day 780: Easy Street

People who are at ease mock those in trouble. they give a push to people who are stumbling.

Lots of talk in the world today about streets. There is the perennial political discussion about Main Street and what that street means to our economic system. There is also more attention than ever on Wall Street. The Occupy Movement has brought attention to the people and institutions that are associated with banking and public corporations, with an attempt to let off steam towards someone. It seems what everyone is desiring and detesting at the same time is those who live and work on Easy Street. Businesses work so hard to get to a place where they feel established and while they still have to remain competitive and growth-oriented to survive, they can find a place where every day is not about survival. Yet, when they get there the tendency can be be for them to start to portray some of the attributes of those who live on Easy Street and others don't like that attitude. Part of the finger pointing today is that there are companies and people who have adopted the Easy Street attitude for themselves and project a different set of standards on others. Businesses that start to brag about their success and who become predatory and demeaning to their competition, and above the law in their communities are easy targets. Easy Street brings out the worst in us and should remind us that success is not a privilege it is a gift.

When we succeed at something and receive accolades and recognition, we should remember that the perils of Easy Street apply to us personally as well. We read in Job that "ease" brings about an air of confidence that can turn to mocking of others. We see it daily in our society in nearly all competitive circles. When someone is on top they speak down and talk smack to those who are not doing so well. They can taunt and find satisfaction in watching others fail. We have to be careful of this; each one of us. It is in our sinful nature to fall into this pattern. God asks and wants us to rise above this pettiness and to be the opposite of the rest of the world. We are reminded over and over that their is no superiority in God's Kingdom and that those who are seeking to want to work and live on Easy Street and play our the role, will struggle to find their way home to the Father. Let's remember that in our work, as we put to test our talents and do the best we can, that there is a point where we cross the line to Easy Street and take on the wrong attributes. Watch and listen for God to remind us where we are and to be sure that we stay on the right side of the street.

Reference: Job 12:5 (New Living Testament)

day 758: 99% and 1%

"People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling."

Yesterday I wrote of seeing first-hand what Occupy Wall Street looked like. While there I could see many posters and signs that referenced that this group was the 99% and it was the 1% that they were protesting against and the gap of society that is felt between that 99% and the 1%. It made me reflect that what this group is protesting isn't as simple or as obvious as the gap that is created because of socioeconomic reasons, but just as much, if not more, the gap that can be felt between the "haves" and the "have-nots" and the disparate treatment that can be seen between those groups. Anyone who has ever worked knows this gap inside of business. There is always a group of people who are more senior who are able to work by their own rules. In business we use that gap as a motivational tool to get people to aspire and want to someday get to that level where they get the extras. I am reflecting on whether or not that remains a good practice or not. Of course, there is nothing wrong with looking up and seeing the rewards and the recognition that can come from hard work and achievement. It is the different rules part that has me thinking. Something as simple as the boss not having to abide by the vacation policy that she/he created but others in the company having to count and ration their vacation days, can set a wrong tone and enhance the "percentage" gap.

Sometimes, as a believer I feel caught in between. I know that part of what God desires for us is to be able to utilize and call upon our talents and resources and for that to be brought to bear against our work and what we are put into the world to do day-in and day-out. He does not want us to just sit back and not give it our all. But, I also know, from all that I read in God's Word that we are to be those who lead others in compassion and the assistance of those who can't or don't have, by no fault of their own. This is where we can span the gap and be one's who others look to as playing by one set of rules and being the opposite of what Job spoke about in his response to Zophar. Ours is to never mock, never to cause others to stumble, instead to lift up and not push down. It is heavy stuff and many times hard to reconcile what to do, but here is the point, if we listen carefully to what God would have us do, we can know. It's that voice inside while we pray, it's the words from the Bible that make the greatest impact and impression, it's the opportunities that allow us to share what we believe, it's the wise words from the strong believer who we speak. Inside of all of that is what God desires us to do and the part He wants us to play to be not a "percentage", but a probability and promise for His Kingdom.

Reference: Job 12:5 (New Living Testament)

day 757: Occupying

"People who are at ease mock those in trouble. They give a push to people who are stumbling."

Across the country, someplace today is being "occupied". We happened to be in NYC this past weekend for a Memorial Service of our friend's son and decided that while we were there to go see what was up with the Occupy Wall Street movement and live-in. It was not what I expected (smaller and less organized) and I really couldn't tell what will be the outcome, if any, from the protesters. What is evident and worth noting is that people are angry, and since they can't pinpoint who to be angry with, they are lashing out at an institution and socioeconomic classes that are not their own. They are doing what we all do when we get angry, we first blame someone else. This is what we do in business too often, we wait to see who is in trouble and then we get on that band wagon. We "occupy" until we get our way, or until someone listens. The problem with this is that it doesn't always solve the problem, in fact it may just cause another problem. It's hard work to not just go after the obvious target, but instead to search for the root problem and go solve that. That's what we need to be doing.

In our lives, and our work, where we are to be examples, we have to be careful that we don't become occupiers too. It is human nature to jump in and mock others and to give a nudge to those who are already stumbling. But, we are to be the opposite. We are to defend those who are in trouble and we are to lift up, take home, care for, and provide the help for those who have fallen to get on their way. We are living in a wacky time, but imagine a world, and a workplace, where we don't allow the troubled and the downtrodden to be walked over or kept down, instead imagine a place where we stood over them and did all we could to be sure that they found their way upward and onward. We may not be able to immediately solve what is happening in the "occupying" world, but we can manage and solve the problems that we have control over and see each and every day at work. Today, let's not take the easy way out, but instead give a hand to someone who is stumbling.

Reference: Job 12:5 (New Living Testament)