Entrepreneur, Employee, Mom, or Manager: The Honor of Good Work
Why God cares more about your heart than your job title
This past week, I had two eye-opening conversations that perfectly illustrate how we can miss the mark when it comes to work and calling.
Friend #1 argued passionately that entrepreneurship is the only path to meaningful work. Why? Working for someone else was pointless, fruitless, and beneath his abilities. Further, he insisted that God surely wouldn’t want us to work for people with whom we disagree.
Friend #2 took the opposite stance, insisting that Christians should avoid entrepreneurship because it's "just about making money" or trying to be important. It distracts from what truly matters: God, family, and church.
I love both of these men, and hold enterprenuers and the employee in high regard, yet their perspectives miss something crucial.
The issue isn't the mode of work—it's the heart behind it.
As Scripture reminds us, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils" (1 Timothy 6:10). Notice it's the love of money, not money itself, that's problematic.
What matters most is stewardship—wisely growing and expanding what God has entrusted to us, whether much or little, for His glory. That may be as an employee, entreprenuer, contractor, job-seeker, or homemaker.
Money is a tool for building. As such, the answer isn’t to hate money, but rather not to love it or to put our confidence in it. Money isn’t the object of our faith.
While our discussion here isn’t not (pardon the grammar) about money, it’s ultimately about our work. Here’s what I know for certain:
1. You Were Created for Work
Work isn't a curse—it's a calling. Before the Fall, before sin entered the world, God placed Adam in the garden "to work it and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). Work is part of our fundamental design as image-bearers of God. It's part of how we participate in His ongoing creative and sustaining work in the world.
2. Work, Gain, and Profit Aren't Inherently Sinful
Jesus himself told parables celebrating shrewd business practices and faithful stewardship (Luke 16:1-9, Matthew 25:14-30). The Apostle Paul's counsel to the wealthy condemn the love of money, but doesn’t condemn riches.
Instead, he instructs how to use them: "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God... They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share" (1 Timothy 6:17-18). The Bible doesn't condemn wealth—it gives instructions for stewarding it well.
3. But Work Can Become Sinful Through Wrong Means or Motives
While work and gain aren't inherently evil, they can result from sinful means or be pursued with sinful motives. "Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household" (Proverbs 15:27).
The heart behind our work matters as much as the work itself. Are we pursuing wealth through dishonesty? Are we sacrificing our families on the altar of ambition? Are we building a shrine to our legacy? Are we avoiding responsibility and opportunity under the falsely religious guise of humility? These are the real dangers Scripture warns against in precept and in principle.
4. God Doesn't Need Your Work
This is perhaps the most humbling truth: "He is not served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything" (Acts 17:25). Yet amazingly, God created you for His glory (Isaiah 43:7) and invites you to participate in imitating His work as an image-bearer.
Your entrepreneurial venture, W-2 employment, or mom-duties aren’t about saving the world; they’re about glorifying God within this world. God could accomplish His purposes without us, but He chooses to work through us. Don’t worship work, see your work as a form of worship toward God.
5. Steward Faithfully Wherever You Are
As Paul teaches bondservants in Corinth, "Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called... But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity" (1 Corinthians 7:20-21). Be content where God has placed you, but also be open to new opportunities He provides.
The key is faithful stewardship—wisely maximizing the return of God's investment—in your current circumstances while remaining alert to God's leading. This means that your wealth or proverty belong to God; steward them faithfully to maximize the return!
6. Seek to Maximize Your Impact While Glorifying God
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Colossians 3:23). This doesn't mean every Christian should become an entrepreneur, nor does it mean everyone should stay in corporate employment. It means approaching your work—whatever it is—with excellence, integrity, and a heart to serve others and honor God.
Counsel to My Friends
Don't focus on the mode of your work (entrepreneurship, W-2, 1099, etc.) but rather the means (grace), method (as unto Christ), and purpose (glorifying God).
To my friend who believes they can only glorify God by leaving their W-2 at a company whose ideals they don't fully support, and to my friend who assumes anything beyond W-2 employment—even accepting a promotion—is selfish and rooted in love of money, my word is the same:
Glorify God where God has placed you.
This counsel should be encouraging to the stay-at-home mom and the job seeker, too!
Look at Joseph's example in Genesis. Whether in the pit, the prison, Potiphar's household, or on Pharaoh's throne, he stewarded each position with the same heartbeat of faith in God's sovereign providence: God has put me here to provide for others and fulfill His purposes.
Can't agree with your employer or some of their actions? I can appreciate this concern. I would encourage you to think of Joseph. I can only imagine the ethical, moral, and religious differences he faced while in prison, working for Potiphar, or overseeing Pharaoh's empire. We do well to consider Joseph's stewardship and that of the believing bondservants that the Apostle Paul admonished in Corinth, working for unbelieving (and at times, cruel) masters.
Feeling passive, like you can’t (or shouldn’t) try to improve your situation? Well, Joseph is a great example here, too. Everything Joseph did was met with God’s blessing, and Joseph’s efforts at stewardship with excellence were offered in worshipful faith.
The question isn't whether you're an entrepreneur or an employee.
The question is: Are you wisely and enterprisingly stewarding what's in front of you with the biblical purpose to the glory of God?
W-2 or 1099. Startup founder or corporate executive. Stay-at-home parent or global CEO:
Work as unto Him, wherever He has placed you. All work is honorable when done to the glory of God.
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As always,
Stay humble. Hang Tough.
Paul Tucker