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D J - Student A

D J - Student A

 

Entrepreneurship and Christian Worldview

 

To begin this discussion on entrepreneurship and Christian worldview, I will define both separately. First, I will start with entrepreneurship. According to Larry Schweikart author of the textbook American Entrepreneurthe definition of entrepreneur has changed and had many different meanings over time, so he explains it through a concept and using Adam Smith as an example. Basically, "entrepreneurship is the essence of capitalism"[1] and capitalism being the concept of free markets, competition, and supply-and-demand driven by pursuits of self-interest. Joseph Schumpeter credits the entrepreneur as being the driving force in economic progress saying that, “the entrepreneur is an “innovator,” not an inventor, who leads the economy forward into a new paradigm. This individual is a “change agent” driving an often-reluctant society into more efficient use of its resources. The entrepreneur doesn’t necessarily invent anything, but “innovates.””[2] I like to think of entrepreneurs as anyone who pursues something that they are interested in, makes or innovates a product out of that thing and markets and sells their product. Moving on to the next definition which is Christian worldview or biblical worldview.

A Biblical worldview is a world view centered around God and biblical beliefs. In his article “What’s a Christian Worldview?” Del Tackett states that a biblical worldview “is based on the infallible Word of God. When you believe the Bible is entirely true, then you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do.”[3] It starts with the existence of God and God choosing to reveal Himself. God reveals Himself through His creation and scripture. It believes that the Bible is God’s word and Jesus is the word in human flesh. God is the greatest possible being. God exists outside of creation, He is creative, and all powerful. The framework for Biblical worldview is based on three main points: Creation, Fall, and Redemption. To follow a biblical worldview, we must live like Jesus. Jesus gives us commandments to follow that lay the path for living a Godly life and forming a biblical worldview. A Biblical worldview should have the traits of a good moral worldview. Jesus laid the standards for us to follow and live like Him. These standards are found all throughout His word and if we want to have a biblical worldview it’s our responsibility to read the Bible and learn about God and how he wants us to live as His followers. With all of this in mind, our biblical worldview as historians, rests on a few important principles: 1. God has established order, intelligence, and truth in the universe and history, 2. The Bible provides principles of ethics that guide our evaluation of people and nations, 3. The Bible teaches all men to recognize their human limitations. With this, I will discuss how entrepreneurship and free markets fit in with these principles.

            Firstly, God has established order, intelligence, and truth in the universe and history. As entrepreneurs we must recognize that God has established order meaning, that there is a right way to go about being an entrepreneur and an order we must follow. One specific order that comes to mind for me is the great commission which says, “then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (CSB). I hold that the great commission is a form of entrepreneurship; because, as Christians we are pursuing something that we take interest in which is the Gospel, marketing it to others, specifically non-believers and sharing with them a product that will change their lives, we are also innovating disciples and innovating new ways to share the Gospel. Order is also about being an entrepreneur in a righteous and Godly way, meaning that we should be using entrepreneurship in a way that glorifies Christ and in a way that meets the needs of others and brings healthy growth to the economy. Entrepreneurs can glorify God through purpose, we all have a purpose and according to Kathy Miller Perkins, all entrepreneurs have one thing in common, purpose. In her article “What Do All Entrepreneurs Have In Common? A Sense Of Purpose,” Perkins says that “the ambitions and inspirations that compel the most successful ones [entrepreneurs] come from an intense sense of purpose” and “All share a desire to pursue a purpose that excites them”[4]. As for intelligence, we should be knowledgeable of what we do, and we should use our intelligence to be innovative. We must also recognize God’s truth in everything we do and make that truth evident through entrepreneurship and free market.

For the second principle, “the Bible provides principles of ethics that guide our evaluation of people and nations.” I hold that it is very important especially in business and a free-market economy that we keep ethics as a high priority. As entrepreneurs we should consider the ethical responsibilities the bible gives to us and uphold those principles. When it comes to the evaluation of people and nations, we are love our neighbors as we love ourselves and love them like Christ has loved, we are also called to be servants to others. For the third principle which says, “the Bible teaches all men to recognize their human limitations,” we must realize that because we are human, we are not perfect and we all fall short of the glory of God, we must know that there will never be a perfect entrepreneur and there will never be a perfect free market. We should not overwork ourselves by striving to be the perfect entrepreneur or to work toward a perfect free-market economy. We must also know when we have reached out limit, when we have reached our limit we need to rest just as God rested. When we have done all that is humanly possible and have reached our limits, we must allow the limitless God to do the impossible.

 

Citations:

Perkins, Kathy Miller. “What Do All Entrepreneurs Have In Common? A Sense Of Purpose.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, November 21, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathymillerperkins/2019/11/20/entrepreneurs-have-purpose/?sh=202e150046d5.

Schweikart, Larry, and Lynne Pierson Doti. “Entrepreneurs: The Essence of Enterprise.” Essay. In American Entrepreneur: The Fascinating Stories of the People Who Defined Business in the United States, 2009.

Tackett, Del. “What's a Christian Worldview?” Focus on the Family, June 23, 2020. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/whats-a-christian-worldview/.

 



[1] Larry Schweikart and Lynne Pierson Doti, “Entrepreneurs: The Essence of Enterprise,” in American Entrepreneur: The Fascinating Stories of the People Who Defined Business in the United States, 2009.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Del Tackett, “What's a Christian Worldview?,” Focus on the Family, June 23, 2020, https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/whats-a-christian-worldview/.

[4] Kathy Miller Perkins, “What Do All Entrepreneurs Have In Common? A Sense Of Purpose,” Forbes (Forbes Magazine, November 21, 2019), https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathymillerperkins/2019/11/20/entrepreneurs-have-purpose/?sh=202e150046d5.