Whether you’re merely dreaming of a future business venture or deep in the adventure of business leadership, a clear-eyed perspective on financial sustainability is essential.

The book of Proverbs addresses many practical areas of life, including the financial concerns of those who lead enterprises. Proverbs 27:23–27 offers timeless advice to leaders of livestock herding businesses, a type of enterprise that was extremely common in that time:

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.

The beginning of the passage mentions flocks and herds, resources designed to be productive over a long period of time. The Theology of Work Project describes the long-term perspective this verse communicates:

“Wise planning requires making decisions for the long-term, as seen for example in the cycle of agricultural asset management. …the wise herdsman thinks years ahead.”

Verse 24 contrasts the productive, and often sustainable assets of a herding business (flocks and herds) with the temporality of wealth in things such as crowns and gold. The passage also addresses the reality of inevitable business cycles (“When the grass is gone and the new growth appears …”). In farming, these cycles follow the seasons, but every business environment has its own rhythms—some predictable, others less so.

Finally, the passage mentions the ways that productive resources can provide for both consumables to use (clothing and food) and investment in additional resources that can lead to further production (“the price of a field”).

In light of these wise insights from Proverbs, consider the following questions in your context:

1. What does it mean to “Know well the condition of your flocks” in your enterprise? What are the productive assets in your business?
2. In what ways can it be tempting in your particular context to depend on “gold and crowns” and not give the needed attention to “flocks and herds”?
3. What are the cycles in your business environment? How regular and predictable are they? How can a better understanding of business cycles help you steward your business?
4. What are both the consumable and productive uses of the margin of your business? How do you discern the right balance between using profits for immediate needs and reinvesting in the long-term growth of the business? In business terms, what seems to be an appropriate ratio of “dividends” to “retained earnings”?
5. This passage is often used to encourage leaders to be aware of the condition of the people they lead. As leaders who endeavor to make not only profits, but disciples of Jesus and a difference in our communities, what would be the productive assets in these other areas that we should pay careful attention to?

Verse of the Week:

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds. Proverbs 27:23 (ESV)

Proverbs 27:23-27 offers timeless principles for wise stewardship of the assets God has entrusted to us as enterprise leaders. May God give us grace and wisdom to know well the condition of our ‘flocks and herds,’ and to steward them faithfully for His glory.