Tag Archive for: Entrepeneur

Cross Translated

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Armodoxy for Today: Cross Translated

One of the greatest challenges faced by churches is one of relevance. It is a tricky issue because Jesus’ message is always relevant, but not always accessible.

The Feast of the Holy Cross, or the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is the last of the five major feast days of the Armenian Church during the calendar year. At the St. Leon, Srbots Ghevondyants Armenian Cathedral in Burbank, California, the Diocesan Primate, His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian celebrated the Divine Liturgy and offered a soul-stirring sermon which made the Holy Cross accessible to the overflow congregation that was assembled there that day.

The community in Glendale/Burbank area is made up largely of immigrants, seeking the security and freedom offered by the United States. Adjustment to the new country, especially after migrating from the Middle East is difficult. Unchecked, it is easy to get lost in the newly discovered freedoms and become a slave to materialism.

In referring to the Holy Cross, the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and what it has meant to the Armenian people, Archbishop Hovnan reflected on the need for parents and families to place their hope and trust on the steady and sacred road to good living as prescribed by the Church, for centuries. He then read a letter from a very affluent and well-known entrepreneur, who in his mid 50s found himself on his deathbed struggling with an incurable and inoperable disease. The archbishop translated the letter to Armenian as he shared it with the congregation, I will read the original English. For this community, and I personally believe for many of us, it is exactly what is necessary today and always. Here then is the letter.

I have reached the pinnacle of success in business. In other people’s eyes my life is a success. However, aside from work, I’ve had little joy. At the end of the day, wealth is just a fact I’ve gotten used to.

Right now, lying on my hospital bed, reminiscing all my life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth I took so much pride in, has faded and become meaningless in the face of imminent death.

You can hire someone to drive your car or make money for you, but you can’t hire someone to stand sick and die for you.

Material things lost can be found again. But there is one thing that can never be found when it is lost: Life.

Whatever stage of life we are currently at, in time we will face the day the curtain closes.

Love your family, spouse, children and friends… Treat them right. Cherish them.

As we get older, and wiser, we slowly realize that wearing a $300 or $30 watch both give the same time whether we have a $300 or $30 wallet or purse, the amount inside is the same. Whether we drive a $150,000 car or a $30,000 car, the road and the distance are the same, and we reach the same destination. Whether we drink a $1,000 or $10 bottle of wine, the hangover is the same. Whether the house in which we live is 100 or 1000 square meters, loneliness is the same.

You will realize that your true inner happiness does not come from material things of this world. Whether you travel first class or economy class, if the plane crashes, you go down with it.

Therefore, I hope you realize, when you have friends, brothers and sisters, with whom you discuss, laugh, talk, sing, talk about north-south-east or heaven and earth, this is the real happiness!!

An indisputable fact of life: Don’t raise your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy. When they grow up, they will know the value of things and not the price.

Cover: Envato Elements

Entrepeneurs

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Armodoxy for Today: Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs. They are risk takers. They are one, to a few, steps ahead of everyone else. Much more than a good business person, they are looking for the prize at the end of the game. The rewards are great but so are the losses if they fail. There are formulas for risk assessment and a good business person will weigh out the pros and cons of his or her actions. Though, arguably, an entrepreneur might we heavier on the risk side of the equation.

Jesus shares a parable, often referred to as the “Parable of the Talents,” in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. As I read through it, think of yourself in the position of each of the employees.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called three of his employees and gave them various amounts of money. And to one he gave $500,000 to another $200,000, and to another $100,000, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the $500,000 went and traded with the money and made another $500,000.  And likewise he who had received $200,000 gained $200,000 more also. But he who had received $100,000 went and dug in the ground and hid his employer’s money. After a long time, the employer came and settled accounts with them.

“So he who had received $500,000 came and brought $500,000 more, saying, ‘You gave me $500,000; look, I have gained $500,000 more.’ The boss said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful employee; you have proven yourself over a few things, I will make you in charge of other things. Receive this promotion with added compensation and a huge benefit package. He also who had received $200,000 came and said, ‘Boss, you gave to me $200,000; look, I have gained $200,000 more.’ His boss said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful employee; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you in charge of much more. Receive this promotion with added compensation and a huge benefit package.’

“Then he who had received $100,000 came and said, ‘Boss, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not labored.  And I was afraid and went and hid your money in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

“But the employer answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy employee, you knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not labored. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the money from him, and give it to him who has the most of the three.

“For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable employee out of our organization…’

And this is how Jesus ends the parable. Three amounts to three different people. We are all different, and there is a basic inequality in life. The amount of money is different to graphically illustrate the possessions we are all born with, namely our talents. Some have more, some have less, but from each an accounting is demanded. The accounting is based on how we have used our talents, and what did they yield. The only one who was unexcused was the one who was too afraid to use his money, or talents.

The parable may have sounded like a page from the entrepreneur’s manual, but it’s not. It is Jesus telling us that the gifts granted us God are meant to be used, not kept hidden. There are risks in all actions, but God asks us to evaluate the pros and cons of our actions and if necessary, lean on the side of the risk, keeping the prize in mind. That prize, Jesus mentions at the beginning of the parable, namely, “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

Some editorial liberty was taken in the parable to accommodate for relevance and adjust for inflation.