A 1st century businesswoman named Lydia, seller
of purple, is mentioned in Acts 16:14-15 and 40. She is considered the first
known European convert to Christianity. What can she teach us about business?
Let’s find out.
1.
The Source of Your Business Success Might Come
from Your Own Backyard.
Lydia, seller of purple, was from Thyatira1
(today the Turkish city of Akhisar). A
well-traveled highway coursed through the city making it a prime spot for
commerce and trade. It was especially renowned for its industry in
dye.
Purple refers to a rare dye that at the time came at great
labor and expense from two gena of shellfish in the Murcidcae family: purpura (the larger shellfish from which
English derives the word “purple”) and buccinum
(the smaller ones). The dye would be extracted from a vessel in the larger one, and the smaller would be crushed, and all would be boiled for over a week.2
Although this dark dye the color of coagulated blood,3
is called Tyrian Purple after the city which most famously produced it – Tyre,
a seaport city in Lebanon - these shellfish have been found all over the world,
including the Aegean Sea in seaport cities near the landlocked town of
Thyatira.
Because extracting the dye was so labor-intensive, and thus
expensive, a business in purple dye in this prosperous region was almost a guaranteed
success.
Have your searched for “treasures” on your own home turf to
cultivate business ideas?
2. Diligence and Skills Will Bring You Before Powerful People
As the Roman Empire
expanded its borders and brought home great bounty, the elite had more money to
burn and were eager to spend it on the finest items around the world. Tradesmen (who were freedmen or sometimes
industrious slaves who purchased their freedom) grew to prominence catering to the insatiable
appetites of the ancient Romans. 4
The dye that Lydia sold became more important than the
garments to which it was applied, and thus, those who dealt in cloth marked
with this dye were said to be sellers of purple as opposed to sellers of togas,
etc. The cloth was just a conveyance, an item on which to conspicuously display
an expensive color. In public, Roman Emperors wore a toga completely dyed in purple.5 Lydia’s customers, thus, were
dignitaries and others in the upper echelons of society and politics.
Long subsequent to the discovery of the art of purple
dying, any person might wear robes of that color who could afford to pay for
them; not until the era of imperial Rome was it that purple robes came to be
regarded as exclusively imperial. Once adopted by the Caesars, the policy of restricting
manufacture to a few hands followed, until the members of one family alone were
licensed to impart the Tyrian dye.6
Tradesmen like Lydia grew more influential. Merely being
allowed to sell purple was considered an honor, which suggests Lydia’s company
was industrious enough to beat the competition. It seems the title “Lydia,
Seller of Purple” is as noteworthy as saying “Lydia, CEO of a Fortune-500 company.”
Whether Lydia was a
freed slave who found a profitable trade
or, like many female brick makers of the day, 7 was a businesswoman
from a leading family, her diligence in an up-to-the-minute market seems to
have lent her social and political clout.
Has your
diligence lead to your becoming more influential yet? (It will.)
3. Your Business Should Not Consume Your Entire Life
Lydia was currently living in Philippi 8 (now the
Grecian city called Kavala), which was in the Roman Empire, but about four
hundred miles northwest of Thyatira. Was she on a business trip? No one knows.
Apparently there were no synagogues in Philippi, so believers
gathered by the river. 9 Lydia, who was likely a very busy person,
set aside time to worship on the Sabbath.10 This is where Lydia met Paul and other apostles
and converted to Christianity.
She was a very wealthy lady, but searching for something
that money cannot buy – a relationship with the Lord.
Is your
career success taking up too much of your time? Have you made time for the most important relationships in your life?
4. If Necessary, Be Willing to Risk Your Successful Business and Your Comfort for Your Convictions
Ancient Romans are well-known for their myriad ways of
torturing or killing those who offended the sensibilities of the empire. Two apostles,
to whom Lydia had extended the hospitality of her home after her conversion, were imprisoned, beaten and ultimately told
to leave town. Before they left, Lydia
again offered aid and comfort in her house.
What made Christian activity unlawful is vague at this
point in the 1st century. Even prominent legal minds were not always sure of what grounds with which to
charge them.11
Often they were seen as a general threat to a dominant polytheistic perspective.
Lydia, prominent businesswoman, risked her livelihood and
her life because her convictions were more important to her than even the comfort
that she enjoyed.
Are you willing to risk your business for your
convictions? Is there anything more important than your business?
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Sources
- The Holy Bible, Acts 16:14
- The Art Journal of 1886
- Roman Antiquities or an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Romans by Alexander Adam
- Roman Craftsmen and Tradesmen of the Early Empire by Ethel Hampson Brewster
- Library of Universal History, Vol. III: Alexander’s Empire and Roman Empire. Page 1040
- The National Magazine Devoted to Literature, Art, and Religion, Vol XII. Page 130
- Roman Craftsmen
- Acts 16:12
- Acts 16:13
- Acts 16:14
- Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries by Bernard Green
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