your own comfort?

Then, look at the gifts, skills, and opportunities God has placed in your hands. Don’t bury them in fear or false humility. Multiply them boldly, knowing that He trusted you with them for a reason.

Finally, live with urgency. There’s a deadline to this mission. Not one of stress, but of purpose. We don’t have forever to build what God wants us to build.

Every day counts. Every soul matters. Every act of stewardship, no matter how small, plays a part in His grand story of redemption.

You were never called just to run a business. You were called to steward a mission. To be fruitful not only in what you produce, but in who you impact.

Money isn’t the goal. Expansion of God’s kingdom is.

So, if you’re a Christian entrepreneur reading this—remember, your business is not yours. It’s God’s. You’re just managing His resources, multiplying His talents, and helping His kingdom grow one act of service at a time.

When we understand that, success takes on a whole new meaning. It’s not about what we gain, but about what God can do through us when we stop burying what He gave and start building with it.

Because in the end, it’s not the amount of talents that matter—it’s the faithfulness in how we multiply them for His glory.