day 577: Knowing When To Walk Away...

Conversations turn deep, positions get firmed up, arguments become heated, and sides get drawn. Sounds like the beginning of battle or a fight getting ready to happen? And yes, it can also be the scene found in a conference room or an office on any given day in corporate America. We get passionate about our work and we can take our passions and positions all the way to the point of boiling over. And yes, sometimes beyond with words and actions that are irrevocable. Once we do that, it is very hard to recover and we will find ourselves either out of work or trying to win back support just to get back to even. The key to not letting ourselves get to the point of no return is to constantly be in check with our attitude and spirit. We can feel it when it is getting ready to turn in the wrong direction. I recently received an email from someone who is the CEO of an organization and the note begged for an argument. It so happened that I received the email just before dinner time so I let it sit, went to dinner, came home, slept a good night's sleep and answered the email in the morning in a totally different spirit than I had held the night before. Sometimes, it is best to know when to walk away. This past weekend at our church our Pastor spoke on how to be gentle in our lives. He taught of how Jesus told James and John that their spirit was wrong and it was time to model a different behavior and made them leave and go on to another village because their spirit was wrong for that place, "But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them'. And they went to another village." Jesus knew it was time to walk away. Let's monitor ourselves in this way and when our spirit starts to turn ugly, be prepared to just walk away.

Reference: Luke 9:55-56 (New King James Version)

day 237: Walking Away

Thankfully not every day on the job are we faced with situations where our values and principles are so challenged that we must make a binary decision to either capitulate or stand firm and just walk away. Because they can be few and far between, our defenses and muscles to walk away might not be as sharp and toned as they need to be. So these moments become ones that feel like they have "sneaked up" on us, or come from left-field. But, these times do come and when they do, are we really ready? I wish I could say that in my career I have a perfect record in these moments, but I can't. None of us do. However, the more we keep ourselves ready and on the watch for these, the better we will be able to handle the situation and the more conviction we can muster to make the right decision. I remember a moment where in the early days of a new job, after a long day of meetings on the road, the other senior executives I was with were going to go off into the night to a number of places that I felt like would not only compromise my own values, but also send a message to the other junior people around us, male and female, that this activity was condoned and potentially being encouraged. As I climbed into the cab to go home (along with a number of other people) the other cab with the other senior executives went the other way. At that moment, I didn't need to say anything or do anything but just walk away and not go out to make the point and take the stand. Sure, there was a few minutes of ribbing, but it was just a moment of saying, "I'm hitting the hay and heading back" and the stand was made. I could say that in that moment, I was full of prayer and spiritual strength, but that would not be true. In that moment, I was just making the choice of what is right and wrong and having the conviction to walk away. Like I said before, no one is perfect all the time, so each of miss these moments and later kick ourselves for not walking away. And they are not always big moments. They can be the moment to tell the truth versus stretch or shade the truth. It could be the moment of giving the actual number versus rounding it up or down. It may be holding those words in your mouth that so desperately want to spew out in a moment of anger. Whatever it is, there are moments that we are called upon to walk away. What I have learned over the years is that God is with us in those moments whether we recognize Him or not. The story of Gideon who was so beaten down as he watched everything collapse around him until he gave up the fight hits home. But at one of Gideon's lowest moments, God said to him; "Go with the strength you have..." What an encouraging verse for us today. God is telling us that we don't need to worry about having super powers and super convictions to do the right thing and to just walk away when that is what is demanded. He says just, "Go with the strength you have". Implied is that He will take care of the rest if we allow Him to do so. Today, know that the strength you have is enough to make it through this day. Keep building that strength through your Bible study, prayer and fellowship with others and know that when you find yourself in the situation where you need to walk away, that God has given you all the the strength you need to do so.

Reference: Judges 6:14 (New Living Testament)