Advocating for Disabled Christian Entrepreneurs

Raising awareness to the challenges faced by Believing business owners

Jul 19, 2024

This article was written by Mistaya Wilks. The featured image is her artwork. Mrs. Wilks is a talented Christian artist who lives with profound disabilities. As a Christian who also struggles with disabilities, this article deeply resonated with me. It is syndicated here and on HumblePray.com with her permission.

Introduction

For some individuals with disabilities, a significant focus has been placed on cultivating support systems and accommodations within workplaces. However, an often-neglected segment within this discourse comprises disabled individuals who are also business owners. Those who may be high enough functioning to live on one’s own and start a business, but yet have still very real needs of support and safety nets not always found for those who can function a little higher than others. The nuanced challenges confronted by these entrepreneurs necessitate broader recognition, understanding, and support within the Christian community, particularly within the framework of faith and compassion that embodies Christian principles.

Support Mistaya Wilks’ business and ministry by commissioning art or purchasing a print. Find her on Facebook by clicking here.

Challenges of Disabilities in Business

The dynamics of being a disabled business owner in a partnership or collaboration with non-disabled counterparts unveil an array of complex, often overlooked hurdles that extend beyond conventional disability accommodations. These challenges manifest in the form of pacing limitations, struggles to meet deadlines due to the impact of disabilities, and the imperative need for mutual understanding and empathy within business relations. The fear of losing business because of one’s disability is a fear rooted in a very real reality.

The absence of awareness and support systems tailored to the specific needs of disabled business owners, especially from the lens of their Christian faith, raises fundamental questions about patience and compassion that ought to underscore professional interactions. The essential levels of understanding and consideration that should underscore business collaborations are further compounded by the distinct challenges faced by disabled Christian entrepreneurs.

Solutions

We as Christians want to do our best job, but need understanding, support systems, and safety net for our ‘not so strong days’ that we have when doing business; to not fear losing said business because of our difficulties and limitations that come with our disabilities.

Adopting a multifaceted approach, the awareness and understanding of our challenges faced by our disabilities as Christian business owners compel a reevaluation of current business paradigms to accommodate our needs. Starting a conversation regarding pacing limitations and the impact of disabilities on meeting deadlines within professional circles illuminates the crucial need for patience, flexibility, and a spirit of support rooted in loving our fellow disabled business owner in Christ Jesus. And, bringing God glory ultimately should be one of the most important aspects we focus on as business owners, no matter what.

Loving Your Entrepreneurial Neighbor

The biblical principle of patience, love, compassion, and loving our neighbor stands as indispensable tenets in fostering a supportive environment for disabled business owners. Cultivating a perspective couched in Christ’s principles, business relations between disabled and non-disabled entrepreneurs should prioritize the collective welfare and mutual understanding over the relentless pursuit of profit. Viewing these intertwined partnerships through the lens of shared faith, embodies the essence of what it is to be a Christian, and engenders an ethos of support and compassion in professional collaborations. It should ultimately be a joy to do business with each other, not just a prosperous one.

Indeed, our Lord teaches in His word that “if a man will not work, he shall not eat.” Within the Christian community, especially when it comes to disabled individuals striving to engage in meaningful work, there exists a profound obligation to rally together to assist them in attaining this fundamental goal. It is imperative to transcend the pursuit of profit and instead prioritize the ethos of compassion and support, even if it entails incurring occasional financial setbacks to facilitate the engagement of disabled individuals in the workforce. By embracing the understanding that God is the ultimate provider and sovereign over all aspects of existence, fostering an environment that facilitates the integration of disabled individuals into the realm of meaningful work becomes a collective endeavor suffused with joy and shared purpose, rather than a burdensome duty.

Parting Thoughts

Ultimately, the glorification of God through business endeavors and professional interactions lies at the heart of advocating for a conducive environment that uplifts and supports disabled Christian business owners. This advocacy endeavors to recalibrate the prevailing business narratives, suffusing them with a spirit of understanding, support, and empathy rooted in our shared faith, and underlining the paramount significance of recognizing and accommodating the unique challenges faced by our fellow brothers and sisters who are also business owners.

In bringing these issues to the forefront, the community at large, particularly those in Christ Jesus–the church can foster an environment that embodies Godly principles, compassion, understanding, and loving nature that should separate and mark the Christian, not only as a Godly example of how business should operate, but also generating an atmosphere that supports and uplifts disabled business owners and glorifies God, and allows them to prosper as well, finally giving them the ability and chance to be the one that is able to give to others instead of just being the one who is in need of receiving all of the time. It’s a win-win for everyone.