Last week, Federal courts handed down convictions for Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, the former corporate chiefs of Enron.
No other company better represented the "irrational exuberance" of the market back in 2000 than Enron. Throughout the late 90s and 2000, Fortune magazine named Enron as the most innovative company in America. Since their collapse in 2001, it's become the poster child for corporate fraud and corruption.
Al Mohler comments on this sad tale of corporate demise. He offers the view that we should set our eyes on a better day where perfect justice will prevail and no corruption will exist.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
More Good News for a Bad Day at Work
Challenging days at work are inevitable but how can the gospel inform our response in those times? In my earlier post, I offered a couple of ways we should think about our times of adversity at work. Here are a couple more -
We can hope in Christ for our help and deliverance in times of trouble because of His love for us. Project gone awry? Look to Christ to help you in your troubled project. Facing the possibility of losing your job? Look to your loving Savior to rescue you and provide for you in the adversity.
If you're like me, you might have wondered if we can legitimately expect God to work on our behalf. After all, there are surely no guarantees and it can seem presumptous. Yet, I believe that God is glorified when we hope in Him. Even if He doesn't always resolve matters in the way we expect or hope, we should nonetheless approach on the basis that He will "work all things for he good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). In view of His proven love for us on the cross, I have come to believe that we ought to approach Christ expecting His help and deliverance. Our adversity may in fact, be designed by God for the very purpose of delivering us. After all, you can't get to see the Red Sea part if you don't find yourself backed up with the Egyptian army bearing down on you.
Another reason for hope on a bad day is to know that these trials often lead us to greater dependence on Him. In 2 Cor 1, Paul was describing some very bad days...days when he despaired even for his life. But then he goes on to say that "this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead".
Difficult times can often seem more bearable when we realize that there is a higher purpose in all of the pressing trials. God often intends for such trials to help us realize our limitations and our need of Him. During a particularly difficult week recently, I was reminded of the truth from Psalm 127 - "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain". While we're called to diligently build our businesses, execute on our projects and prepare for that critical meeting, our efforts are ultimately of little consequence without God's gracious blessing. Through the trial, I was freshly reminded of this truth... that kind of work in our lives is always cause for rejoicing.
We can hope in Christ for our help and deliverance in times of trouble because of His love for us. Project gone awry? Look to Christ to help you in your troubled project. Facing the possibility of losing your job? Look to your loving Savior to rescue you and provide for you in the adversity.
If you're like me, you might have wondered if we can legitimately expect God to work on our behalf. After all, there are surely no guarantees and it can seem presumptous. Yet, I believe that God is glorified when we hope in Him. Even if He doesn't always resolve matters in the way we expect or hope, we should nonetheless approach on the basis that He will "work all things for he good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). In view of His proven love for us on the cross, I have come to believe that we ought to approach Christ expecting His help and deliverance. Our adversity may in fact, be designed by God for the very purpose of delivering us. After all, you can't get to see the Red Sea part if you don't find yourself backed up with the Egyptian army bearing down on you.
Another reason for hope on a bad day is to know that these trials often lead us to greater dependence on Him. In 2 Cor 1, Paul was describing some very bad days...days when he despaired even for his life. But then he goes on to say that "this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead".
Difficult times can often seem more bearable when we realize that there is a higher purpose in all of the pressing trials. God often intends for such trials to help us realize our limitations and our need of Him. During a particularly difficult week recently, I was reminded of the truth from Psalm 127 - "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain". While we're called to diligently build our businesses, execute on our projects and prepare for that critical meeting, our efforts are ultimately of little consequence without God's gracious blessing. Through the trial, I was freshly reminded of this truth... that kind of work in our lives is always cause for rejoicing.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Good News for a Bad Day at Work
I suspect you've had a couple of really bad days at work...the kind that made you wonder why you even got out of bed that morning. Perhaps it's the loss of a sales opportunity you've been working on or the demise of a critical project. On other occasions, bad days may arise from conflicts with coworkers, bosses and clients. Needless to say, after more than 17 years of toil in the technology arena, I've had my share of "bad days".
How are we to respond in the face of these adversities at work? Does God have a purpose in all of this? Is there good news for a bad day at the office?
If you find yourself in such a situation, here are a few ways, I believe we can view our circumstances and respond biblically -
First, preach the gospel to yourself relentlessly. Many Christians, including myself, may unwittingly treat our work life in the "marketplace" as a gospel free zone. Sure, the gospel may be applicable on in church or even at home...but at work? Yet, these are the very moments that the gospel is most applicable. We need to be reminded that no matter how pressing the problems may be at work, they cannot compare to our greatest problem - the problem of our sin... and for that predicament, God has provided a remedy at great cost to Himself. We need to infuse our hearts with gospel centered scriptures that lead us to meditation. Passages like 1 Peter 3:18, 2nd Cor 5:21 are dripping with gospel truth
Second, I find that adversity is often a way that God reveals His eternal worth to us. It is not the encountering of trials that lead to maturity but how we encounter those trials. Trials are designed to remind us of the temporal nature of this life and the eternal worth of knowing Christ. On a recent bad day, I found myself fraught with anxiety yet I sensed the Holy Spirit reminding me of 2 Cor 4:17-18
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
I was also encouraged to desire God and hope in Him from Psalm 73:25 where David writes
"Whom have I in heaven but you. There is nothing on earth that I desire beside you. My heart and my flesh may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Good news indeed!
How are we to respond in the face of these adversities at work? Does God have a purpose in all of this? Is there good news for a bad day at the office?
If you find yourself in such a situation, here are a few ways, I believe we can view our circumstances and respond biblically -
First, preach the gospel to yourself relentlessly. Many Christians, including myself, may unwittingly treat our work life in the "marketplace" as a gospel free zone. Sure, the gospel may be applicable on in church or even at home...but at work? Yet, these are the very moments that the gospel is most applicable. We need to be reminded that no matter how pressing the problems may be at work, they cannot compare to our greatest problem - the problem of our sin... and for that predicament, God has provided a remedy at great cost to Himself. We need to infuse our hearts with gospel centered scriptures that lead us to meditation. Passages like 1 Peter 3:18, 2nd Cor 5:21 are dripping with gospel truth
Second, I find that adversity is often a way that God reveals His eternal worth to us. It is not the encountering of trials that lead to maturity but how we encounter those trials. Trials are designed to remind us of the temporal nature of this life and the eternal worth of knowing Christ. On a recent bad day, I found myself fraught with anxiety yet I sensed the Holy Spirit reminding me of 2 Cor 4:17-18
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
I was also encouraged to desire God and hope in Him from Psalm 73:25 where David writes
"Whom have I in heaven but you. There is nothing on earth that I desire beside you. My heart and my flesh may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."
Good news indeed!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Why Blog?
I've decided to try blogging...and I may end up doing it to excess. Over the next month, I will likely be blogging on two fronts. In my "day job" as a technology executive, I will be launching a blog on enterprise security, to be hosted by ebizQ.net - launch date...sometime at the end of May. If you're interested, please do stop by and check it out at:
http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/security_insider/
This blog has a distinctly different focus. This blog is about exploring what it looks like to see Christ glorified in all of life - especially the realm of business and culture. I'm blogging here for three primary reasons:
1. It's an expression of my modest but sincere passion to engage the world around me with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. I love to write - this is not a burden but a joy. Perhaps it's the way I'm wired but the more I write, the better I learn and understand a topic. I trust this will stimulate much learning for me.
3. I trust by God's grace that it may serve others. I'm not aware of any blog that specifically engages the arena of business and culture with a gospel driven worldview. I'm sure several such blogs must exist so I hope what I do here may positively contribute to that effort.
The "Every Square Inch" blog is inspired from the quote by Abraham Kuyper, a truly gifted man who as a pastor, theologian, writer and statesman once said -
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"
This blog will hopefully be an ongoing exploration and conversation on what it means to engage the worlds of business and culture with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Please join me.
http://www.ebizq.net/blogs/security_insider/
This blog has a distinctly different focus. This blog is about exploring what it looks like to see Christ glorified in all of life - especially the realm of business and culture. I'm blogging here for three primary reasons:
1. It's an expression of my modest but sincere passion to engage the world around me with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
2. I love to write - this is not a burden but a joy. Perhaps it's the way I'm wired but the more I write, the better I learn and understand a topic. I trust this will stimulate much learning for me.
3. I trust by God's grace that it may serve others. I'm not aware of any blog that specifically engages the arena of business and culture with a gospel driven worldview. I'm sure several such blogs must exist so I hope what I do here may positively contribute to that effort.
The "Every Square Inch" blog is inspired from the quote by Abraham Kuyper, a truly gifted man who as a pastor, theologian, writer and statesman once said -
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"
This blog will hopefully be an ongoing exploration and conversation on what it means to engage the worlds of business and culture with the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Please join me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
