“Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”
Those were Jesus’ words on the cross — and last weekend, they were echoed by Charlie Kirk’s widow as she forgave the man who killed her husband.
The crowd was shocked.
But they shouldn’t have been.
Forgiveness is a core principle of traditional Christianity. Not a cliché. Not a marketing slogan. Not a feel-good bumper sticker.
A principle.
One that overrides vengeance, pain, and ego.
Now don’t get me wrong.
Forgiving the killer of your loved ones is beyond many of us.
What she did took a great amount of heart and sacrifice.
It’s why we were told to carry on our own crosses – because It’s not about naughty or nice like the crap spewed at Christmas but something deeper and more profound.
Now why am I mentioning this core belief and how it ties into behaviour?
Because there are strong principles you want your business to have — or it’s just a house of cards waiting to fall.
See, most business owners say they have values…
But what they actually have are preferences.
“We act with integrity.”
“We value excellence.”
“We aim for transparency.”
That’s not culture. That’s corporate Bull.
Culture is when you live your principles even when it costs you.
Culture is when the people inside your company do the right thing when you’re not watching.
Case in point:
An architect came to me begging for help.
His marriage was crumbling. He was pulling 16-hour days. He complained about having no life.
“Why are you so busy?” I asked.
“I spend hours monitoring my remote designers… making sure they’re not scrolling Facebook on my dime.”
I told him I wouldn’t work with him.
Not because he didn’t need help. But because he was the problem.
He built a culture of paranoia and micromanagement — and expected it to deliver peace and profit.
It doesn’t work that way.
You don’t build freedom out of fear. You build it out of principles.
And if a widow can forgive a murderer based on a 2,000-year-old truth…
Then you sure as hell can create a business culture based on something deeper than Slack messages, surveillance tools, and broken trust.
So ask yourself:
- What are the non-negotiables in your business?
- Would your team follow them if you disappeared tomorrow?
- Are you building a business on principle — or on panic, firefighting and just being reactive.
The difference isn’t just burnout.
It’s life or death for your business… and maybe your marriage too.
Want help building a business that runs on principle, not pressure?
The next Business Lab opens soon.
Stay tuned.
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P.S. I’m not the “systems guy,” “process guy,” or “finance guy.”
I’m the “make your business valuable” guy—so you can start living your best life now and exit on your own terms later.
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