day 462: Knowing

There are some people who we work with who just seem to be in the know. Not that they are given special treatment or knowledge that others don't have, but they just seem to have an extra sense about them and they know what is going on. Better tuned antennae maybe. What we all know are the people who we like or don't like and who we can work with well and those that we can't. What is important is that we are all known for who we are, by what we do and how we act. A few weeks ago I was at a small community church in Rhode Island and we sang a song that I remember singing as a child. As I reflected on the words, it made me think that we should all take them to work with us today. The words are based on John 13:35 and both the words and music were written by Peter Scholtes:

"They'll Know We Are Christians by our Love"

We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord,
We are one in the spirit, we are one in the Lord,
And we pray that all unity will one day be restored:

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, we will walk hand in hand,
And together we'll spread the news that God is in our land:

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride:

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus, His only Son,
And all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one:

And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love,
Yes, they'll know we are Christians by our love.

Reference: John 13:35

day 356: Careful What You Ask For!

I was on the phone with a senior executive who was telling me about one of his employees who he is having some trouble. Apparently, the employee is being very demanding and is pushing for each and every part of his responsibility to be defined, described and codified to the point that most of the conversations that are taking place now are about this employee's role and job and not how the work the is to get done. The senior executive is at his own point of frustration now that he has gotten specific and detailed as requested but much of the fun and joy of managing this person has disappeared. As the conversation unfolded the executive said to me, "I want to give him so much more, but at this point, with what I feel is a lack of trust, I am just giving him exactly what he asked for, no more". What the executive in this situation really wants is to be trusted by his employee to the point that the executive can heap on as much as he wants and be able to delight his employee. Instead the employee, with his demanding and distrustful ways, has without recognition of the fact, limited what could have been his and more. It seems we all do this to some extent. We want to dictate the terms and the rules and then be sure we get what is coming to us. I sat in a devotional session recently where a pastor dissected this attitude Biblically and taught a strong lesson on what happens when we work and live to this attitude. We will explore this lesson over the next couple of days. In the situation with my executive friend his employee ended up getting less than what he could have because of not trusting his boss to do the right thing. We can be the same way with God. In Psalm 106:15 David writes; "So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it." Here we sit all day long telling God and others what is best for us but not knowing that with a little trust that God and others might have bigger plans than we can imagine. God will give us what we ask for, but we might get more than we bargained because we tried to do His work versus leaving it up to Him. Today, think through the areas in your life where you are trying to tell others and God what is good for you and see if with a little bit of an attitude adjustment you can't see a difference in what start coming your way.

Reference: Psalm 106:15 (New Living Testament)