Faith4Business

Want to give your office an upgrade?  Here are 4 simple things you can do daily to improve the environment of your workplace. 

1.      Don't say negative things about your peers or superiors to anyone.  When I was young I was told to say nothing at all if I could not say something good. This is still true today, if you cannot say something positive about someone just walk away from the conversation and say nothing.    

 2.     Say, "Thank You.”  Recognize someone today that is doing a good job and then tell them you are grateful for what they are doing.   

 3.     Be on time today.  Value other people's time by being on time.  Showing up late sends the message that you do not value other people's time as much as your own time. Give others respect by being on time and you might be surprised by what you get back in return. 

 4.     Pray for your colleagues at work today.  Especially the ones you don't necessarily like. Pray that they get what they want not what you think they deserve.  Pray that they find a closer relationship with God. 

Who knows?  With a little conscience effort today you could keep your office from crashing. 

Relationships in business can mean many things.  From the relationship you have with peers, superiors and subordinates to the relationship you have with the company itself.  The thought today is how do we apply our faith to these relationships. Given that more than half of our waking hours are spent at our work.  How then after leaving church on Sunday morning do we apply Jesus's second commandment to these business relationships, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  

This is a tough one for many reasons. This is mostly because of the competitive nature inherent within business and corporate careers.  In most cases as a company we come together as a team to compete against other companies selling products or services. We also compete within our respective companies to show our value of helping the team achieve its goals.  These environments are not conducive to selflessness and building lasting relationships here can be a challenge.  Many have heard the phrase "Nice guys finish last" and that can be true in the short-term. After years of witnessing the behaviors of people in the workplace I can say that the concept of serving others at a cost to us separates the men from the boys.  It requires a long-term vision of how all things work to the benefit of all involved when the greater good is served.  It is delayed gratification, which is too frequently a foreign concept in our modern world dedicated to having it now. Christ said a lot about relationships because it was obviously important to him to give us guidance.  And, ultimately he was guiding us to a relationship with God our Father.  He told us how to love our spouses and treat our neighbors because he knew that it was and is human nature to perceive the world as a place of limited resources, a place where we would compete for the same resources with a "Me" mentality.  In reality when we can see how serving others ultimately serves us and all involved then we can begin to see the world as not a place of limited resources but one of abundance and plenty.  But believing in things yet unseen takes Faith.

This year my children, as did millions of others, got iPod Touches for Christmas. And, since I frequently travel for work my eight-year-old daughter is now inundating me with text messages and emails while I am away. I am flattered at her affections especially that she always does this when I am away and we are physically separated. I also value that her attention is so focused on her relationship with me. I try to make it a point to reply to her in some manor. Today as I sat down to type in a response I longed to tell her that even though I was not there with her today that I am always thinking of her, and that I love her deeply. I wanted to tell her that in almost everything I do even when I am not around that I am acting in the best interest of Her, Her Brother and Mother. I wanted to explain to her that even though we are not physically close enough to see each other that spiritually she is always with me and near my heart. I was struck though before I could get down a word with the thought of how similar this must be to the way God feels about us. He hears our prayers like text messages and emails and he hits reply although we may not always see it. And, even though we may not see him today he is here with us and near us spiritually.

Just a thought for all of those traveling businessmen and women.

Beautiful Day in the Rico!