I wrote a book on being a Christian business owner, Jesus Said Go, Start a Business. Here is a taste of one of the chapters. Some of it is from my book, and some of it is added. 

To do business, you must offer real value to someone who can pay for it. If you have nothing valuable to offer—no skills, no service, no product—how could you expect someone to pay you? Your services don’t have to be valuable to everyone, but they do need to be valuable to someone. 

And for you to offer value to others, you need to recognize your value. There is a principle described as "the law of the mirror." American author and sales and motivation g.o.a.t., Zig Ziglar, said that “It’s impossible to consistently behave in a manner inconsistent with how we see ourselves." This means that in order to increase value in yourself, you must first recognize what about you is valuable already. (See Younger Partners' "The Law of the Mirror..."). In Greg Grainger's article on Younger Partners, he notes that every aspect of a person's life is impacted by the way they see themselves. It's essential to correctly recognize your value.

Money As a Measurement

Value is measurable. In business, we usually measure value in money. Money is not the root of all evil. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Tim 6:10), but money is neutral. It is a representation of the value of your work. It is necessary in today’s human systems. Value is measurable, but just because you can usually measure value in dollars, doesn’t mean you can always measure it in dollars. For example, a non-profit organization can provide valuable services to a community without directly generating monetary profits. They may offer free educational programs, provide medical support for vulnerable populations, or tackle environmental issues. Although their impact may not be quantifiable in terms of financial gain, it is still valuable and beneficial to the individuals and communities they serve. And we could talk about how much more teachers should be paid, or social workers, or pastors (most of them, anyway). Yet I’d still venture to say that you can usually measure value with money.

Humility

So what is True Value? Something valuable in the Kingdom economy that actually leads to value in the world economy is the value of humility. Can you measure humility? Can you quantify it? Here’s how God measures it: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk 14:11).  And this, “The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life” (Pr 22:4). 

Humility is measurable. Even if you can’t measure it, God can. He has to, because He rewards it with riches, and with honor, and with life. I’d like some of that, please! So if riches, honor, and life are the reward for humility in general, then they must be the reward for humility in business.

Does this mean that every businessman or businesswoman is humble? Most certainly not. I can assure you that they are not. In Jon Bloom's article Only the Humble See Heaven, he reminds us that "Humility is the ethic of a former kingdom. For the kingdom of heaven was the original administration of earth, and humility was the ethic of Eden." 

Humility is not the law of our current world. If they are rewarded for arrogance, which is not hard to come by, it is likely going to be temporary. Why? Because, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace . . .” (Pr 11:2). Either in this life or the next, there will be a reckoning for anyone who does not turn to Jesus for salvation and toward humility. It is (mostly) not your job to worry about the ethics of others. That is God's responsibility. 

Who Are You?

Do you know who you are? Do you know what God has called you to be? Take a look in the mirror and be honest with yourself. What are your strengths? Weaknesses? What skills do you have, and what wisdom have you gained? Understand we can do nothing apart from God. But He works through us, carries His will through us. He uses us, uses the skills He has gifted us. He uses the opportunities He has given us. We know God does all things and everything we have is through, and from, and for Him, we know that it is going to come about when, by His grace, we get to work. 

Paul said to the Ephesians, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). 

God prepared the works for us to walk in. We have to get walking. What has He made you to walk in? Be honest. You are God’s gift in whatever area that is. You have purpose, and it is humble to believe God about that. Paul also said, 

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Cor 15:10)

Man, that is good! Paul knows he just is what he is; he knows it is by God’s grace that he is what he is. Then he says, “I worked harder than any of them.” He’s being objectively honest. He’s facing reality. He’s looking at himself in the mirror. He is fine with what he sees. He is what he is. And what is he? He is someone who has received grace that he’s thankful for. He is someone who worked harder than anyone he knows, and he doesn’t mind thanking God for that too, as he should!

Humble Enough to Accept It?

Are you humble enough to accept who God has made you to be? Are you humble enough to see it and call it in the mirror as it is? Are you humble enough to receive? God has so much for you--consider the words of the Psalmist:

13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Ps 139:13–16)

Accept what is both good and bad about you, and give both to God. When you do this, that is true humility, and that is where true value lies. Understanding your value will help you to accept the value of your services and products, your value to your customers, employees, and the world. Remember, true humility is receiving, and that’s where true value lies.