In order to understand the habits that make a Christian entrepreneur successful in business, we’re going to be breaking down Matthew 15:21-28, the faith of the Canaanite woman, and apply this story to the relation of entrepreneurship characteristics all successful entrepreneurs should have.
The Faith of the Canaanite woman can be first found in Matthew 15:21-28. Her story is also found in Mark 7:24-30. These two accounts differ a bit in information and were written towards different audiences. Matthew’s account was written for a Jewish audience and Mark’s a gentile audience. In this blog post, we are just going to reference the account from Matthew. If you love content like this, you’re going to love our Christian Business Podcast called Scriptures, Stories, and Strategies, where we take scriptures and stories from the Bible and transform them into applicable business strategies so God is always within your business trials and success.
So, there are 5 lessons/habits we can learn from the Canaanite woman that reflects the traits of a successful Christian entrepreneur. The Canaanite woman was
Let’s break this scripture down and explain the importance of these traits as it relates to being a successful Christian entrepreneur who honors God within their business.
Before we dive into this story, it’s important to understand the historical context.
So, the Canaanites hated the Jews and were in turn hated by them. Jews referred to the Canaanites – as dogs. The Canaanites were a people who lived three to four thousand years ago off the coast of the Mediterranean, and their cities were spread across an area known today as Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Syria.
So why did they hate each other?
In the book of Genesis, God promises Abraham that his descendants will live in the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Abraham never saw this promise come into fruition, nor did Moses, and it was Joshua who led the Israelites into the promised land of Canaan. Now, of course, there were people already living there, called the Canaanites.
The Canaanites are famous as the bad guys of the Book of Joshua and God orders the Hebrews to destroy the Canaanites along with several other groups. The Canaanites were thoroughly pagan and corrupt. Their presence in the land was a strong threat to the purity of Israel’s religion and morality.
So, there is a long history of spiritual and military conflict between the Israelites and the Canaanites. David and his royal successors managed to control them; Solomon even did business with them when he was building his temple. But over the years the Canaanites were defeated and most of them fled the land. The bulk of those who fled settled in North Africa in Carthage, and met their doom in 146 B.C., which essentially ended the curse on Canaan and any threat from Canaanites.
Clearly, the Canaanites did not 100% die out but they did come to be known by other names. There were still people of various ethnic origins living in the area of today’s Lebanon and Syria, and they would be called Canaanites (like our term Americans). And Jesus met one of them here, the Canaanite woman.
In the beginning of this story, we see Jesus and the disciples leave Jewish territory and walk through Gentile territory. In Israel, Jesus was trying to convince people He was the Messiah, and was being challenged to prove it with a sign. But here in Gentile territory he met a woman who was convinced He was the Messiah and He could not discourage her efforts. His apparent attempt to put her off was therefore a test, and her great faith must have been gratifying to the Savior. It’s also clear to assume that Jews thought themselves better or more rewarding of Jesus than anyone else. Take a moment of your time and read this passage in its entirety and then we will break it down and apply the story of the faith of the Canaanite woman to the characteristics of a successful Christian entrepreneur.
In verse 22 of this story, it reads
“And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”
Before we break verse 22 down, notice if you read the account of this story in Mark, it says that Jesus entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, he wanted to rest. But the Canaanite woman saw them before he made it to the house and she was in a desperate situation and took the opportunity to talk to who she believed was the Messiah, she recognized Him.
The first characteristic of a successful entrepreneur is someone who is an opportunist and isn’t afraid to take calculated risks. It’s impossible for someone to want to run their own business one day and is afraid to take opportunities or is afraid to take risks. It’s literally in the definition of being an entrepreneur.
The bible says in Ephesians 5:15-17, Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Galatians 6:10 says
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Isaiah 55:6 says,
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near
The Canaanite woman, given who she is and given the situation, took all these verses into action without even knowing it will be in the New testament one day. We can learn from her within our entrepreneurship journey. We’re not saying “say yes” to every opportunity that comes your way but to be wise and seek God first, while He can still be found, called upon, and near. Think of some of the opportunities that came your way recently and thank God for those blessings. These opportunities were probably answered prayers or divine timing of what God wants to do in your life so thank Him.
Now, going back to verse 22 again, the first thing we see after the Canaanite woman saw the opportunity, took her one chance, the first thing she did was cry. Crying shows a sign of humility. She could have had a different demeanor but no, she let her emotions lower her pride, especially since she was approaching a group that was known to be her enemies. When you put yourself in a humble state or position, you’re essentially saying “I can’t do this on my own”, or “there are things that are above me that I have no power to control”, you’re relinquishing your human ability to something that has divine power over everything.
The bible says in James 4:10 to humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Which He ended up doing for the Canaanite woman. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The fact that this Canaanite at the time was not considered one of God’s people shows the humility in her spirit, shows her faith in someone who was undeserving.
Humbleness in entrepreneurship looks different for everyone. There’s a quote by Rick Warren that says “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Being humble about your work, you always leave room for improvement because you have to understand that you don’t know it all and there are people out there that have stronger skills than you. So, doing it all by yourself, without seeking help isn’t a sign of humbleness so take this to heart the next time you say “oh I can just do this myself”.
Humility allows you to build and lead an effective business which is aware of the reality of challenges. As an Christian entrepreneur, you need to have the humility to take on any responsibility as your organization scales up, from doing tedious administration tasks to emailing customers personally. It’s proven that most startups fail due to a lack of self-awareness and over-optimism on their ability to solve their challenges.
Your Humility also ensures that your team respects you. Humble leaders focus on the strengths of their team members which results in building a successful business. The more a leader acknowledges the strengths of their team members, the chances of building a successful organization are higher. Even though you become an established entrepreneur, you should not forget that you need to be a true leader as well. Humility plays a major role in it and this will really help you in building a team that knows how to stick together in crisis and celebrations.
Humbleness comes with selflessness and once you accept the equality between your team and yourself, it helps in creating a healthy learning environment in your business
When you are building a team, every team member is aligned with your vision of the company and are more often than not, equally passionate about it. So, you need to be humble towards accepting the team as an important part of successful delivery of any product you sell or service you provide.
Now breaking down the next part in verse 22, the Canaanite woman asks for mercy and recognizes Jesus for who He is. She is also intervening for someone on their behalf. Now this part is just crucial in general even though we don’t mention it as an entrepreneurial trait, just think of it as an honorable mention. But, this woman expresses acknowledgement, understands truth from fiction, and loves others. These are all characteristics that a Christian in general should possess.
We as Christians acknowledge Jesus for who he is, truth and the way, God in human form. We should love others because it was Jesus’s last commandment before he left earth, in Matthew 22: 37-39 it says And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second greatest commandment is: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Looking at verses 23-28 covers almost the rest of the entrepreneurship traits represented by the Canaanite woman. It reads:
But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
The first thing she felt was rejection. Can you imagine her hurt? Could you also imagine how that hurt can fuel persistence? That’s the next character trait of an entrepreneur we are going to discuss. But before we do, diving into the other verses, we also see that not only was she rejected by authority, she was rejected by other people who thought themselves better than her.
In entrepreneurship, there will always be rejection, discouragement, and disapproval, it’s inevitable. But the most important thing is to not let that stop you from reaching your goals or don’t let it stop you and remember why you started your business in the first place. Being rejected by an authoritative figure you look up to is an ego killer or being disapproved by a society can feel lonely and be very discouraging within your entrepreneurship journey but we must never give up or give up our dreams to their decisions. This is where perseverance kicks in.
If we keep reading, Jesus finally answers her but it wasn’t the answer she was looking for so she pleads again saying “Lord, help me”. A second time, she is denied and Jesus says, It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. When the Jews called the gentiles dogs, they meant the worst kind of street dog which rummaged through garbage. They meant the starving and sickly dogs. Plus, dogs were considered unclean to them. But the term Jesus used referred to a domestic pet dog. Although the Jews meant this title as an insult, Jesus softened his address to her. Jesus was testing her faith.
Now, this response could have shattered her, it could have made her give up and walk away, it could have destroyed her spirit, faith, and her daughter would reap the consequences. But it was love, determination, perseverance, and truth that kept her asking for help.
Perseverance is a crucial trait for successful Christian entrepreneurs. Everybody starts from zero and the ones that are successful never gave up, regardless of how many no’s they heard. Love of something drove their perseverance. Truth, meaning they believed in their product or service to help others, kept them going. Determination in the solution for their product/service and how it can really change lives keeps successful entrepreneurs going.
So, don’t give up. Remember why you started. A no isn’t a never. The bible says in 2 Chronicles 15:17
But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.
Psalm 27:14 says
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Romans 12:12 says
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
Proverbs 4: 25-26 says
Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.
And Psalm 107:9 says
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
In verse 27, the Canaanite woman responds to Jesus’s denial saying “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Wow, what a powerful and quick-witted comeback I must say. This comeback alone shows how emotionally intelligent she was, another characteristic of a successful entrepreneur. She had a maturity about her emotions. She could have received Jesus’ words as an insult and stormed away. But she did not. She recognized Jesus’ tone of voice and facial expression. She also knew exactly what he was trying to accomplish.
Now this verse alludes to the extension of blessings promised to people like her, the Gentiles, through Abraham, which by saying this she is aware of her rights. Also, although God’s plan was to bring salvation first to His chosen Israel and then to Gentiles, He responds to all who call on him in true faith. This action from the Canaanite woman allowed Jesus’ healing ministry to operate.
Emotional intelligence accounts for nearly 90 percent of what sets high performers. Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as recognize and influence the emotions of those around you. It’s also typically broken down into four core competencies:
Which if you look at the action of the Canaanite woman, she shows all 4. She was self aware of what she needed and her purpose and mission, she managed herself with good conduct, she was aware of the social norms and what kind of people she was around, and she knew the importance of relationships as she recognized who Jesus was.
So as an entrepreneur, think to yourself. Are you self aware? Are you good with managing yourself? Are you socially aware of what’s going on around you? Are you good with building relationships built on humbleness and truth? This all plays a role in the success of your business and satisfaction of your end users.
Now ending it off with the last verse when Jesus responds: “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed instantly.
If you learn nothing else from the story of the Canaanite woman, learn this lesson: Never ever stop praying. Never stop seeking God. Never give up. God pays attention to prayers that don’t stop coming, never stop seeking God. She believed in his power to say the word and the miracle would be done. So, she did not stop asking.
When the disciples tried to get Jesus to send her away, she did not stop asking. When it seemed like Jesus was trying to insult her, she moved in even closer and knelt before him. And Jesus honored her persistent prayer of faith! Is there something you’re tired of praying about when it comes to your business?
We cannot promise that your breakthrough is near. But we can promise that if you keep praying, God will answer when the time is right. Just know that when you pray, God hears your prayers and already answers them for you. You just may not see that answer right away, but it’s immediately done on His end within His will for you. Just how Jesus healed the daughter immediately after recognizing the faith of the Canaanite woman, He will immediately answer your prayers if you believe while you seek Him. God has no boundaries, notice the daughter wasn’t even with the woman and he healed her from far away!
