day 1418: Learnings From The Camino (Final part): Slowing Down

“Be still, and know that I am God!"

This is my last post on my learning from the Camino.  There are so many more that I could write, but we will let those show up when they are supposed to do so.  This final learning was the best of all for me. I needed it, so maybe that is why it was there to be found.

Something good happens when we slow down.  We see things we haven't seen before, hear things that we normally wouldn't and consider thoughts that are longer and more complex.  When we rush by life and all that is around us we not only miss important things, we also fail to connect with what is most important, and those are the people around us.  On the Camino de Santiago it is impossible to not find time of stillness, quiet and contemplation. Even on the days when the finish starts to look better than the journey, there is an ability to observe and converse in a way that we don't in our everyday lives.  I talked. I watched. I listened.  I smelled.  I stopped.  If we slow down, just a bit, we will find that there is way more going on around us than we realize.  A pause or just a decrease of pace, for just a while, can open up new opportunities that are all around us but not obvious.  Slow it down for a bit and watch what happens.  The Camino teaches how good it can be.

"Be still and know that I am God" or  "Hey you, slow down and try a new way". We can't speed up God so why don't we slow to His speed and see what it is like there?  We don't because we either don't trust or we don't believe.  Today, we are going to be challenged in our work to speed up and solve problems and create ideas and plans. But, we also have some of those in front of us that we know we aren't up to and don't have the foggiest of ideas on how we will not only solve, but even survive.  This is God's territory and time that we slow ourselves down to follow Him!  The way forward is always there, it is what we need to experience and know before we go that God has in His hands!

Reference:  Psalm 46:10 (New Living Translation)

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day 1359: What Goes Around Comes Around

"The generous prosper and are satisfied, those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed."

When I was a kid I was fascinated by boomerangs. When I was finally able to buy one I learned how hard it is to throw one and to have the courage it takes to throw it so it comes back to you to be caught. Such is how we work. Work is full of moments that we do things for one way results and we do many things that if they were to come back to us we would be sorry. We have no fear to throw out something to someone else and to throw it hard and fast but if we thought it was going to come back to us, we would likely do as I would do with the boomerang; fall the ground and cover my head. In our work we expect that if we produce a result that favors us that an equal reaction will come back to us and we will get rewarded commensurately with the result. When that doesn't happen we are frustrated and become upset with our bosses and management and we decide that we are going to pick up our boomerang and go someplace else. The problem with this is that this is a pattern that once into will continue over and over until it becomes a way of thinking and takes over our attitude.

The Bible tells us clearly to not be that way. Everything we are taught is to not be one way in the way we live and work but to use the boomerang approach so that what goes around comes around is welcomed and received gladly. Proverbs 11:25 says to us, "The generous prosper and are satisfied, those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." What is being said to us is that if we want to prosper, be satisfied and be refreshed, we have to throw out the same and like the boomerang the harder we throw it out there the better it will come back to us and land right at our feet. So pick up the right boomerang today and give it a good strong toss.

Reference: Proverbs 11:25 (New Living Testament)

day 1358: Controlling Ourselves

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.."

I've been at The Masters this week.  There are some very controlled golfers and then there are ones when they make one bad shot after another, they let those around them know that they have done so. Self control is one of the areas in life that others can immediately tell if you are good or bad at it personally. It is in some ways a trait that is quite different than others, as it is one that can allow for the others to either be affected by you, or not. Why I think it is important is that it is an area that is really about being human and if we don't have self-control we can end up messing up lots of good things. A few years ago the New York Times called out the CEO of Yahoo! for her continued use of expletives and then used their failing stock price and underlying business fundamentals as a way of saying, keep the four letter words in your mouth, because even if we did want to tolerate them, you don't have the business results to get us to turn a deaf ear.

Our language is a central area for our self-control (which is a fruit of the spirit) to either show itself or be hidden. It's a sure fire way yes, to let everyone know where you stand. One F-bomb in a meeting and if there was any doubt as to what we believe our actions have just settled the score. There are plenty of other ways to outburst that can cause the same reaction, but what comes from our mouth is clear and to the point. Good and bad. If today you are struggling with the language that you use, then fall back onto Galatians and go big with your prayers by asking God to give you the fruit of His spirit and especially self-control. From there, it will be up to you for that fruit to ripen to its fullest or for you to let it go spoiled. A little self control can go a long way.

Reference: Galatians 5:22 (New Living Testament)

day 1357: Seriously?

On our jobs we are constantly reinforced to be growing, developing and improving. In many companies each year we get set down with our boss or HR person and given an annual performance review. We have spelled out to us the things we are good at that we should continue and the areas we should improve. Together these become a grading of comparison of our peers and we get rated and ranked. If we do what we are being asked then we double down on ourselves and we take our talents and we try and become better and better. There is nothing wrong with that, to a point. When is it that the focus becomes too much on ourselves that it gets in the way of working well with other?

 There is a good lesson in C.S. Lewis' classic, "The Screwtape Letters" . The book is a set of instructional letters on how to corrupt and gain control of the soul of a man. It is written from one devil (Screwtape) to another devil (Wormwood). On the topic of our talents and focus, Screwtape tells Wormwood this: "To anticipate the Enemy's (God's) strategy, we must consider His aims. The Enemy (God) wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another. The Enemy (God) wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents." Wow. Of course, that is what God wants. He wants us to be selfless and never to take ourselves and our talents so seriously that it gets in the way of our caring for others and our love and relationship with Him. When we start to focus so much on ourselves that we begin to get in the way of others or worse yet, we become competitive, envious or jealous, then we know we have crossed the line.

It's clear in the Ten Commandments that we are not to covet anything of others, that would be their talents and skills as well. So today, think through, just how seriously are you taking yourself? Is it healthy, or have you crossed over and begun to put yourself too far up the pedestal? If you find yourself making comparisons (position, title, salary) to others in your profession and fretting when someone else gets an assignment and you don't, or worrying about what it is going to be like if someone else gets promoted over you, then it is time to take the test of yourself and then stop taking yourself that seriously.

Reference: Exodus 20:17 (New Living Testament), C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters"

day 1122: Raises

"But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died."

When we hear the word, “Raise” at work, we like it.  A raise means that things are going to improve and one area in particular we like; when we get a raise in our pay.  A whole bunch goes into the decision of a raise and even though it looks like it can be sometime arbitrary or without comprehensive thought, somewhere someone has laid out the pros, cons, equitable treatment and justification for the decision and the amount.  Usually a compensation raise comes because something else has been raised; revenues, customers, profits, etc.  It is always a good thing to look for ways to increase raises throughout our businesses and if we can get a continuous level of improvements, then all of these raises will be a welcome part of our business cycles.

There is no raise that compares to when Jesus was raised from the dead.  We know that this is what guarantees our eternal salvation and relationship with Christ, but we can always know that if God can raise a person from the dead that He can raise anything in our life that seems to be dead.  He can raise a dead marriage.  He can raise a dead career or job.  He can raise a dead set of aspirations and dreams.  With this, there should be no debate or concern, let’s take our dead ends to Him and let Him provide us His raises!

Reference: 1 Corinthians 15:20 (New Living Translation)

day 1110: Moving To Bcc

"My wise men and enchanters have tried to read the words on the wall and tell me their meaning, but they cannot do it."

In the last year or so there has been something new that we do to each other online; we move others to the blind copy line so that those who are going to be corresponding back and forth don't fill our email in-boxes with their emails.  This most happens when we are making introductions or thanking someone for the introduction made.  Dropping or moving someone to the bcc line is supposed to be considered an act of kindness and courtesy, but there must be something else about it because I always feel a little twinge of bad when I move someone, not knowing if they really desire to be moved or not.  I can say the same when I get moved.  I am glad that I am spared the emails, but I always feel like I might be missing out on something and that I am being excluded.  All of this is irrational of course, but it reminds me that what may look obvious and accepted can be misinterpreted or create other emotions than what is expected.  We are served well to be sure that we have a very good understanding of what the outcome will be of each of your actions both the obvious and the not so obvious.

I get concerned when we cavalierly treat each other or disregard their feelings because these actions can be taken much more seriously than we expect and create a sense of hurt that is hard to repair.  There are two parts to this challenge; one, is we don't want be the ones creating the situation and two, when on the receiving end, we want to be sure and be forgiving to the offense.  Which is harder?  Hard to say, but they both create impressions and lead others to not see a reflection of Christ that they would want to follow. And, we have to pay attention to the small things we do as well.  If moving someone to the bcc line could cause a misunderstanding then anything can. And or course, the workplace is full of these minefields.  So, let's be careful out there and think twice before we act.

Reference: Daniel 5:15 (New Living Translation)

day 1107: Reflections

"For if you listen to the word and don't obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like."

We like to throw around the phrase, "You need to look into the mirror", but how many times are you willing to do so yourself. We have just completed the first financial quarter of the year and it's a clear bet that we start to see CEO heads begin rolling soon. The end of a fiscal year and the beginning of another and the numbers not tracking in the right direction is a recipe for CEO terminations.  We've seen some already but the pace will pick up.  When you get down under the changes, it is not unusual to hear people inside the company talk about how the departing CEO didn't listen, didn't pay attention to the handwriting on the wall, didn't seek input and advice from others, didn't do enough reflecting on who was causing the problems.  The mirror is always there, but we don't like to take a look into it if we don't think we are going to like what we are going to see.  But when we are in leadership positions, either as a company or a person, we have to be courageous and humble enough to take a look every now and then and see what we can find in the reflection.

God expects us to look into the mirror through His Word, prayer time and fellowship with other believers.  When we don't do that, we are turning our heads to the reflections that we need to see.  Why is this important?  Well, obviously for each of us that is critical for our own spiritual walk.  But, more so, if we are not cognizant of how we are reflecting Christ to others then we run the risk of messing up a lot of the work that God wants to be done through us.  I remain convinced that He wants us to be as diligent in who we are Monday through Friday as there are many hours of influence and impact that can be made in the office.  Maybe more so there, than anywhere.

Reference: James 1: 23-24 (New Living Translation)

 

day 1106: Adding Features

"Then Jesus told him, 'You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway."

Our business is running well and it is time to add on new services, or line extensions to our products, or as we say in software companies, "It's time to add on features". The decision to add or expand is a hard one, or at least it should be. The thought to add should be as disciplined and diligent as when we first started with our core offerings. For some reason we don't always take this decision as seriously and we can find that before we know it we have started something that isn't profitable of even worse, takes away from our core focus. Before we add, think hard about what the outcome will and can be.

We have just celebrated our most holy of days. Without Easter there would be no eternal life. Many Christians around the world have also just completed 40 days of Lent, having given up and denied themselves of something in remembrance of what God gave up for us. But, what do we do for the 40 days after Easter?  Nothing formal, but yet Jesus actually modeled for us that we should be committed about being additive in the 40 days post Easter.  He did this by coming back and making Himself present physically to his disciples for those 40 days before ascending back to Heaven.  As we move out of Easter, let's ask ourselves what it is that we are adding to the Kingdom and to our own spiritual growth?  Can we find something that expands the Kingdom and brings more glory to God? Can we be present to those around us and allow them to see the likeness of Christ in us?  Think about it!

Reference: John 20:29 (New Living Testament)

day 1098: Trappings of Success

"What is your charge against this man?"

When we are successful we can get caught in taking ourselves too seriously.  When this happens we can find ourselves acting out as we would be expected in someone in a position such as ours.  We can start to dress like we think we should.  We can start to hang with people that others want us to hang and who we think help support our position of success.  We can start to go to meetings, conferences, places that benefit our persona/brand more than give us growth or really mean anything to us.  We can start to take on the language of those like us and what we are expected.  If we are not careful, we can trapped by success and before long we are making decisions and moves that are those that are expected, instead of what we think are right or should be happening.  This doesn't just happen with individuals.  Companies can also fall into the trappings of success and find themselves not innovating or resisting change and compromise because of their position of success.  Watch out, the trappings of success are subtle but very real and very, very dangerous.  Once trapped, it is very hard to escape.

We are nearing Easter weekend and all around the world churches are teaching the Easter account and the lessons that we can take from the events that occurred in the days leading up to Jesus' crucifixion.  Our church in San Francisco, Cornerstone is doing the same.  The last two weeks we have we looked at the decision of Pilate and it was clear that he was a man who was trapped in his own success and when his final decision was to be made, He was so much a caricature of his position that for him to have gone against the request of the people would have been out of character and unseemly for one in his position.  We can learn something about ourselves in the actions of Pilate.  Have we ever been in the position where we wanted to stop and help someone else or go against the decision of the group but we haven't because we are trapped into our own success and to to do something unexpected would put continued success at risk? Sure we have.  Now the question needs to be - will we stay trapped or will we rescue ourselves from this going further?  Consider today and as we get closer to Easter what trappings need to be shed?

Reference: John 18:29 (New Living Translation)