Are Christian Businessmen Greedy? The Truth About Biblical Wealth Building
Aug 19, 2025
Is it any wonder people think Christians are just after your wallet?
Recently, Pastor Keion Henderson went viral for telling his congregation: "When you give to the poor, the only thing you do is help them but you don't help yourself. Charity does not bring wealth. Only the tithe does that."
However, the lives of two billionaire Christian CEOs demonstrate the very opposite... and their stories just might make you rethink every dollar you've ever felt guilty about earning.
The Christian Entrepreneur's Dilemma
Christian business owner, have you ever:
Felt guilty for charging market price?
Discounted your prices because you thought it was your moral duty, even though it hurt your business?
Wondered what to do with the ambition burning in your heart to absolutely crush it and make serious money?
If so, this is for you.
Because what I'm about to show you traces all the way back to God's first command, to the first man, in the first garden. Today's popular interpretation of that first command has emasculated the God-given drive of countless men.
The command wasn't about plants. The command wasn't about gardening. The command was about mission.
Mission Under Attack
Take away a man's mission and he shrivels into nothing. He lives on yet ceases to exist. Mission is so vital to a man's soul that Satan himself has declared war on it—launching attack after attack to destroy the very thing that makes you truly alive.
And yet it is this same sense of mission that built two of America's most successful companies.
The False Teacher vs. The Faithful Stewards
Pastor Keion Henderson is worth $8 million, his wife $35 million. His message? Give to the poor and you'll just get it back. Give to the church and it will multiply.
According to this logic:
I don't need to work hard
I don't need to create value for others in the marketplace
I can ignore the timeless law of reaping and sowing (Galatians 6:7)
If I want wealth multiplied, just give to the church—not the poor
But two billionaire Christians prove this theology dead wrong.
David Green: The $600 Loan That Became $7 Billion
David Green started with a $600 loan and built Hobby Lobby into a $7 billion empire. But here's what shocked Wall Street: when Obamacare tried to force him to pay for employee contraceptives that could cause abortions, he said he'd rather close all 500 stores than compromise his faith.
His decision triggered a Supreme Court case that changed American business forever. But that's not the crazy part.
The crazy part is WHY he was willing to lose everything. It goes back to that Garden of Eden principle most Christians get wrong.
Dan Cathy: Four Words That Nearly Destroyed an Empire
Dan Cathy's father started Chick-fil-A in 1967. When Dan took over, he could have stayed quiet about his faith. Instead, he said four words that nearly destroyed his company: "We support traditional marriage."
City officials tried to block Chick-fil-A. Airports refused to let them open. Universities kicked them out. Celebrities called for boycotts.
Revenue should have collapsed. But something impossible happened: sales increased by 12%.
What Pastor Henderson Gets Wrong About Wealth
According to Pastor Henderson, giving to the poor won't bless you. Except Proverbs 19:17 says: "One who is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed."
According to Henderson, giving to the poor won't help you. Except Proverbs 22:9 says: "One who is generous will be blessed, because he gives some of his food to the poor."
And according to Pastor Henderson, giving to the poor won’t make you wealthy, but giving to his church will.
But God showed us how to build wealth before there was any church. Before there was a tithe. Before there was even a poor person!
God's Original Wealth-Building Command
Genesis 1:28: "God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.'"
God wasn't just talking about making babies. You cannot keep babies alive if you don't feed them. And you cannot feed them if you don't cultivate the ground to grow plants.
God was commanding Adam to be fruitful with EVERYTHING he had been given.
Genesis 2:15: "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it."
God commanded Adam to cultivate what He had given him—both his garden and his wife.
The Steward's True Responsibility
Scripture is crystal clear on two things:
God owns everything (Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10)
You are responsible to steward His wealth that He has entrusted to you (1 Corinthians 4:2; Matthew 25:14-30)
Recently, I was training a guy in door-to-door sales. The owner encouraged him to set a $100,000 financial goal. When I asked what he thought, he said he just wanted to make "what he needed to live on."
"If someone makes a million dollars, does that mean they'd be discontent with little?" I asked.
"No. God calls us to be good stewards."
"And what is a steward's primary responsibility?"
"Keep it safe?"
"No. The servant who buried his talent found out the hard way."
"Manage it wisely?"
"Yes, but if you entrusted someone with your wealth, what would you expect him to do with it?"
"Grow it."
"Boom."
The Parable of Faithful Wealth Building
Remember the servants who doubled their talents? Why did their master call them faithful (Matthew 25:21, 23)?
Because they grew their master's wealth! "Well done, good and faithful slave!"
Try this: Next time you're talking to a Christian about money, ask: "What does it mean to be faithful with money?"
I guarantee they'll say something close to: "Don't steal" and "Give."
Yet in Jesus' parable, why did the master call his third slave wicked and lazy? Because he did not grow his master's wealth.
A steward who does not grow his master's wealth is not a faithful steward.
The Right Question About Christian Wealth
"Should Christian businessmen make a lot of money?" That's the wrong question.
Of course they should. How can someone call himself a follower of the Creator and not grow, create, and build what God has entrusted him with?
The question is: Do you manage your money as a steward?
Two Approaches to Wealth
Why did David Green risk everything for his convictions? Why does Hobby Lobby give away 50% of its profits—over $500 million donated?
Why has Dan Cathy's Chick-fil-A given away $100 million?
They see themselves as stewards of God's wealth.
Here's the difference between these men and Pastor Henderson:
Pastor Henderson says: "Tithe so that you can get more."
Green and Cathy's lives say: "Steward well so you can give more."
The Stewardship Test
Want to know if you're truly stewarding God's wealth? Here's the test that exposed both Pastor Henderson's heart and Green and Cathy's hearts:
How you manage your money when you're broke is how you'll manage your money when you have abundance.
Permission to Prosper
Christian entrepreneur, if you're feeling guilty about success, let me help you out: It's God's wealth anyway. You're just a steward growing and distributing it.
Undercharging for your product is not generosity
Maintaining your wealth is not faithful
Playing small is not humble
Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9:10: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."
The World Needs Faithful Stewards
The world needs Christians who cultivate capital, create jobs, and solve problems. Because when godly people cultivate, life happens.
When you do wealth-building God's way, instead of trying to fill a black hole that will never be satisfied, you create value, solve problems, and bless communities.
Your ambition to build wealth isn't greed—it's a God-given drive to fulfill your mission as a faithful steward.