One of the key things we must realize as Christian farmers is that the land we work belongs to God. We are His stewards, and are responsible for being faithful with what He has entrusted to us. Our success as farmers will be measured in terms of faithfulness, not just how many acres we worked or how many pounds of food we produced. When I stand before the Lord one day I desire to hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
So how can we display faithfulness? What does faithfulness look like? Well, the above complement for the faithful servant is found in the parable of the talents. In this story, the master entrusts each of his servants with some of his property and leaves for a time. When he comes back he praises the servants who put his property to work and made a profit, and he punishes the servant who merely preserved his property. So you could say the faithful servants were the ones who made a profit with what they were entrusted with. In the same way it could be said that if we are faithful farmers we will make a profit with the land God has entrusted to us.
Now, at first glance, making a profit doesn’t seem very Godly. Today if you have a ministry or are doing something to serve the Lord than you are typically a non-profit organization. We don’t like to think that we are making money off of serving others. But in reality, profit is the fruit of being a faithful steward. It is a reflection of the increase God adds when we take what He puts in our hand and do something with it. Without profit, you have poverty. Because the only other alternatives to producing more than you consume are begging and stealing, neither of which are something we are told to aspire to.
God is the one who adds profit. Our job is to be faithful in our management and leave the rest to Him. What are some characteristics of faithful management? Although there may be many ways of looking at it, I have personally profited from the biblical management principles taught by the ministry of Foundations for Farming in Zimbabwe, Africa. They are: 1. Do everything on time. 2. Do everything to a high standard. 3. Do everything with minimal wastage. 4. Do everything with joy. Implementing these four management principles results in faithfulness that produces profit. When I am late in my work, half-heartedly do a sloppy job, waste time and resources, and grumble and complain, then I am being unfaithful and will not make a profit.
Another thing I have been learning is that you cannot chase the profit, because that will often result in unfaithfulness, which produces unprofitability. I will leave you with an entry from my journal written when I got back to my farm after my trip to Africa:
”Wow, if it brings joy to see a farm that is managed faithfully, then it brings discouragement to see a farm that is suffering from unfaithfulness. And that is where our farm is. Weedy, trashy, junky, messy, unkempt, disorganized and more. I guess we’ve finally gotten to a place where we really need the Lord to step in and restore our farm. We need Him to change our hearts to make us faithful so we can make a profit through his multiplying what we give Him. I need to stop going out each day and trying to make money. I want our farm to be profitable so we can be a good model for other Christian farmers. But for that to happen I need to stop focusing on making money and start focusing on bringing Glory to God in every aspect of what I do through faithful, whole-hearted management. When I focus on making money I over extend myself, do a poor job (because I am trying to get a lot done), and become a work-a-holic, striving and straining to succeed. But only whole-hearted, faithful obedience that flows from a humble, unselfish heart that loves Jesus will produce a Godly profit. Because worldly profit comes at the expense of another, while Godly profit comes from God’s supernatural increase. Please give me a heart that produces faithfulness, Oh God!”
You have learned a great lesson bru! What a wonderful truth to teach your children. When they see you operating like this, you will be sowing seeds into their lives, so that future generations will operate under this brilliant, Godly principle. Blessings to you and your family from your sister in Christ, in South Africa, Pam Whitehead
Thank you for sharing your heart. Good principles to remember as we begin a new calendar year.
Thank you Noah for your open heart. We have just moved onto a farm that is smelly, weedy and messy and I too have been complaining more than anything. I have gone through some of the DVDs of “Farming God’s Way” – South Africa, and are wanting to apply the method but I think the importance is the heart of it, as you say. God truly will bless FAITHFULNESS.
I so agree with every single thing that you have said in your blogs! Thank you so much for writing them and for writing your fantastic book! I went through and read the comments and prayed for every single person here; this is wonderful!
I long to farm. I live in Michigan, land of a huge variety of small family owned farms, and I crave the country life that I miss so much. I’ve been studying farming and I even have land that I can use; I just need to get a job to be able to afford organic, open-pollination, historic seeds and for the ability to get out to that land. Eventually, I’d like to have a beautiful and productive farmstead, built right into the top of a hillside with wood or geo-thermal heat, skylights, walkout window-doors, powered with solar and wind etc. The farm would also be a bed and breakfast where people could come to heal and connect with God through nature. I would be able to teach them about Christian farming and would make it nice for the animals too. Your website is a true gift from God: I’ve been struggling with the same things you have been struggling with: knowing God’s Will and trying to take over my own destiny instead of letting Him lead me. I’ve done exactly what you have talked about: let God tell me how to do every thing and guide me throughout the day; I just feel so distracted and lost here in the city. If any one would like to pray for me, I’d really appreciate it! I’ve book marked this site for re-reading and pray for your success in Godly farming too. Thank You Again!