Below Momma’s Money Tree has shared an excerpt from our upcoming book, Home Business Basics: Lessons From The Proverbs 31 Woman. For more information or to purchase the book, please visit our Products & Services page.
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Unspoken Partnership
Have you ever experienced calm in the midst of chaos? It’s a rare experience – like glimpsing a rainbow fringing a thunderstorm or the eerie silence cradled within the razing winds of a hurricane. Nevertheless, once witnessed, the experience is almost impossible to forget.
As an example of entrepreneurship, the Proverbs 31 woman is only somewhat remarkable. She weaves and dyes wool and flax fabrics from her home, sells cloth, garments, and accessories through a network of distributors, and makes a tidy profit before expanding into viniculture. It’s a simple story with a predictable outcome – even if it was written about an unnamed homemaker who lived ages ago.
Instead, the surprising part of her story isn’t even a key focus of the account.
It’s the peaceful joy written between the lines of her story.
The description of the Proverbs 31 woman is a whirlwind of activity. In a period of marked patriarchy, she is a wife, mother, female entrepreneur, employer, neighbor, and philanthropist. She manages household support, office staff, personal relationships, and business partnerships. Her days start early, end late, and burst at the seams. The mere description of her life is one of constant movement and activity.
In spite of all this, her husband treasures her “more than rubies”, and rather than regarding their mother as a workaholic, her children grow up to respect and admire her. Her friends and neighbors can’t thank her enough for contributing to their community, and they all seem to agree that their lives are better for knowing her.
How does one person accomplish such a task?
How does the Proverbs 31 entrepreneur manage to experience peace and joy during the daily pandemonium that is her life?
How does she succeed in snatching calm from a perpetual whirlwind of chaos?
Although we’ve discussed facets of the answer to these questions in other chapters, the final key seems to be found in verse 30. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30 NIV)
Based on this verse, it would appear that the Proverbs 31 entrepreneur isn’t in business by herself. She has support from an unspoken Partner in business and life.
Building on Her Beliefs
Although it’s never directly stated, the choices of the Proverbs 31 entrepreneur strongly indicate that she has chosen to put her beliefs into practice in her business as well as her personal life. Likewise, her commitment to bettering the lives of her family, staff, and neighbors appears to be motivated by her relationship with God.
Although her methods are atypical, they match her spirituality and core beliefs. This alignment of purpose and daily pursuits enables the Proverbs 31 entrepreneur to find daily fulfillment – despite navigating the challenges of her life.
Because her struggles are viewed through a lens of service to her Creator and fellow man, the Proverbs 31 woman sees her businesses as a means of fulfilling her God-given purpose. From this perspective, the money earned during the process would become a byproduct of service well-rendered.
Business Done Differently
It’s interesting to note that the Proverbs 31 woman is not unique in her position as a God-fearing entrepreneur of means. In addition to this nameless businesswoman, the Bible mentions Abraham, Solomon, Joseph (son of Jacob), Ester, Boaz, and Joseph of Arimathea, to name a few, as Godly persons of wealth.
Nevertheless, by recommending against indebtedness and valuing human relationships over transactional business, the Bible takes an unconventional approach to entrepreneurship and money management. If you choose to allow the spirit of biblical principles to motivate your entrepreneurial choices, you may find yourself doing business in unexpected ways that value people over profits.
Why?
Because your business model won’t be one that features money as king. Instead, your business plans will end up ranking your interactions with God first and people second. Only after that, will monetary profits become a motivating factor.
In a world where some consider business to be the capitalistic exercise of achieving monetary profitability at any cost, the core principles of your business will strike some a child’s play.
However, these practices are also likely to make you a better business person.
How?
By teaching you to value people over transactions.
It’s impossible to serve your customer well if you refuse to see them as a person of value or meet them at the point of their pain. By first acknowledging your customers as valued collaborators with your business, you’ll serve them better and offer win-win solutions to their needs.
In this way, the Proverbs 31 business model teaches an entrepreneur to be a better business person – by prioritizing the needs of their customers first.
Evil Money
Of course, some may be tempted to object to the entire idea of a Bible-believer seeking to cultivate a profitable business. After all, nearly everyone has heard people misquote 1 Timothy 6:10 saying that, “Money is the root of all evil.” Although well-intentioned, the speakers accidentally omit three key words that transform the quote into, “… The love of money is the root of all evil…”
Sadly, the misquoted version of this verse has rung in the ears of generations. The misstatement has combined with popular stereotypes for so long that some struggle not to automatically regard money to be a force for wickedness.
But is money really evil?
When you stop to carefully consider the matter, it becomes apparent that dastardly money can’t truly be the issue – because money is only a tool.
The Proverbs 31 entrepreneur has clearly accumulated a lot of money. She has sufficient wealth to care for herself, her family, her businesses, and her staff. Despite this fact, she does not become a maniacal miser. Instead, she chooses to use her money to uplift, bless, and collaborate with others. Her funds become a tool to amplify her influence as a person and live out her beliefs.
The Proverbs 31 woman puts her money where her beliefs are by spending her resources toward kingdom-building in her daily life and businesses. Her use of money simply reflects who she is in her daily personal life.
Likewise, what you do with your money gives a similar account of who you are in your private life. That fact doesn’t change as you accumulate more means, so if you don’t like what you see when you audit your use of money, change the person in the mirror – because the money is only doing your bidding.
Work Hard. Trust More. Stress Less.
While building and also after creating a markedly profitable enterprise, there is always a temptation to feel that you must work even harder to keep the profits coming. However, these feelings are grounded more in fiction than fact, because there is only so much that any entrepreneur can do to ensure the survival of their venture. A large portion of entrepreneurial success comes down to timing, popularity, positioning, demand, market saturation, etc. At best, these factors are only partially within human control.
Seeing that this is the case, a Bible-believing entrepreneur would be better served to follow the example of the Proverbs 31 businesswoman. She works hard (tirelessly even), but she is never described as taking time to worry. Instead, she works to influence the factors within her control, and then she trusts in the abilities of her silent Business Partner to bless her efforts.
Likewise, if you are truly serving in the area of your calling, your responsibility is to do the work to the best of your ability. After that, trust your Creator to make up the difference. While the Bible does not promise unlimited wealth, it does pronounce numerous blessings on those who walk in obedience to the Godly calling on their lives. Claim these promises while working, praying, and trusting all the more.
As long as you operate in obedience to God’s will for your life, you can have peace. Your Creator has promised to be responsible for the rest of the venture.
Show More Than You Tell
Although your business is only one means of demonstrating your beliefs to the world, it represents a very prominent one. As a result, it may be tempting to seize any spotlights associated with the enterprise as a soapbox opportunity. However, the example of the Proverbs 31 woman suggests that this form of advocacy may be the least required kind of witness.
You don’t have to trust this writer’s interpretation of the material. Go back and read Proverbs 31 for yourself.
Of the twenty-one verses used to laud her life, only one describes the Proverbs 31 woman as speaking to others (verse 26). Yet the record of this “wife of noble character” clearly chronicles her commitment to her God, her family, her business, her staff, and her community. In her case, actions speak much louder than words.
In a similar manner, it is suggested that your witness would be orders of magnitude stronger if you focus on practicing more than you preach. Why? Because there is a greater need for Bible-believers to show the impact of their beliefs – than to tell where they stand.
People are accustomed to being showered with pious-sounding words from religiously-oriented people. Those gestures do not change hearts or lives. Instead, your audience is waiting for your actions to reveal what you truly believe. Your life and business have the chance to display the power of a Christ-centered life in ways a thousand sermons never could.
Drive It Right
As we close this final chapter of our Proverbs 31 study, it’s impossible to overstate how important it is for Bible-based entrepreneurs to properly value their vertical and horizontal relationships. The world is watching. Too many people have been deeply wounded by persons bearing Bible-based labels while exhibiting none of the compassion recommended by the book.
For this reason, it seems fair to conclude with a Dave Ramsey quote that the Proverbs 31 entrepreneur might have used if she had lived in our day.
“If you’re going to put a fish on it, [try to] drive it right.”
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Thank you for reading! If you’d like access to this section’s author notes and assignments, click here to purchase ebook access.
In upcoming weeks, we’ll continue exploring all the things they never taught you about money. Until then, good luck with the growing!
D’Loreyn