Proverbs 23:4-5 (NLV) Do not work hard to be rich. Stop trying to get things for yourself. When you set your eyes upon it, it is gone. For sure, riches make themselves wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.
Former President Bush (43) warned Congress in 2001 that what “looked good” at Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, was not. He was ridiculed. Ignored. The reaction of those in Congress reminds me of the mythological story of Icarus who, in his exuberance with successful flight, flew too close to the sun and melted the wax in his wings, falling to his death. Our economy, riding on the back of our Icarus-Congress is falling also.
Working hard and achieving success is generally good. However, according to J.L. Badaracco, Jr., a professor at Harvard Business School, in his book Questions of Character he writes, "The basic problem with the flow of success is that life can look very good when it really isn't.”
Working hard for the right things is always best. Work – no matter the job -- is really a mind-game; it is an attitude that must flow from seeking “first the kingdom of God" to living life with the core value of stewardship, not ownership. Like the example of Abraham of old, who possessed nothing, not even his son, stewardship must define how we think and act about what we have.
The daunting challenge for many leaders is, paradoxically, the very thing we aspire to achieve - a successful life and career and all that comes with them -- can be fleeting if we find we are working for the wrong reasons.
Who are you working for – God or yourself?
Copyright © 2009 by P. Griffith Lindell
Monday, March 23, 2009
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