10 practical principles from the book of Proverbs

The closest thing to a "business handbook" in the Bible

Of all of the books of the Bible, Proverbs (in my experience) most directly speaks to how to conduct ourselves in business, through a Biblical lens.

While there are far more than 10 practical principles here for us, I’ll start today with a few that stand out to me:

1. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (1:7) The Bible is full of warnings about trusting ourselves and our own ability to self-deceive. Starting point #1 here is very clear: the path to wisdom starts with genuinely fearing God. And the right starting place is opening up His Word, where He reveals this wisdom to us (if you’re looking for an easy to digest Bible for daily reading, I’d suggest this one). The pursuit of knowledge apart from the pursuit of God will not bring us the true wisdom we desire.

2. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. (1:8) None of our parents are perfect. Which means, we should absolutely “stress test” the advice of parents against God’s word. But, with this said, much of the advice we got from our parents is worth holding onto into adulthood. Things like: “don’t lie” and “take accountability” and “look out for the little man.” Even if our parents were or are not Christians, following their (good) advice will really help us in our careers. This has certainly played out for me many times over, and I recently shared this post on some of the best stuff my Dad taught me.

3. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (3:5-6) This is one of my favorite verses in the whole Bible. There will be so many times in our careers when we won’t understand what God is doing. And we’ll be tempted to ask questions like: “Why did God allow me to make this mistake?” or “I’ve done a good job. Why is God allowing this client not to pay me?” His purposes are greater than ours. And our response to difficulty shouldn’t be questioning God…it should be questioning our own understanding. As one of my favorite pastors Colin Smith says: “Trust God. Doubt yourself.”

4. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. (3:9-10) It’s important to clarify something here: the reason that we are generous is NOT so that we will get more back from those we give to. It’s for God’s glory. But, often, our generosity will come back around in ways that we never expect. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus lays out the “first command” as ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Our intention needs to be, first and foremost, to love God. And second, loving our neighbor (see Matthew 22:39). We don’t give so we can get back. But, we also do know from Matthew 6:33 that seeking God first will result in Him taking care of EVERYTHING else we need. When we give to others even when our meeting our own needs is still uncertain (I’m guessing most of us reading this don’t have $100 million in the bank)…we exercise trust in this promise. And often, God will reward this trust. But it’s not why we do it.

5. Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. (6:6-8) The idea here is that we should be SELF-disciplined…not just others disciplined. Much like ants that are hard-wired to do good work without explicitly being “managed” or “threatened with consequences”…we need to do good work for God’s glory, even when nobody else is watching (see Colossians 3:23). Proverbs is clear on the potential consequences of laziness a couple of verses later, “poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” (6:11). Of course, it can be hard to labor in what feels like a climate of unappreciation or low short-term results. In these cases, our self-discipline shouldn’t come from a belief that if we stick with it, other people will praise us. It should come from a desire to give God glory. For more on this, also see Proverbs 10:4.

6. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. (6:17-19) Sadly, our business world is full of all seven of these. Leaders who believe in their own power more than God’s. Dishonest companies. Companies that take advantage of workers, and workers that take advantage of companies. Deliberate schemes to harm others. Complete disregard for God’s commands in the Bible. And plenty more things. If we’re in a position of business leadership, this is a great checklist to hold ourselves accountable to. Sin is a slippery slope, we’re either “all in” on following God, or we’re at risk of slowly slipping…to the point that we might even shock ourselves with our own behavior. The good news? There is abundant grace in Jesus Christ. If we place our hope in Him and not our own goodness, and we repent of our sin…God will forgive us. And our sins, as bad as they are, will serve as a reminder (in a good way) of where our real dependence is.

7. He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. (6:32) This is a scary reminder. Few sins are listed in the Bible as “destroying” the sinner (in an earthly sense). But, adultery is this dangerous. In 6:33, we are told: “He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.” We see this with Presidents, CEOs, pastors, and every other form of public figure…there are consequences to not being faithful to our spouse. As we become more influential, wealthy, and “powerful” (in an earthly sense), we should be more and more aware of both the inappropriate attention others may give us, and of our own ability to fall prey to what really, at it’s core, is hard-hearted discontent (wanting something God has not given us). To be clear: Jesus died on a Roman cross for EVERY sinner who truly repents, and his death 100% covered the sin of adultery. If we mess up in this way, but seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus, he will forgive us. But, from an earthly sense, the consequences here are serious. And worth being scared of.

8. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. (11:4) More hard-hitting wisdom here, that we desperately need to hear as Americans. Our wealth will not save us when standing before God, and giving an account for our lives. Period. While financial blessing is a tool that can be used for serving our families, our communities, and our colleagues…it is not the ultimate goal we should be chasing. We need to be honest with ourselves…is wealth, deep down, the MAIN thing we are chasing? If it is, this verse should be a wake-up call for us. Because our bank account is not going to matter.

9. Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. (11:12) Gossip is something that every one of us will be tempted towards. Whether at the water cooler, on our Slack, or out for a meal. Resist. There is real strength in keeping our mouth shut. I heard a great story about leadership coach Stephen Covey that I’ve never forgotten. Apparently he was out with some friends, and they were critiquing a US President. One of them noticed him not joining in, and asked why. His response: “Because if I ever meet the man, I don’t want to be a hyprocite.” Funny enough, I think within the year he was coaching that President. Reminder: we’re all messed up. Let’s give grace and not gossip.

10. One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. (11:24) If it it’s our power to help others, we should. And, often, this will only lead to more blessing. I like to think about it this way: if we’re stewards of God’s money…it would make sense that he’s going to trust more to those who are faithful and generous with what he’s already given them. Conversely, when we’re unwilling to share what we have been given…even when we should? Why should we be trusted with more? This is not a 1:1 correlation or promise. We see plenty of examples of wealthy people who aren’t generous in the world. But, it is a good guiding principle to keep in mind.

I hope you find these 10 as helpful as I have, and please feel free to email me (miles@vethgroup.com) if you want to discuss any further. I’d love to.

Until next time,

Miles