Winning

I had an opportunity to meet a famous business philosopher today. He is a smart man, and in the world of business he is a famous man. In him, I found both a sermon and a word from God though I suspect he intended neither. I honestly don't even know if he is a Christian, but he spoke truth that was familiar and recognizable: all people are worthy of respect, this life is not all about us, raw ambition is sure destruction. My soul was touched and I wanted to shout Amen Brother! This fellow was true, he was authentic, he really believed what he was sharing; and it was truth. I was moved until the very end.

At the very end, I asked a very simple question, "Have you ever seen an American company do this successfully?" The answer was long, but boiled down to, "No." Then there was a bit of sadness in his eyes when he went on to say, "This is a lot harder than I originally thought." "I've been at this for 30 years and I honestly thought that if I showed people what I know...they would recognize the benefits, they would see its a better way, they would adopt and get better, there would be more civility in our organizations. But they haven't. They simply seem unable to see the truth."

What is it in us that drives that outcome? Why do we choose pain and suffering over freedom and joy? Why do we choose worry over confidence? Why do we choose victimization over empowerment? Why do we choose these things even when we can see a better way? In this situation, its not as if the guy is preaching a new found religion. He is simply passing on observations about what has made other companies great. It is tangible, it is visible, it is knowable yet it is disregarded for the status quo which breeds familiarity yet utter humiliation for all involved. I'll shout, "Why do we do this to ourselves?????????"

Its not new and its not specific to the secular world. Paul, in letters to the early church says over and over again, "Why do you keep selling out the Gospel to return to the bondage of the law?" (Paraphrased as a theme from several letters). Jesus says, "the truth shall set you free" but people crucified him. In our church today, we divide over music and decorations, and silly theological terms that have no real meaning. We add to the burden of the Gospel with a set of rules that people hold up as Biblical truths. We scratch and claw against each other to win best prayer, or most Christ like among our peers. We try our very best to win and be right but at what cost?

Most people I meet have no problem with God, they have a problem with the church. In some way or another they have been hurt, ignored, or discounted as people set about to do what was "right". If the result is pain, if the outcome is disdain can it really be? Is it possible that in our pursuit of the win, in our accumulation of righteousness we have failed to see the main point, we have lost the truth?