When I was doing the research for The Good Book on Business, I discovered how important businesses are in the Bible. Appearing throughout the Bible, God used them for a number of His purposes. Things like providing economic security to the servants and employees and serving as a venue for God to interact with mankind are just a couple of a long list.
One of the most effective uses of business has to do with developing the character of Godly leaders. Moses, Saul, David, Abraham, Paul and even Jesus were raised in active involvement in their family businesses. In that, they learned lessons and acquired knowledge and skills that would serve them, and the Kingdom, throughout their lives.
Family businesses, called “households” were the venue in which children learned important skills, gained knowledge, and developed attitudes. That hasn’t changed.
Businesses in the Bible employed family. And, with a little bit of creativity, yours can too. Now, before you tune out and note that those practices were in an agrarian society and don’t apply to us, let’s think a little more deeply about it.
First, a little background. I was a professional salesperson for the first half of my career, and then developed a practice/business helping B2B sales organizations sell better. I found places in both my career as a salesperson, as well as the owner of a small business, to actively engage my kids.
In my time as a salesperson, the company provided weekly computerized reports on what was purchased in my territory. However, I wanted to see patterns over time. The reports provided accurate information on each week’s sales, but not information on patterns. So, I paid my teenagers to physically cut the reports apart, and then staple multiple weeks for an account on a piece of used paper. That way, I could look at an account and see the pattern of purchases over time.
As well as earning money, they learned some important things about business, sales and the value of information.
My territory consisted of nine days in metropolitan Detroit, and then one day every other week along the Detroit river and to some small accounts in the ‘thumb” of Michigan. During the summer, I would take one kid with me each of those more leisurely and laid-back trips to these rural accounts. They would go into the account with me, meet my contacts and have lunch with me along the road.
Later, in my days running my sales training/consulting business, I found lots of ways to employ the family. My wife is a gourmet cook, and I paid her to create varieties of Christmas cookies. We’d package them, wrap them in colored cellophane, and present them as gifts to the purchasing departments in my accounts.
She always attended entertaining events with me.
When it came time to compile photocopied letters of recommendation into packets, the kids were paid to do that. They helped clean the office, sort literature, file articles, and even took over my web site and electronic marketing when they were capable.
I have to believe that some part of their character as adults was formed by the experience of working with their dad on the job.
This God-ordained practice enabled the entire family to see what dad or mom does for a living. It generated respect for their parent and an awareness of what it takes to earn a living that kids who have never had the opportunity to work may not gain on their own.
I think they all gained a healthy work ethic which has served them well. They learned to complete a task correctly, to get along with co-workers, and to follow directions.
They also learned what it was to earn money for their efforts and realize the self-respect and improved self-image that comes from that.
It was Apostle Paul who said, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat. “ 2 Thessalonians 3:8 (NIV) The households in the Bible exemplified that concept generations before it was written, by teaching their children the value of work in the family’s occupation. With a little bit of creativity, Christians of this generation can do the same.
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