How to Succeed in Business
How to succeed in business? Use the lessons and models found in the Torah!
In a new book, Jewish Wisdom for Business Success (Amacom, 2008), Rabbi Levi Brackman and Sam Jaffe write that the Torah provides models for people to succeed in business. In Chapter 4 of the book, titled “Patriarchal Business Models,” the authors provide an example of how Abraham began successfully building the brand of monotheism. According to the authors, Abraham used a bold marketing technique: he smashed all the idols in his father’s shop. They wrote:
“Abraham’s public relations stunt with his father’s idols succeeded even better than he could have imagined, earning him credibility and a reputation throughout Mesopotamia as an iconoclast and a holy man.”
Now, that is something pastors should consider. Maybe churches today need to smash a lot of idols if they want to promote Christianity in a world filled with idols.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Abraham, Business, Religion,Torah
posted by Dr. Claude Mariottini @ 9/29/2008 08:35:00 AM
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3 Comments:
One of our past pastors must have thought the same, he burned a $20 bill? (note) in church that certainly caused some shock, and reactions like Judas' to the woman with the perfume ;)
Tim,
Thank you for visiting my blog.
Many people worship money more than they worship God and for them money has almost become their idol.
Claude Mariottini
Talking only about Western Christians I'd leave out the "almost, I think that (although seldom really acknowledged) money is the idol (like Ba'al) that we serve while pretending to ourselves that we are serving YHWH. As with Ancient Israel there are few idol-only people around but lots who mix up idol worship with the real thing...
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