The rhythm of revenge in a family business.
My last post described the vicious cycle of anger and assumptions at work in the story of Samson, and recounted how these same tendencies emerge in modern-day family businesses. This week we see the...
Faith & Family Business
The vicious cycle: anger and assumptions in the family business
August 25, 2024
Samson, furious that his bride-to-be shared the answer to his riddle during the wedding party, kills 30 Philistines and goes home in “hot anger.” He leaves thinking he is married, not knowing the...
"Hot anger" in the family business
August 18, 2024
My last reflection focused on the point when things go south at Samson’s wedding party. Under the guise of wedding fun and games, Samson gives a riddle whose answer is known only to him. The locals,...
The point (or party) when the family begins to unravel
August 11, 2024
Samson’s parents are terribly upset with his choice of a bride from the ruling Philistine community. But they support the marriage and prepare for the wedding.[Samson’s] father went down to the woman...
When (you think) the next generation is flat-out wrong.
August 8, 2024
I reflected last week on how God was stirring Samson as he was growing up, and how such stirring happens in us as well. Now we come to Samson’s interest in a woman, but not just any woman:Samson went...
The stirrings of your spirit
July 28, 2024
Last week I described the different parental reactions to the angel who foretold Samson’s arrival and Nazirite expectations. Now we move quickly to Samson’s birth and youth.And the woman bore a son...
Listen to the women in your family business
July 21, 2024
After Samson’s mother recounts to Samson’s father the visit from the angel, he needs to hear it for himself. So the next time the angel appears, she (her name is never given) gets Samson’s father,...
Dedication in the family business
July 15, 2024
Before Samson is born, his mother knows he’s coming because of her interaction with an angel, and she knows there are great expectations for him. Now she tells her husband, repeating to him Samson’s...
Expectations for leadership in the family business
July 8, 2024
Roughly two to three generations after the experiences of Jepthah, we have the story of another Judge, Samson. Israel had predictably followed the pattern laid out earlier in the Book of Judges and “...
On families, faith, and failure
June 30, 2024
I’ve spent the first half of 2024 drawing lessons from two of the leaders that “judged” or led Israel, Gideon and Jephthah, during Israel’s cycles of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, as...