day 1299: Hanging Onto The Past

"This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people."

We never know what from the past will show up in the present.  And when it does, all bets are off as to the reaction.  Sometimes this will be astonishment, amazement and wonder.  Other times the past will dredge up memories that still sting and hurt and cause even greater resentment.  And the past can also be a ho-hum as we have moved forward so far that we can't truly recognize and appreciate what it must have been like back then.  On December 31st this story was published about the discovery of  a blue color referenced in the Old Testament.  You can read about this blue dye here.  Why does this matter to our businesses?  In business we many forget the past and once a few people have have moved on, we have no recollection of shared learning of what we had already discovered in the past that could be relevant today.  We don't keep "archives" like a museum or repository.  But, that doesn't mean we should ignore our pasts.  Our pasts can be rich with knowledge and treasures, that if we pay attention towards, might well open up the insights we need for the future.

Many times in our spiritual lives we are taught to put the past behind us and move forward.  That is correct when our past is what holds us back spiritually.  But, our past can also be very valuable to others if we are just willing to share it openly.  We each have cataloged a set of experiences that if we were to keep in context of our present and future would be lessons for those around us.  These lessons can come from both our success and our failure.  When we open up with others about our past there is a humanity that comes through that gives us the opportunity to share what really drives us forward.  God's message is one that is rooted in the past, given to us in the present, and full of a future of promise.  Why wouldn't we want to share all that He has done for us?

Reference: Colossians 1:26 (New Living Translation)

day 477: You Gotta Be Present To Win

"You gotta be present to win" is one of my friend's favorite lines in business. What he means by this is that if you want to get the most of anything, then you have to be involved and present (figuratively) to get the most of the activity or the work. Sometimes he uses it literally with those who are not spending enough time on the job or in the office, but then it becomes punitive. Being present means to me, giving of ourselves enough that we set aside our distractions, subordinate our egos and wants, and we focus on the work at hand. That makes good sense to me. Years ago I went through Senn Delaney's leadership seminars and there was one axiom that stuck with me throughout all the years. It is, "Be Here Now". Being here now means being present. Set aside the emails, ignore the text messages and phone calls, the distractions outside of work, and focus in on the person or the work in front of you. It was a very valuable lesson for me, and one that I continue to relearn. Being present with others is a very valuable skill and one that is more appreciated and recognized than we imagine. We all should think about being more present and being more here now. Paul gives Timothy a similar word in 2 Timothy 2:6; "Hardworking farmers are the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor". Think about this and imagine being the farmer who is picking the corn, the tomatoes, the beans or the fruits. Who will get the freshest and ripest of the harvest? The farmer who is present, on the front line, focused and doing his work. The one who's hands are dirty and in the dirt. I love that verse for it says so much about what God wants us to be in our jobs. He wants us to be present, to be there with and for others if that is what we do, to be focused and to be there in all that we have on the work we have been given. It is then that we can enjoy the fruit of our labor and along the way, bring glory to God through our hard and present work. If today you are questioning why and what it is that you are doing with your working hours, try asking God to give you the presence of mind to be totally present in the job that you have and see if there isn't fruit in front of you that have previously missed.

Reference: 2 Timothy 2:6 (New Living Testament)

day 127: Now

We just finished the first quarter of the year and started the second. And for sure already in boardrooms and offices across the country companies are making their projections for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th quarters and for the full year. This is how business works. We don't live in the present. We are always planning and forecasting the future. The future can be exciting and become consuming and we want to get there as fast as we can. Sometimes the future can be bleak and full of expected trouble and we know we have to go there but we go with worry and trepidation. The future can get in the way of living for the present and enjoying and working with the life that we have been given. In C.S. Lewis' classic book, "The Screwtape Letters", the devils' undersecretary named Screwtape explains to his agent and nephew named Wormwood that God doesn't want us to work and live in the future if it is going to get in the way of glorifying God in the present. Read along as two devils correspond on what we as humans shouldn't do: "To be sure the Enemy (God) wants men to think of the Future too - just so much as is necessary for now planning the acts of justice or charity which will probably be their duty tomorrow. The duty of planning the morrow's work is today's duty; though its material is borrowed from the future, the duty, like all duties, is in the Present. This is now straw splitting. He (God) does not want men to give the Future their hearts, to place their treasures in it. We (the devil) do (does). His (God's) ideal is a man, who having worked all day for the good of posterity (if that is his vocation), washes his mind of the whole subject, commits the issue to Heaven, and returns at once to the patience or gratitude demanded in the moment that is passing over him. But we (the devil) want a man hag-ridden by the Future...we want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the future every real gift which is offered them in the Present". We are told in Proverbs that the plans that we have for our future are not in our hands anyway; "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." As we plan our future business and our jobs, we should remind ourselves that the earthly future that overtakes our ability to focus, live and be who are to be in the present is not the future we should be pursuing.

Reference: Proverbs 16:9 (New Living Testament), C.S. Lewis: "The Screwtape Letters"