Do you have questions like these:
“If my business grows and I hire other people to help me, what will that be like? If I do it right, will it be fun, easy, and profitable? Or will it be long, painful, and risky? Does the Bible say anything about what I should expect? If so, what?”

Thankfully, God addresses these questions. The Bible provides clear teaching about people working together in the marketplace to provide products and services. Here are some key expectations for those of us who own or lead a business:

• God doesn’t guarantee that our business plans will succeed.
  We should expect to be faithful and to entrust the results to Him.
  James 4:13-17 says that when we make plans (especially business plans), they should always start with this reminder, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:15b). James doesn’t forbid planning. In fact, it looks like planning is expected and even good. In Luke 14:28, Jesus assumed that the builder of a tower would “…first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it.” This is detailed planning! What James forbids is overconfidence that our plans will succeed. He labels this as “arrogance” and “boasting.”
  God may choose to glorify Himself through our business success and our crediting that success to Him. On the other hand, He may choose (as He did with Job) to glorify Himself through our business failure and our trusting Him in spite of it. This can happen even if we do everything “right” (as it did with Job). Our responsibility in business is to be faithful and entrust the results to God.
  As Christian business owners and leaders, we should expect to be tempted to arrogance and boasting in our plans. We should discipline ourselves to remember that plans will only succeed “…if the the Lord wills.” Our primary goal should be faithfulness rather than outward success.
  
• God declared a “curse” after Adam sinned.
  As a result, we should expect our work to include “pain, thorns, thistles, and sweat…”
  Every category of business has it’s own version of “pain, thorns, thistles, and sweat…” It’s true whether we farm, make furniture, build web-sites, or serve as a Lean coach. This doesn’t mean that success is impossible. It just means that work in a fallen world is hard and involves problem-solving. After the fall, farmers had to devise a plan for the thorns, thistles, and other pests. Over the ages this has included hoeing, cultivating, chemicals, mulching, and other methods. The key is for us (and the people we lead) to use the mental and physical abilities God gave us to “outsmart the weeds.” It’s not easy, and often requires teams of people working together to pool their abilities. And of course, teamwork has it’s own challenges in a fallen world.
  As Christian business owners and leaders, we should expect work to include pain, thorns, thistles, and sweat. We should expect a steady flow of problems—especially in our rapidly-changing marketplace. We should develop people and create systems to solve problems and meet challenges. We should also expect to be tempted by frustration, complaining, and resentment. We should battle these temptations with faith and endurance.
  
• God created people for fruitful work and gifted them with skills and abilities to succeed in it.
  We should expect success and satisfaction for our selves and our team.
  God’s command at creation was to “be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and have dominion over it.” When God made us “in His image,” He gave us the capabilities and talents we needed to fulfill His creation command. Although God doesn’t guarantee success in every case, our efforts usually bear good fruit. In spite of Adam’s fall and the resulting “curse” on the earth, God’s creation command still stands. When we work to attain it, there is a deep satisfaction that only comes from fulfilling God’s plan. This is why a hard day of work can produce inward pleasure—especially when a group of people use their God-given talents to work together as a team and triumph over the challenges they face (to “…outsmart the weeds…”). Leading a team to overcome problems and provide products that contribute to human fruitfulness is profoundly satisfying and generally successful.
  But outward achievement and financial prosperity bring special temptations. In 1 Timothy 6:17, God warns: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”
  As Christian business owners and leaders, we should expect that we and our people will regularly experience both success and the deep fulfillment that comes from godly work. On the other hand, we should also expect to battle the particular temptations that come with success: haughtiness, trust in wealth, and desire for even more.

It is good for us to have Biblical expectations for work and business leadership. It helps us avoid disappointment or making promises to our people that fail to come true. Obviously, there is much more in Bible that applies to our activities in the marketplace. The comments above are just a few of the lessons God has for us. If you are a Christian business owner or leader, I hope these thoughts help you have biblical expectations.

Bible references above are from the English Standard Version (ESV).