Knowledge is power

In the workplace, knowledge certainly is power, as it helps us make sound decisions and minimize risk. It’s hard to quantify having “enough” information… in fact, we always want more. More knowledge grants an advantage, even leverage, in a given situation.

Translation: Knowledge is used as power

The Fall exemplifies the desire for greater knowledge. In fact, Eve was promised not only knowledge, but the power assumed by the knowledge.

The Fall: the slippery slope (Gen 3:1-5)

“… You will be like God, knowing good and evil”

• Satan converts the positive (2:16) into a negative (3:1)
• Even joins in the distortion (3:2-3)
• Satan builds on Eve’s comments (3:4)
• Satan promises them power through knowledge (3:5)

There are lots of ways that knowledge is used as power in the workplace. Sometimes knowledge is used to gain advantage, or leverage, over others. This is when knowledge comes in the form of gossip, or withholding knowledge to protect job security or shield from failure.

The Fall: of man and Woman (3:6-8)

• Adam was with Eve through the process
• Adam failed in his responsibility to care for his wife
• Adam ultimately subjected himself to his wife rather than God
• Eve subjected herself to the serpent rather than her husband or God

What does this tell us about the effect of relationships on a failure of responsibility?

Failure to take responsibility leads to a breakdown of trust throughout your organization. After the fall, Adam and Eve had the knowledge that they could now fail each other….. and they had never had this before.

The Fall: Confrontation (3:9-13)

• Conspicuous is the effort of all participants to deny responsibility
• Adam’s denial is particularly egregious
• Eve’s less so, but still no responsibility

Failure to take responsibility has a ripple effect. In the workplace, your inability to take responsibility will impact others, which could extend beyond the boundaries of the workplace. In your personal life, it will impact the way your children are shaped.

Take responsibility and manage failure

When you forfeit your responsibility, you lower the bar of excellence and ultimately undermine your own authority.

The Fall: Judgment (3:14-21)

• Serpent
  • Cursed with no chance to explain
• Woman
  • Pain in childbirth
  • Desire for her husband (domination)
• Man
  • Work – difficult and tedious
  • Two observations:
    • Work for the man is equated to childbirth for woman
    • Work itself is not a curse of the fall; the strain and difficulties associated are
  • Death. “From the dust you came, and from the dust you will return”.

While it’s important to take responsibility, it is also important to pick your battles, or to properly manage failure – especially as leaders.

It’s important to manage failure in a responsible way so the outcome is action-oriented growth rather than animosity. Know enough to identify whether you have a pattern of behavior or an simply an isolated event, and then discern the gain of addressing the problem.

Knowledge essentially gains greater power in a mutual benefit situation.

How do we use and/or depend on knowledge as power? Why do we believe knowledge is power? How can we avoid using knowledge as a way to have power over others?

Related post:

The Lure of Power vs. Intended Roles

Content discussed during Theology of Work discussions with David Dickinson

Everything Communicates

Everything communicates. Body language. Facial expressions. Actions. Punctuality. Words. Tone. Volume. Atmosphere. Colors. Appearance. Your web site.

You get the point.

When you think of great communicators, think about the qualities you’ve observed that were attractive or made them effective. Some of the qualities identified in the group include:

• Good listener
• Knowledgeable
• Passionate
• Know the audience
• Tell stories or mix in humor
• Clarity in message
• Engages and welcomes dialogue

Every great communicator has a healthy mix of these qualities. Watch closely how the move their hands… their facial gestures… their posture. They know that everything communicates.

Everyone needs an image consultant and an editor

Think about the way that you communicate…..

… Now consider what others may be seeing that you are completely unaware of.

While there are many people who obsess about the way they present themselves, there are many who have no concern about what others think about them.

Consider that everyone has an audience, especially in today’s ultra-connected world of social media. For the first time in history, just about anyone from just about anywhere in the world can connect with just about anyone from just about anywhere in the world. Say that 5 times fast!

Not only can you connect in word, you can send picture and video. Your whole personal life, beliefs, political biases, and favorite foods are open for the whole world to see. Everything you upload is instant, global, and permanent.

Are you sending the right message? Who or how do you stay accountable and aware of your image and the message you’re sending?

Communicating Up, Down, and Across

The way that you communicate to multiple levels of hierarchy or organization is crucial. In fact, it’s often said that the ability to communicate across these planes is a sign of maturity, especially in leadership roles.

Looking at some of the ways we do this:

Up

• Tendency not to share bad news
• Fear of being “lit up”
• Concern about being transparent and communicate openly

Across

• Seek advice of peers
• Get options, collaborate on joint experience
• Build concensus

Down

• Seek possible solutions
• Consistently restate vision
• Help, don’t take over

Think. Feel. Act. Effective communication is an art

What you think effects the way you feel. What you feel effects the way you act. The way you act effects how you are perceived. If perception is reality, are you portraying yourself in the way you really want?

Communication is an art. It requires work and practice in order to be effective and consistent on all fronts. Everything communicates.

The lure of power vs. intended roles

One of the hardest things about the lure of power is that we want to rule; we want to climb higher. If you think about it, Adam was a steward to the resources that God created.

It was never ours to do with what we wanted – as mentioned in Gen 2:15, Adam was to be a cultivator, a keeper, a steward.

What are the implications of God’s role for us and the temptations to pervert it?

Genesis 2 talks about this concept before the fall:

Genesis 2:5-17

• God and man in relationship (v4)
• Adam is a cultivator (“server”) and keeper (v15)
• Freedom of Will (2:16-17)
  • Freedom in restriction
  • Freedom for, not freedom from
  • God’s provision (8-9)
    • The lure of power over life
    • Similar to the Israelites being led by a supernatural pillar of fire and wishing to be back in the land of Egypt, even though they are being led out of slavery

How do we develop a workplace environment that reflects God’s “original intent” for relationships?

In a fallen world, our motivations are largely driven by fear. However, prior the fall, there seems to be an absence of fear – or an absence of the need for fear. Adam and Eve were completely cared for by God and we have no indication that they doubted his provision.

Genesis 2:18-25

• The horizontal relationship
  • Man and woman together are the image of God
  • Both as necessary to accomplish God’s purpose
  • Men and women are ontological (in being or base) equals
  • They were naked and not ashamed (25)
    • Personally vulnerable without fear
    • Relational honesty and integrity

We fear vulnerability

Adam and Eve were completely vulnerable. However, in a fallen world, vulnerability is completely undesirable. It shows weakness. It signifies a lack of control or power. But the fear comes by way of control. When we turn it over to God, we relinquish control. But, do we fully trust Him?

Therein lies the irony, and essentially, the fear.

Consider these questions and post your thoughts:

How does fear impact your own ability to be vulnerable? How about accountable?

When you’re in the position of power or authority, how hard is it to make power secondary and stewardship primary?

A lot of people have some baggage with this one: What makes it difficult to ‘turn it over to God’?

Education: a vehicle for transforming lives

Rob Staley was an administrator in a public school.  As part of his job, there were times where he had to remove, or expel, students from school due to disciplinary reasons. One day, a friend on the police department asked him if he had any idea what was happening to these kids once they were out of school and back onto the street: it was automatically increasing their chances of going to jail.

A vision to change their lives

He knew from experience that a kid coming out of jail and going back into the public school is total chaos. Often, these kids will get kicked out of school again, which increases their chance of a second incarceration.

He was given a chaplain’s pass to go to the jail and see all the kids that were locked up. From there came a vision to do school differently to help these kids. It needed to be something that would change their lives – not just in education, but transforming by focusing on their hearts and minds.

Aside from meeting them at their current education level, talking to the kids about their lives and giving them a voice, he knew that it had to have a faith element. Staley’s own life was transformed by God when he was 17.

He started with 6 kids and a rented warehouse in Goshen. He would literally suspend a kid during the day, then go home and call the kid to get them to come over to the new school. It became known as the ‘warehouse school.’ What started with 6 kids became 10, and then became many more with multiple locations.

The ‘warehouse school’ eventually became The Crossing; a state-accredited private school created to support public schools through a partnership with the corporations. They are not a stand-alone private school.

Why we have so many troubled youth

Rob believes there are two major things turning our world sideways, and two main contributors to why we have so many troubled youth:

1. Godless generation
2. Children raised without fathers

Staley says that they don’t really know what they’re doing. “We don’t fail – we just successfully identify what doesn’t work.” Their core values are to Love God, Love people, and Love life. This means that they figure out how to love God. This means they go out into the community and serve others. This means they chase an adventure – international mission trips, ATV’s, rock climbing – something to get their heart’s pumping.

A higher bar than any other school

The thing he’s realized is that the kids are going to find love and adventure somewhere. This point came to a head when one kid told him that “The Crossing works because they do things that make his heart go thump thump… and he needs that in his life because if he doesn’t get it at The Crossing, he’ll get it by robbing a 7-11 or something.”

Kids leave The Crossing with technical skills and most often transfer into a technical school or other higher learning institution. Staley says “it does no good to just get them to earn a diploma. Poverty and troubled kids will sit on their front porch with a diploma. We put the bar higher than any other school because that’s how you add value to someone’s life.”

Other people are just jerks… right?

I don’t know about you, but there are times in the workplace where other people are just jerks.

Or, is that one of the lies we tell ourselves?

Caught in the conflict trap

There are so many ways to get caught in a trap with conflict at work, especially when you add multiple personalities with different reaction styles.

In fact, if you zoom out a bit, there are opportunities for conflict everywhere in our lives: Marriage, children, friends, extended family, church, etc.

If we focus for a few minutes on the workplace, what types of situations breed conflict?

• Change
• Low productivity, low sales
• Lack of ownership
• Personal issues
• Cliques or favored employees
• Poor management
• Poor communication
• Lack of development

What is at the root of these situations: Fear? Pride? Insecurity? Failure? Bitterness?

There are winners and losers

Someone has to win and it may as well be me. Right?

In this week’s Maximizers, Matt Meyer suggested that the win/lose paradigm comes from a “scarcity” culture or mentality. Walls go up and creativity and productivity breaks down. Communication gaps grow wider.

With this is mind, is the fear of loss stronger than the desire to win? And when we win in these situations, what exactly do we gain?

Think about that for a minute.

Avoiding the traps of conflict

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about maturing in the ways of Christ so that we can live fully as Christ followers, as explained throughout this text.

There are lots of other passages in the Bible that give instruction for avoiding the traps of conflict; such as avoiding selfish ambition and keeping a grateful heart when others insult you.

What do you think of when you read the words “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs…?”

Or, how about “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.?”

From a man-in-the-mirror perspective, these words may be convicting to many of us reading this post. If this you, consider the following challenge over the next week:

What conflict traps have you recently found yourself in? Are there ways in which you could have reacted differently if you were to take a non-selfish approach?

 

A measure of divine Glory

If you’ve been following along and read the The Image of God in Man post, or have been able to attended the Maximizers meetings, you may remember that we identified the Image of God by four primary distinctions:

• Our manifestation of His attributes
• Our ruling as His regents
• Our ability to relate to him and others
• Our investment with glory from Him, by Him, and for believers, to Him

God invests man with a measure of divine Glory

• Glory in the “likeness” of God – Ezekiel 1:26-27
• What is man that you are mindful of him? – Psalm 8:4
• 1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 3:18

Considerations of the Glory of God

• It is universal
  • People of all races, ethnic groups, nationalities, etc. are made in the image of God
  • With regard to the image of God, there is no gender difference
  • Mental and physical ability has no bearing on “imageness”
  •  The Image of God is essential to man, it is not something that can be lost
  • What does this universality mean in the workplace?
    • Equal respect of mankind regardless of ability or appearance
    • Prejudice and glass ceilings have no place
    • Form and Function
      • We are all the same FORM, being made in His image (who we are)
        • This is how Jesus can tell us to love everyone
  • We are all different in FUNCTION(what we do)
    • We do different things, have different levels of contribution
• We mess it up when we confuse (rather than correlate) form and function; when we assign value to people by their function rather than their form

Where do we see the Image of God most clearly?

• In Jesus Christ
  • Wholly directed toward the Father (John 4:34)
  • Wholly directed toward others (John 15:13, Mark 10:45)
  • Ruled over nature (Acts 2:22)
  • Mirrors the three-fold relationship in Gen 1:26-28

How do we accommodate these three axis of relationships in the workplace?

• When we work for someone, we should be stewards of what the employer has given us – and remain wholly directed toward the Father
• If the direction of the company is distressing, you have the ability to speak out in concern while still understanding that we are subject to authority (Colossians 3:22 and 1 Peter 2:13)
• If you are talking out of turn because you cannot align with the direction of the company, then you should move on

Related Posts:

The Image of God in Man

A great master of disguise: greed

Last week, we spent some time talking about a great master of disguise: Greed.

Greed is a funny topic, and somewhat emotionally and politically charged as of late. But, if we set aside our leanings for a minute and look at how greed is defined:

greed

noun: excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.

What kinds of greed do we see today? As a group, we called out examples such as:

• Monetary gain: WIIFM (what’s in it for me?)
• Get rich quick approach/mentality
• Stepping on others to get ahead
• Market share/monopolize by driving competition out of business
• Squandering of resources

Are any of these examples familiar in your world?

Ever feel guilted into giving?

Why is that we do not make giving decisions in the same way we make spending decisions?

We justify spending for tangible things, even stretch and rearrange our finances to obtain the new car or appliance. But, when it comes to giving, we justify the reasons to hold on to what we have or give just a little.

Why do we do this?

As Christians, do you ever feel guilted into giving to the building campaign or the missions fund? Do you give out of guilt instead of joy?

How do you get your heart engaged so that you are giving out of joy?

Where your treasure goes, you heart follows

Our heart is in the right place – we want to do it right. In fact, if there was a magic prayer to recite that would help us all bypass greed, we’d all recite it, and then we’d call our wives and our friends and have them do that same!

“Watch out – be on your guard against all kinds of greed… a man’s life does not exist on the abundance of his possessions.” – Luke 12:15

If you’re looking at the definition of greed and trying to figure out how to identify it, look no further than your own heart:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)

Ask yourself, not out of guilt, but out of awareness – where is your heart?

 

The Image of God in Man

Over the past few weeks, we’ve continued to explore the concept of a Theology of Work with David Dickinson. Recently, we discussed the Image of God in Man; both before and after the fall. Having been created in God’s image, Adam and Eve had relationship with God while in their perfect form.

Even after the sin of man and the wrath of the Great Flood, we remained in God’s image, yet somewhat separated from him because of sin.

The Four Main Ways

As we look at the four main ways that we can see the image of God in man, there are some definitions, and there some questions.

The questions for each section are intentionally left open-ended, as they were group discussions in the Maximizer’s meeting.

Try to reflect on how you might answer or have an understanding for each one.

You are invited to post your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom.

In Attributes

By our attributes, we mirror the image of God. In this likeness, we have our emotional, mental, and physical capacity. No other creature has all of these attributes at the same level as ours as humans. Believe it or not, there are few direct references or explanation of this in the Old Testament.

If the image of God is reflected in these capacities, what does it mean for us in the workplace? And, is someone with less ability or attribute, are they then any less of the image of God?

In Regency

From the garden, man was given ‘dominion’over the Earth. In regency, ruling in a foreign land on behalf of a King, we can also see the image of God in man.

What does it mean for us in the workplace if it is our role to have ‘dominion’ and to ‘subdue’ the Earth? What does it mean for us in our personal and social relationships?

In Relationship

All living creatures have some form of relationship or companionship with their fellow beings. But where we are like God in relationship is that we can have relationship with each other, and we can have relationship with Him.

What does it mean for us in the workplace if we are unique in our relational ability? What about in other areas of our lives?

In Glory

As a group, we have yet to discuss this way in which you can see the image of God in man. On Friday 2/17, we will cover this final section.

Join us on Friday morning (if you’re in the Michiana area, click here), or subscribe to our posts to stay engaged as we continue our journey through these topics.

Seek the Welfare of the City

Last Friday at Maximizer’s, we were joined by guest speaker Edgar Cabello, Senior Pastor at Southgate Church. Edgar shared his vision as expressed by the local church, and told his own story of impacting the community for the Kingdom.

If it prospers, you too will prosper

Edgar sums it up very simply with one specific verse found in Jeremiah:

“… seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” – Jeremiah 29:7

At Southgate, they have done just that with one specific area of ministry: their partnership with The Crossing Educational Center. The Crossing works with at-risk, drop-out teens. It’s more than just a GED track program.

These are kids that have nothing else – no future – no support system – no family pushing them forward – and sometimes, no real home.

Watch the video here.

Church often does things that matter to the church

Southgate, being large in footprint, had extra space in their facilities. Edgar and his staff “wanted to have a church that does things that matter to the community.” Church often does things that matter to the church… or to the church people. For better or worse, it’s easy for churches to seclude themselves, even when unintentional.

The church was able to lend its unused space and give The Crossing its own permanent home. Every day, these kids are not only learning the necessary scholastics, they are also exposed to the Gospel.

They are experiencing opportunities to serve and even work in their community. Through a partnership with a local tree trimming business, they are learning how to budget for tools and other equipment.

If you ask Edgar what makes this ministry so successful, he will say that being faith-based is the key. Anyone can fund and teach a GED program – but this is more. This is real impact. This is changing lives.

“The role of the church is motion. If we do what Jeremiah wrote to the people, we will make an impact like never before. Don’t look for an escape hatch. Let’s engage wherever we are. The world is desperate for us.” – Edgar Cabello

Our responsibility as Christians in the workplace and in the community is to make it a better place to live.

We are called to seek the welfare of the city.

What exactly is a… Theology of Work?

So what is a “theology of work?” First, theology is derived from the Greek theos for “God” and logos for “word.” Theology proper is the study of God Himself, but more broadly, according to Thomas Aquinas, “Theology is taught by God, teaches of God, and leads to God.”

Defining “work” is a little more difficult. In one sense everything we do is work of some sort if we define it as “any effort directed toward a goal or end.” It is more than just work we are paid for.

First, we all have a theology of work, or at least a philosophy of work, already. We make decisions, act, reflect, and guide our work using a grid of values that is derived from a variety of sources.

Second, what that theology work is matters to God, since he tells us that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (1 Cor. 10:31) and that “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him . . . work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Col 3:17, 23-24)

So the question is not whether we all have a Theology of Work, the question is whether it is a good one. That is what we’ll be exploring.  Join us this Friday morning!

*Excepts taken from One Theology of Work blog.