Another early lesson God taught the Hebrews was to make and keep relational covenants. Relational integrity was a core cause of their prosperity. God expected the Hebrews to make and honor covenants with one another above their own prosperity. The Ten Commandments are about relationships. The first five pertained to the relationship between God and man and second five pertained to the relationship between man and man.

It was because of utter trustworthiness that Jews first became successful bankers. Jews became bankers to help others. Helping others succeed enhances the dignity of individuals. Trust makes commerce possible.

Relationships can lead to transactions and transactions can lead to wealth, but the relationship needs to be formed first. Dale Carnegie wrote about how to win friends and influence people. His advise? Take a genuine interest in them. People know when you interest in them is insincere. To get the things you want, provide what other people want. Build relationships with no thought of personal gain. One approach? Play golf….it allows people to have long conversations with people while self-interest is disguised. I’m just sayin…

Mary K. Ash was a saleswoman and encourager who helped others to succeed. According to Lifetime Television, Mary K. Ash (1918-2001), founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, was the “Most Outstanding Woman in Business in the 20th Century.” As of 2014, her company had approximately three million sales consultants and wholesale volume in excess of $3 billion.

Mary worked for years in sales before she started her own company. In response to the unjust way in which she and other women were being treated in the marketplace, she decided to start a company that would encourage women to achieve their fullest potential. She said, “If you ask me, ‘What is the common denominator among women?’… it is the fact that most of us, most women, don’t believe in their own God-given ability. So what we do is try to show them how great they really are.”

She credited the success of her company to its decision to “take God as our partner.” She based her founding principle on the Golden Rule: “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (Luke 6:31). She redefined business terms like “P&L” to mean “people and love.” She taught her sales consultants to keep “God first, family second, career third.” She benefited from helping others become successful.

So for the Christian today…part of the path to prosperity is as follows:

• Work to extend the network of you connectedness to many people.
• Your path forward is to learn to develop relationships.
• Meet people outside of a business context.
• Force yourself to learn how to meet strangers and sincerely get to know them.
• Help others to succeed.
• Find joy in serving others.
• Exhibit the character traits of honesty and humility.
• Keep your word…even if it costs you.
• Play golf 🙂