"Blessed
are the merciful, for they will receive it back again!"
Rabbi Moshe,
in need of a donkey, went around to Mullah Nasrudin's farm
to ask if he could borrow his donkey for a day or two. The
Mullah came up with an excuse that someone had already
borrowed his donkey. While he was speaking, the donkey
started braying in his backyard. Hearing the sound, Rabbi
Moshe gave him an accusing look, to which Mullah Nasrudin
replied, "I refuse to have any further dealings with
you since you take a donkey's word above mine!"
During the
past weeks we have been looking at what our donkey
(business, career, position, money, assets) have to say to
us, using the Bible story of Balaam. This time, the donkey
is saying "I'm here! Use me for the good of your neighbor!"
"Loving your neighbor as yourself" will be one of
the major results of "tying your donkey to the
Vine." This was illustrated practically by the Good
Samaritan who was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho and
came across a Jew who had been attacked. The Samaritan traveler
was merciful, and cared for the injured Jew. "He put
the man on his own donkey and took him to a hotel and took
care of him. The next day he gave the innkeeper the
equivalent of two days' wages and asked him to take care of
him. If the bill runs higher than that, I'll pay the
difference next time I'm here!" (Luke 10:30-37).
Mercy in action!
The
Samaritan's business was to love his neighbor and use the
assets of the business to demonstrate mercy and compassion
to those in need. A study reported in The London Times
(05-09-97) amongst young professionals showed that two
thirds of these ambitious and wealthy people thought they
had no responsibility at all to help those worse off than
themselves! So how can we use our donkeys to show compassion
to those around us in need? Last week, I heard of a Dutch
businessman who took in an asylum seeker from Iran. Another
company has set the goal to have 10% of staff be handicapped
people. A company adopts children and encourages each
employee to do the same. Six companies here in Katwijk,
Holland have employed ex-offenders in cooperation with a
prison in The Hague.
A huge
challenge for us as Christian entrepreneurs is to learn a
new dimension of "stewardship." That is, to learn
what it means to use some of the assets of the company in an
un-economic way, just like the Samaritan who used his donkey
to help his neighbor. That cost him time and money. Jesus
commended the "steward of unrighteousness" in Luke
16:1-9, for giving his debtors huge discounts of up to 50%! "I
tell you, use your resources to benefit others and make
friends. In this way, your generosity will have eternal
benefits!" (Luke 16:9).
The
"golden rule" in the Bible is: "Do for
others what you would like them to do for you. This is a
summary of all that is taught in the law and the
prophets." (Matthew 7:12). I remember a marketing
director giving his salesmen a disc with this golden rule
written on it. Whenever negotiations were tough, the sales
people asked, "If you were in my shoes, what would you
consider a fair deal?" That is compassion, a meeting of
hearts. A deed which joins people together in a common
mission, sharing so that both sides benefit!
Peter Briscoe
Peter J.
Briscoe, currently serving as European Regional Director for
CBMC International and Europartners. He lives in Leiden, The
Netherlands.
