This article has some theology in it. That shouldn’t put you off. Instead, it should make you think. You do have an open mind, right?

Time for some personal reflection. What goes through your mind when you think of Easter?

 

Hot cross buns?

If so, then according to a recent poll, you’ve chosen the third most popular answer among Brits.

 

Bank Holiday?

If so, then you’ve chosen the second most popular answer.

 

Chocolate eggs?

If so, then you’re like most people in the UK. The majority of us think of chocolate eggs at Easter.

 

What’s missing?

The fourth most popular answer was Jesus Christ, and the tragedy is that although this is what Easter is about, most people missed it. That’s because they’ve forgotten the Easter story.

 

Do you know what it is?

Here’s a recap. Notice the absence of hot cross buns, bank holidays, and chocolate.

 

The First Lesson

More than two thousand years ago, a baby who was named Jesus was born. Despite Blake’s fantasies, we know very little about His childhood. The Bible is silent on most of it. We know that He baffled the Jewish scholars in the temple in Jerusalem when He was 12.  And we know that “He grew in stature and in favour with men”.

Then, in about his 30^th year, he began a public ministry. You can read about it in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. For Christians, the most important thing about Easter is that it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It’s because Christ conquered death, that Christians can be confident that the “sting of death” – eternal separation from God – has been removed. If this is not true, then Christians – above everyone else – are to be pitied.

Now you may not agree with this assessment. If you don’t, then the Bible says that you’re not a Christian. Here endeth the First Lesson.

Now it’s been necessary to lay out the theology behind Easter so that we can see what this event can teach us about business.

You see, if to you Easter is nothing more than hot cross buns, a couple of bank holidays, and a chocolate egg, then the lessons that you draw for your business are likely to be quite different than if you get them from the event that Christians celebrate.

Stated like that, it’s rather obvious; wouldn’t you agree?

In order to discover what Easter – the true meaning of it – can teach us, we have to understand the purpose behind it.

 

The Second Lesson

At its most fundamental, God sent His Son – the perfect sacrifice – in order to pay the price for sin so that our relationship with God could be restored. The Bible expresses it like this: “He who knew no sin became sin for us”. In other words, a substitution was made. The just for the unjust. The goal was to restore a broken relationship. And God chose this method to do it.

Here endeth the Second Lesson.

 

What can we learn?

The purpose of this post is not to teach you about Christian theology. Instead, it’s to help you to learn something about how to make your business better by reflecting on the purpose of that first Easter lesson. What does it teach us?

 

Business Lesson No. 1

The first thing that it teaches us is that however unworthy people are, we should love them. George Orwell famously, or infamously depending on your perspective, observed that “the lower classes smell”. If you’re a member of the lower classes, you may not notice. If you’re not, then you probably do.

If you’re not living on the streets at the moment and you come in contact with someone who has been for any length of time, then you know exactly what he means. It’s a smell that offends your middle or upper class nose. Many of us think that we’re generous to one degree or another until we come in contact with real poverty. Then most of us try to put distance between us and it.

We may give a few pence or a few pounds to help alleviate it, but it’s the rare individual who has the commitment to get involved and do anything about it personally. That’s not meant to be a criticism of you. It’s just a fact. Not everyone has the temperament to work in a soup kitchen or volunteer in a homeless shelter.

The calendars of countries in the West are marked by days when so-called acts of piety are performed. On Easter, the Pope washes the feet of the imprisoned, the old, or disabled. On Thanksgiving, some American churches and business organisations take turkey dinners to homeless people. Various charities in the UK do things for the less well-off at Christmas.

The Samaritan’s Purse is one such project. In 2016, they delivered more than 11 million shoeboxes filled with practical and fun things for kids in poorer parts of the world. Helping to meet the needs of the poor on special days is good, but why don’t we do it all the time?

 

Why don’t we share from our abundance the year round?

It’s because we don’t love those people. It’s because we love ourselves more. There’s a saying in Christian circles: “There, but for the grace of God, go I”. You may have the most successful business on the planet. You may see yourself as a self-made millionaire. The truth is that you had help to become successful.

Maybe you started life in a broken home, wondering where your next meal would come from. Maybe you were shunted around from relative to relative, or foster home to foster home, and despite all of that, you still made it. Congratulations.

The fact is that few people ever make it, regardless of their background. If certain things hadn’t happened the way they did, you too, wouldn’t have succeeded either. You see, none of us deserves to be loved.

That’s the message of Easter. We were loved even when we didn’t deserve it.

 

Business Lesson No. 2

The second lesson we can learn from Easter is that we should forgive others. Forgiveness has two parts.

The first one is words, and the second is action.

It’s not, however, a form of words.

A form of words sounds like this: “If I offended you, then I’m sorry”.

Words that seek forgiveness sound like this: “I’m sorry I offended you. Please forgive me”.

Do you hear the difference? If a relationship is broken, then assume that you are the one who needs forgiveness. Then take the initiative to restore it.

How do you act?
Easy. As if you hadn’t been offended. In other words, you don’t hold a grudge. If you keep thinking about it or talking about it to anyone, including yourself, then you’ve only used a form of words in your heart. Forgiveness comes from the heart. You don’t forgive someone because that person deserves it.  You forgive because the other person asked you to. You forgive because it’s the right thing to do. When you fail to forgive, then bitterness ensues.

Bitterness will destroy you.

 

Business Lesson No. 3

The third lesson that Easter teaches us is that we are responsible.

You know the saying, “If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me”? While that statement isn’t true for everything, it’s true in this case. It’s your responsibility to start a force for good. It’s your responsibility to befriend others. It’s your responsibility to use your talents, your time and your resources to help those who can’t help themselves.

Responsibility is all about you.

 

Homework

Your homework is to examine yourself and your business. Is there a relationship that you need to restore? Then go to that person – in person is always best – admit your mistake and ask for forgiveness. Not everyone will be willing to forgive you. That’s not your responsibility.

Your responsibility is for what you do; for your attempts to restore the relationship.

The second thing you need to do is to identify a specific area where you could alleviate the needs of those who, for one reason or another, aren’t as well-off as you?

Maybe you could volunteer a few hours a week to work with a charitable cause that’s close to your heart. Maybe you could hire someone who needs a job, but whose CV isn’t all that promising. Everyone deserves a chance. It could be that you’ll be the one to give it. Maybe you could set aside five percent of your profits and donate that to a worthy cause.

If you choose the last suggestion, then make sure that you give as anonymously as possible. You gain nothing by self-aggrandizement.

 

The third thing is to think about your business a little differently.

Maybe you’ve done this already. If so, then you’ll have a head start. If not, then you’ll have to work a little harder. Ask yourself this question: “In what ways does my business change the lives of others?”

Reject your elevator speech. This is a deep question that deserves deep thought. Take as much time as you need.

 

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