The spirit of Christmas means different things to different people. For some, it is all about the warmth of family gathered together. For others, it is about giving and receiving gifts or the beauty of Christmas decorations and lights. Since we seek to operate biblically based, Christian businesses, we are right to start with the Biblical story of Christmas and ask the question, “What was the spirit of the first Christmas and how does that relate to how I operate as a business leader?”
This spirit was the spirit, first of all, of generosity. God gave His Son. Jesus gave up His position and emptied Himself to become one of us. The way we live our lives and conduct our businesses in this spirit has much more to do with our hearts than it does our actions. Actions will certainly follow, but only if the heart is right and a heart of generosity follows the example of Jesus Himself. The Word tells us that He “made Himself of no reputation and took on the form of a servant”. Let us, in the spirit of this season, step down from being the Chief of This or the Director of That and simple allow God to show us who we need to serve and what they need from us.
Sometimes it is simply to take time to listen and the willingness to respond. A friend of mine, a fellow entrepreneur, wrote a heart wrenching message about how deeply he was hurting at this season and disappointed in how his life was working out. I could have ignored his email. I could have simply hoped someone else would respond. I didn’t even know what to say, but I wrote anyway. I hope it helped–it certainly helped me to know that I had not left his pain unresponded to. Who do you have in your life, around your business or home, in your orbit of friends or acquaintances who needs you to take the time to listen and respond to their need? In the spirit of the season, let us do what Jesus did and give generously–from the heart, and see what God will do with that gift.
Have you finished your BE Certificate Program? Coach Scott Landis and myself, Randall Sanford, will co-teach, coach, and lead a cohort that combines BE II and III. This is a unique 20 week long opportunity to gain the skills in good, biblical business practices and insights such as
Biblical economics, understanding financial statements, marketing and sales, financing a kingdom business, international trade, kingdom philanthropy, and more from BE II. Along with that, we will be training and coaching on how to build an in-depth Kingdom Business Plan.
Want more details? Click here to watch this video. Or click below to register.
– posted by Randall Sanford