The principal owner and founder of ‘Hobby Lobby’- a Christian owned, private retail company, dealing in arts and crafts items, shares his faith and the Christian values that made him a successful ‘steward’.
David Green founded his company ‘Hobby Lobby’ in 1972, 50 years ago in Oklahoma City, U. S.. He began the work 2 years earlier in 1970 in the basement of his house with his wife, making miniature frames from the $600 he borrowed.
Five decades later, the company has grown to own a chain of arts and crafts stores, having a chain of 969 stores in 47 states and generates over 5 billion dollars in revenue( as of 2018).
In an exclusive interview by CBN news, David said that, following God and the Bible is the best way for anybody to be successful in their endeavors and putting God first and in the centre has been his ‘go-to- formula” for success. He runs his company in tandem with the word of God.
He says that the toughest business lesson he has learned after building and running a company that is as monumental as ‘Hobby Lobby’, was to remind himself that the company is essentially God’s. It is ‘God’s business’ and he was merely a steward of it. A manager employed by God.
“It is actually a paradigm change when you see your company belonging to God. And that’s not because we say so, that’s because God’s word says so. God says He owns everything so it is a paradigm change in how you deal with your family, who owns the company, what do you do with the finances, all of those things change, once you get to not just saying God owns it. No, no, but God really owns it. We are happy and joyful to be stewards of what God has given us. Now we see ourselves as stewards and that is a much, much better place to be than an owner.”
He acknowledges that it was only because of God’s blessing that had made the company the way it is right now. And never had dreamt of such success, he was only trying to survive then.
Over and above the success he has had in his business, the thing he is most excited about and which he considers is the most important in his life is his children and grand-children ‘serving the Lord’. “That is my biggest success”, he stated.
He explains that ‘prayer’ is the most important element that business leaders need to incorporate in their lives. Forgetting to pray for the right things, and not walking with him on a daily basis while running the business is a major shortcoming of business people but God wants to walk with us and bless us. And that we have not because we ask not.
As a Christian business leader, caring about employees and honouring them just as one loves and honour their own family members is a principle David Green advocates for and talks bout it in his new leadership book.
As the company grew bigger and bigger and knowing that he could sell and take all the profits for himself and his family, David developed an uneasy feeling about it which bothered him greatly. So he will be giving away the ownership of the company he founded- a decision he made, as he ‘chose God’.
The man says that there is more purpose to life than just making money and fears that he might either change or ruin his succeeding generations by leaving so much money than they could ever spent.
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. I Timothy 6:17-19 (NKJV)
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