Welcome to my weekly Faith and Family Business reflections, where I (briefly) probe important questions that arise in family business – questions relating to behavior, relationships and legacy – from the angle of a Biblical story. For more information about this series, click here.
After Jacob receives a life-shaping blessing intended for his brother Esau by deceiving his father Isaac, both Isaac and Esau realize what has happened.
Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” (Gen. 27:33-34)
Isaac and Esau are both shaken to the core when they realize that Jacob has stolen Esau’s blessing. Isaac’s “very violent” trembling, and Esau’s “exceedingly great and bitter cry” convey enormous distress. It is too late to reverse the blessing given to Jacob.
Life in the family business often brings similar experiences of anguish. Betrayal, sabotage, gossip, lying, indifference, intentional fraud, breach of trust, or personal attacks can result in long-lasting pain. It feels agonizing, but giving voice to our suffering can initiate the process of healing in a family.
Have you or someone you know experienced immeasurable grief because of the behavior of a family member or business partner? How would you describe, and how did you deal with, the emotions arising from despair?
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