It’s Not a Game

How should one who walks with Christ approach success? On one hand, I suppose that the world equates success with victory. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have Super Bowls, Final Fours, Spelling Bees, or the game of Monopoly.

I used to have a T-shirt that unceremoniously stated, “Second place is the first loser.” I think that’s the world’s attitude towards winning and losing. Still, even to be in a championship game is the dream of all competitors, win or lose. Sure, losing hurts, but you still did better than all the other teams in the league except one.

Christ’s death on the cross was a certain type of victory, certainly a victory over the barrier of sin that separates us from God. However, we are not called to merely brag about Christ’s victory and our salvation to the unsaved as if their route to Hell is a consequence of Christ’s victory. Instead, we are given the Great Commission, to go out into the world and spread the message of the Gospel to others so that they may also receive the benefits of Christ’s victory.

In the world of business, we are sometimes forced to make decisions that will benefit one party and bring harm to another. The best decisions and agreements that are made are win-win, where the solution benefits all parties involved in some way. The servant leader recognizes that business is not a game, but a sharing to the mutual benefit of all parties.

Single Point of Failure

I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this story, but a week or so ago, the network administrator for the city of San Francisco was arrested because he had seized up the computer network and wasn’t giving up the password to anybody to get in. This prevented access to “officials’ e-mails, city payroll files, confidential law enforcement documents and jail inmates’ bookings”.

In most IT implementations, this sort of thing generally isn’t possible. So-called “super users” might have the rights and access to change anything they want or anybody’s ability to access the network, but the failsafe generally is that there are multiple people with such access and authority that it would be noticed. There would have to be a large conspiratorial agreement for such a thing to occur. But in this case, it seems that one person with all the power was able to bring down the network.

Even then, we used to use an analogy that if a single point of contact “got hit by a bus” or the friendlier version, “won the lottery and quit the next day”, those left behind would be up a serious creek.

Not only that, but here’s another scary thought:

One in three IT administrators say they or one of their colleagues have used top-level admin passwords to pry into confidential or sensitive information at their workplace, according to a survey by a password-management vendor.

Nearly half also confessed that they have poked around systems for information not relevant to their jobs.

What We Say Without Words

The Washington Post put up an interesting slideshow about subconscious nonverbal communication. We naturally move our bodies in certain ways based on the stimuli of the environment, and this body positioning tells the other person about us. For example:

• Leaning forward occurs when we like or agree with someone. Leaning away occurs when we dislike or disagree with someone.
• The territorial display of “splaying out” is appropriate at home, but can be seen as disrespectful when used at work.
• Crossed arms create discomfort in social settings.
• The placement of fingers across a surface can emphasize who’s in charge.
• Arms akimbo is a territorial display that makes someone look bigger, establishes dominance, or communicates dislike.
• Arms behind the back tells others to stay away.
• Thumbs up in conversation shows that we feel confident about something. When feeling less confident or discussing something we dislike, our thumbs come down or our hands are folded.
• A steeple is often used among individuals of high status to communicate precise thoughts.
• Touching our necks shows that we feel threatened, concerned, uncomfortable, or doubtful.
• Repetitive motions like jiggling our feet help us to feel calm. When jiggling becomes more of a kick, the brain is considering something negative.
• Crossing our legs is a sign of being comfortable.
• Toes pointing towards the air indicate positive feelings (such as when you rock your heels).

This information comes from Joe Navarro, a former FBI agent who’s promoting a book on body language, and also is involved in teaching poker players how to read their opponents.

Zero-Slide PowerPoint Presentations

Back before Microsoft Office was just a figment of Bill Gates’ imagination, you might find this shocking to believe, but people gave speeches without anything for the audience to look at. Oh, sure, maybe if you were going to get fancy, you’d have one of those overhead projectors with some slides printed on clear plastic pages. But, for the most part, people were actually there to hear you SPEAK (crazy, isn’t it?), not to watch fancy PowerPoint animations with annoying sound effects and distracting slide transitions.

So, here’s a challenge: can you give a speech without PowerPoint? I’ve seen it done in classes successfully, and to be honest, I’m more engaged as a listener with a dynamic speaker who communicates effectively than any number of flashy graphics and “stunts”.

Management by Jesus

If you’ve ever had to deal with the company you work for merging with another company or getting outright bought, you probably also had to deal with a new management team coming in to make changes. The new ownership generally wants to align corporate culture, processes, technology, and communication with the acquired company in order for them to mesh better with itself. Sometimes this is for the better, sometimes it is for the worse.

I think we can all agree, however, that when Jesus comes in to place you under new management, it is always for the better, no matter how obstructive it may be for our own desires and plans to follow Him.

No Hassles at the Border

9/11 changed the way that we look at the security of our national borders and air travel. I’ve never travelled internationally, but the idea that you could be prevented from being able to return home without the proper documentation is a scary one. As this article mentions, Jesus knows all of us who follow Him and put our faith in His victory on the cross, and we don’t need paperwork to identify ourselves to Him when we get to Heaven (praise God!).

A Super Look at Superheroes

Last month, inspired by all the comic book movies coming out this summer and the VBS program that we did, I linked to this article about superheroes that claims one of the reasons why we like them so much is that we place ourselves in these characters and wish we could do the things they do.

This article has a similar argument, in that we are created in God’s image, and therefore we share some of His characteristics. However, this article points more towards the justness of God rather than a desire to become something more than we are.

Genuine Humility

GENUINELY HUMBLE by Charles R. Swindoll (Esther 6:1-14)

“What goes around comes around.” That popular saying has never been truer than it is here. Things have gone around for Haman—yet they finally come around for Mordecai. Sitting on that horse in regal attire, he was the most surprised man in the kingdom. That’s the beauty of the story. He was not a proud man. He was not a vengeful man. He was not whispering, “Say it a little louder. Eat your heart out, Haman.” According to what is written here, Mordecai didn’t utter a word.

I think that’s what I appreciate most in this whole episode: the silence of Mordecai. How rare are the people who can be promoted to a place of highly visible significance and not live for their own clippings or crave the spotlight or demand center stage. Soft-spoken, genuinely humble celebrities are extremely rare. Not convinced? Check the rank and file of today’s pro athletes. How refreshing (and unusual!) to find a modern-day Mordecai!

In fact, the next thing we read is that “Mordecai returned to the king’s gate.” A brief phrase, it’s easy to overlook. But isn’t it wonderful? “Mordecai returned to the king’s gate,” it says, rather than, “Mordecai accepted a major promotion.” And do you know why it’s significant? Because that’s where he’s been all the time. His honor has not gone to his head. He just went back to work.

Have you recently been promoted? Has God’s providence smiled on you so that your name is now honored in circles where you were once not even known? Have you come to a place of popularity and prosperity? Are you now esteemed in the eyes of others? If so, the real question is: Are you still comfortable at the king’s gate, or must you now live in the palace? Must you now be treated with special care and be given kid-glove treatment and not be bothered with everyday problems? Mordecai shrugged, “Just drop me off where all this started—at the king’s gate.”

No matter what happens to you, remember “the pit from which you’ve been dug.” You’ll find the best place on earth is still pretty close to your roots. Like the country song reminds us, “Look how far I had to come, to get back where I started from.”

Right Where You Are

As a follow-up to Tuesday, how often do we wish that we were in some glamorous or high-profile location serving the Lord? Are we doing so because we want more glory for Him or for ourselves? Then people tell me how excited they are to go on missions trips, I think that’s fine, but you can always tell when they are more interested in the vacationing or travelling aspect of it by the topics they discuss. I know a few people who are like that.

Some friends of ours are heading to Lesotho (the country that is inside South Africa) in November, and when you talk to them, you can tell that the reason they want to go is not to hang out in some third-world country, but because the husband of the family is gifted with flying airplanes, and his ministry with Mission Aviation Fellowship allows him to use that gift to serve God.

If you’re going on a mission trip to get out of the house or the country for a week or so, though, there are plenty of missions in our own back yard that can break us of the vacationing attitude and cultivate a servant’s attitude.

Fun With Computer Privacy/Security

Think your information is safe? Think again…

Dear Curves: respect your client and employee data

About two weeks ago now a relative found a Dell Inspiron 4500 sitting in the trash at the complex where he works. As the computer looked perfectly fine and it was obviously thrown out, he grabbed it to take a look at it. When he got it home and booted the system he found that the hard drive was still intact and other than running very slow the system seemed fine… Additionally, it was determined that the computer came from the Curves that resides in the complex.

I was able to find several documents (Word Perfect) that contained mostly trivial data, while still others contained phone numbers and addresses of both employees and clients. Even more disturbing the system still contained the Curves database “iGo Figure” which is really just an Access database. By looking at the features of the “iGo Figure” software you can see that the database potentially contains extremely personal information (i.e. credit card information). The database is password protected and while I didn’t; extracting the information from the database would be trivial.

No matter who you are or what your knowledge is if you run a business it is your responsibility to educate yourself (or pay someone) on how to handle technological issues like proper data disposal. There is simply no excuse for a scenario like this to occur.