day 1234: Working in the Grey

"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children"

There is a fascinating conversation happening in the music industry about the morality and ethics of the streaming of music on services like Spotify, Rdio, Pandora, and now iTunes Radio.  Streaming of music by licensed services is fully legal.  But, that has not stopped many from crying out that even though these services are legal, they are not moral or ethical. Why is this?  This past weekend I was hanging with one of my friends who is as hard-core of a music person as you will find.  He and his wife attend live music events at least three times a week. He knows more about bands and who is doing what than I can keep up with.  However, this hardest of core music fans no longer buys music.  Why?  Because, he can stream what he wants to hear, any time he desires.  That behavior, for the creator of music becomes the moral and ethical dilemma to streaming.  It's an interesting and nuanced conversation that is worth more thinking.  We can, and do face these dilemmas in our work as well.  Any time we are faced with something where we have to consider compromise, or are challenged with what doesn't feel right, even though it is legal to do, then we need to think hard about our decisions and actions. And we must realize that we are not alone.  Our customers, employees, partners, and consumers are all watching what we do as well.

As believers, we are not exempted from these decisions.  In fact, we may be more challenged because we should be driven and led by our values and principles. What are we to do?  There are no clear answers, but we are taught that when we find ourselves confused or feeling lost in what we should do, then we are to "imitate God".  Yes, this is why we ask ourselves what Jesus would do. Our challenges at work are seldom black and white. When in the grey, remember that we can rest assured in the imitation of God.

Reference: Ephesians 5:1 (New Living Translation)

 

day 850: Freemium

"But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere - ..."

When we sign up for entertainment applications and services that are "Freemium" models then we have to be ready for some distraction and interruptions. The "Freemium" model is one that many people subscribe and don't even understand it is happening to them. We sign up for something that is "free" and we get a "baseline" service or offering and it's enough to get the job done, but it usually comes with something that is missing or something that we don't want and if we move up to a paying customer (even if that is a little) then something is either added or removed that makes the service better. As I write this I am listening to a contemporary christian music playlist on Spotify; the latest and hottest music streaming service. I don't pay for Spotify, I have the free baseline offering which means at nearly every second or third song I get a commercial advertisement. It's 15-30 seconds of something like "Team in Training" or a promotion for another artist's new album. I don't mind really as it's a small distraction. Also, without out paying I can't stream on my iphone, but again, that's not a big enough incentive to make me pay. So, I listen to the ads and move on. the same is true for Pandora, online free videos, etc. It's the "Freemium" world we live in.

Aren't we so happy and blessed that God didn't set up a "Freemium" model for our salvation and eternal life? He didn't deliver us a baseline offering that we then could pay or earn our way up or into. Instead he did the just the opposite. He laid it all on the line for us and paid it all forward so all we have to do is "download" Him into our life and then let Him have access to our heart. How awesome is that model? As we carry His model into the world with how we live, act, work and share, let's be sure that we are following His truly free model and be sure that we are loving others under His terms and standards. Think about this today!

Reference: Acts 1:8 (New Living Testament)