What Can a Wealthy Purple Fabric Dealer Teach You About Faith and Business?
The woman who proved you don't have to choose between spiritual and successful
She was a successful businesswoman dealing in luxury goods. A woman of means running her own enterprise in a man's world. Yet when she heard the Gospel, she believed, and she immediately opened her home.
Lydia's story is only six verses long (Acts 16:13-15, 40), but her impact echoes through history as the first documented European convert to Christianity.
And here's what’s most striking to me: She understood that faith and business are under one kingdom system. They're meant to work together.
Who Was Lydia?
Let's look at what Scripture tells us:
One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. 'If you consider me a believer in the Lord,' she said, 'come and stay at my house.' And she persuaded us.
-Acts 16:14-15 NIV
From these few verses, we learn:
She was a businesswoman: a dealer in purple cloth
Purple dye was one of the most expensive commodities in the ancient world. This wasn't a side hustle. Lydia was running a thriving, high-value business.
She was spiritually aware: a worshiper of God
Before she met Paul, she was already open to the truth. Her heart was positioned to receive.
She was decisive: The Lord opened her heart to respond
When Paul and the others revealed the truth about Jesus Christ, she didn't hesitate. She believed immediately.
She led her household: she and the members of her household were baptized
Her influence extended beyond herself. When she moved, her whole household moved with her.
She was hospitable: come and stay at my house
She didn't compartmentalize her faith from her home or business. She integrated everything.
Your Business Is Part of Your Ministry
Lydia teaches us what so many Christian women entrepreneurs need to hear.
You don't have to choose between being spiritual and being successful.
Lydia didn't quit her business when she became a Christian. She didn't view her wealth as worldly or her work as “less-than.”
Instead, she leveraged her resources for kingdom purposes.
Her business gave her:
Financial stability to support the church
Influence in her community
A home large enough to host Paul and his companions
Networks and connections that helped spread the Gospel
She didn't apologize for being prosperous. She stewarded it well.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. -Proverbs 31:16
Sound familiar? The Proverbs 31 woman was also a businesswoman. She, too, was seen as a model of excellence.
What Lydia Teaches Us About Building With Faith at the Center
1. Your Work Matters to God
Lydia's business was an extension of her faith. She presented herself the same way in her business and her faith.
When you operate with integrity, serve with excellence, and steward well, your business honors God.
God cares about the whole person. That means church on Sunday and what you're building Monday through Saturday.
2. Prosperity Has Purpose
Lydia had wealth, and she used it to advance the Gospel.
Her home became the first church in Europe. Her resources supported Paul's missionary work. Lydia’s influence helped to establish Christianity in Philippi.
This is one of the looks of biblical wealth: Resources are used for kingdom purposes.
If you've been feeling guilty about wanting to make money, let Lydia's story free you. God gives you the ability to create wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18)...not so you can hoard it, but so you can use some of it strategically for His purposes.
3. Opening Your Home (or Business) Opens Doors
Lydia didn't just open her home once. Acts 16:40 tells us that after Paul and Silas were released from prison, they returned to Lydia's house to meet with the believers.
Her home became the gathering place.
She created space—physically and spiritually—for others to encounter God.
This is what I'm doing with Women Winners…creating a virtual women's center where Christian women can gather, build businesses with faith at the center, and support each other in integrating the spiritual with the practical.
Just like Lydia opened her home, I'm opening a space for women who refuse to compartmentalize faith and business.
Faith Anchor
The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
I love that Lydia didn't force it. She positioned herself where truth was being spoken, and God opened her heart.
The same is true for you.
When you position yourself in spaces where faith and business are integrated, where biblical principles guide strategy, where women build together…God opens doors.
Pausing For You
Are you connected with a community of women who build their faith and business together?
Join me in Women Winners, a virtual women's center where Christian women gather to build businesses with faith at the center.
Just like Lydia opened her home to create space for the early church, I'm opening this space for women to be:
Spiritual AND successful
Prayerful AND profitable
Faith-filled AND financially free
Lydia didn't wait. She responded immediately when truth met her heart.
What if this is your moment to do the same?
