What do you recall about the story of Nehemiah in the Bible? Originally from Jerusalem, he was a cupbearer to a Persian king. When he learned of the destruction of his home city, he wept, interceded in prayer for his people. The result of this humility before the Lord brought him great favor from God as well as before the king, who made him governor of Jerusalem. The king sent Nehemiah back with all he needed to rebuild the city's wall and run it as an official city within the Persian kingdom and not just an abandoned backwater town.
Although Nehemiah provides a key lesson on intercession and how it results in favor, his story also teaches us about leadership in business. For instance, he was tasked with rebuilding Jerusalem's wall and unlike many bosses, he led by example, working alongside the people of Jerusalem instead of sitting in the shade. He also worked as security for the project because certain enemies threatened it. Nehemiah 4:23 tells us that he and the other guards never took time to change their clothes and always kept their weapons on themselves.
Additionally, Nehemiah had empathy for people regardless of their status. When poor residents complained that they were struggling to repay loans they'd taken from their wealthier neighbors, he commanded the lenders to stop taking profit and guarantees for their loans (Nehemiah 5). He pointed out that he'd loaned to the poor but never took a profit or enslaved his debtor's children as surety. This might sound strange to us today, but for the Israelites, to do such things was contrary to God's rules.
As governor, Nehemiah received an allotment of food from the Persian king. However, at no point did he eat that food. Instead, he sacrificed what was his right and gave it to others, keeping people fed. His team followed his example and did the same. All of this and more he did out of the fear of the Lord. Nehemiah 5:15 - But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that.
Nehemiah might not have been conducting business the way most of us entrepreneurs would, yet, he was conducting God's business. Therefore, he presents an example for us to consider and embody so we can reflect the God we serve in our businesses as well as other areas of our lives.