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Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, June 14, 2009
Defending Truth, Humility, and Justice
In your majesty, ride out to victory,
defending truth, humility, and justice.
Go forth to perform awe-inspiring deeds!
When I was a boy, I loved watching the Adventures of Superman on our black-and-white Motorola television set. How I longed to be just like that “strange visitor from another planet” who fought a “never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way.”
Superman, ironically enough, has much in common with the king who is praised in Psalm 45. This psalm is unusual in that it is addressed, not to God or to the people of Israel, but to the king on the occasion of his wedding (45:13-15). In verse 4, the psalmist urges the king to “ride out to victory, defending truth, humility, and justice.” That’s not exactly “truth, justice, and the American way,” but two out of three ain’t half bad.
When we pray for our leaders, as Scripture urges us to do (1 Tim. 2:2), we should ask the Lord to lead them in the ways of truth, humility, and justice. Yet Psalm 45:4 also provides a model for our behavior in the world. We too are to be people of truth, humility, and justice.
As people of truth, we will speak and live in a way that reflects God and his revelation. In a world of falsehood, in which truth itself is under attack, we will seek the truth in all things, stand for the truth in what we say and do.
As people of humility, we will never speak the truth in a way that is haughty, as if the truth belongs to us. Moreover, we will always see ourselves as subjects of the King of kings, and offer our lives to him and to others as servants. Thus we will imitate the humble servanthood of Jesus.
As people of justice, we will treat all people fairly and will work for a world that offers justice to all. We will be especially committed to doing justice for the poor and powerless. Where we have been given authority, in our work, our families, our churches, or our community, we will strive for just systems that reflect the character of God.
When you “ride out” today into the world, defend truth, humility, and justice as God’s viceroy, God’s servant.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: How can you express your commitment to truth today? How can you live with humility? How can you seek God’s justice in your part of the world?
PRAYER: O Lord, even as the king was to be a person of truth, humility, and justice, so am I. You have called me to speak and to live truthfully. I am to imitate the humility of Jesus and to seek your justice in all things. Help me, dear Lord, to be this kind of person in all that I do.
Even as I go through this day, may your Spirit bring to mind ways that I can be more truthful, more humble, and more just. To you be all the glory. Amen.
_________________________________________________
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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org). You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | 2 Comments »
Only in Texas
By Mark D. Roberts | Saturday, June 13, 2009
A recent headline is encouraging. Somehow, the buses in Seguin, Texas are able to imbue politeness into seventh grade boys:
This store has something for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. You don’t see this sort of thing in California!
Topics: Only in Texas | 2 Comments »
Technology and Theology: Unexpected Consequences
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, June 12, 2009
When we begin to use a new technology, usually we focus on its primary impact. For example, when I got my first cell phone, I was excited about the possibility of staying in touch with people with whom I worked when I wasn’t near a phone. I envisioned sitting in traffic on the way to a meeting, and instead of fretting about how rude my lateness would be, I’d be able to call and let the others in the meeting know why I was delayed and when I might arrive. This happened many times, in fact, during my cell phone years in Southern California. Because, as a pastor, I was often on the move, visiting folks in the hospital, studying in the library, or meeting with leaders over lunch, a cell phone improved my work life, in addition to letting folks know when I was stuck in traffic. It made me more available to my colleagues and my parishioners. (For the record, I didn’t publish my cell phone number for the whole congregation, but I was quickly available through my assistant or other church leaders.)
Besides the primary impact of my having a cell phone, there were several unexpected consequences. Some were positive; others negative. On the positive side, my cell phone made me much more available to my family. Before my mobile days, my wife and I might talk by phone once during the workday every other day or so. But new technology made it easy for us to check in a couple times a day. Not only did this strengthen our relationship, but also it allowed us to work together on some of the challenges of family life, such as: Do you think the plumber’s estimate is fair? Or, do you think we should take Nathan to the doctor because of his cough? Or, could you pick up some milk on the way home? I would still say one of the very best things about having a cell phone is the opportunity for me to stay in closer touch with my family when we’re not in the same location. I had not expected this when I got my first phone, which was meant primarily for work. (Photo: One of the early cell phones from the 1980s.)
The main negative unexpected consequence of having a cell phone won’t be a surprise to you. It had to do with the intrusion of work into private life, even vacations. Although my colleagues knew not to call me when I was “off duty” unless there was a genuine emergency, inevitably somebody would interrupt my family time with some trivial work matter.
A related negative consequence of having a cell phone had to do with raised expectations. Some people in my church expected me to be “on” 24/7, and I don’t mean just for emergencies. I made it clear to my parishioners and elders that I was happy to be called at any time of day or night in the case of an emergency hospitalization or similar situation. But I asked people to respect my boundaries when it came to church business. Almost everybody in the church respected this request . . . almost everybody. Some folks were unhappy with my unwillingness to be available at their convenience. The fact that I had a cell phone exacerbated the problem.
I know of other negative consequences of cell phones. I think of one-on-one meetings I’ve had with people. When their cell phone rings, they answer the phone right away, without apologizing for the interruption or asking if I minded if they got the call. Their unspoken rule seems to be: If my phone rings, I answer it. Period. This is rude. It also can sidetrack or squelch a valuable conversation.
Of course then there is the nagging problem of cell phones ringing during worship services. Nothing can ruin a profound spiritual moment in church like a cell phone going off. For the most part, this isn’t a major problem on Sunday mornings, since most folks don’t get calls during worship hours. But it can be a terrible nuisance in midweek memorial services. I remember one service in which seven, count ‘em, seven cell phones rang. I quickly learned to begin each memorial service with an invocation that included this line, “And Lord, please help everyone here to silence their cell phones, or else may they be damned to Hell.” Well, okay, I didn’t really pray that. But I did ask people to silence their phones.
So, evaluating the use of technology in our lives is often difficult given the prevalence of unexpected consequences. Yet these need to be weighed in to our strategic and theological evaluation of technology. I’ll have more to say about this next time.
In the meanwhile, I’d be interested in your comments about unexpected consequences of technology. What have been your experiences?
Topics: Technology | 7 Comments »
Technology and Theology: A Negative Example
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, June 11, 2009
In yesterday’s post I examined ways in which technology can support God’s work in the world. Specifically, I noted now the early Christian use of letters and roads helped to spread the good news of Jesus Christ throughout the Roman world.
Yet Scripture also bears witnesses to potential downsides of technology. A major negative example comes from Isaiah 44. The Lord has just revealed himself to be “the first” and “the last.” “Who is like me?” he asks. “Let them proclaim it. . . . Is there any god besides me? There is no other rock; I know not one” (44:6-8). Then the Lord speaks about idols and those who make them in an extended passage that speaks of the use of tools, i.e. technology:
All who make idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit; their witnesses neither see nor know. And so they will be put to shame. Who would fashion a god or cast an image that can do no good? Look, all its devotees shall be put to shame; the artisans too are merely human. Let them all assemble, let them stand up; they shall be terrified, they shall all be put to shame.
The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals, shaping it with hammers, and forging it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no water and is faint. The carpenter stretches a line, marks it out with a stylus, fashions it with planes, and marks it with a compass; he makes it in human form, with human beauty, to be set up in a shrine. He cuts down cedars or chooses a holm tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it can be used as fuel. Part of it he takes and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Then he makes a god and worships it, makes it a carved image and bows down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he roasts meat, eats it and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Ah, I am warm, I can feel the fire!” The rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, bows down to it and worships it; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god!” (44:9-17)
The problem in this passage isn’t technology per se, but rather how it is used and how people respond to that which their tools have created. There is nothing wrong when the carpenter uses his tools to take wood from a cedar tree in order to make a fire to warm himself and bake his bread. But when he uses technology to form an idol, then he has done something wrong.
From the perspective of Isaiah 44, technology can be useful or harmful. It all depends on how it is used, on what it produces and how people use the product. The tools themselves are neither good nor evil.
This doesn’t mean that every technological innovation is necessarily value neutral. Certain tools, an Iron Maiden, for example, might embody evil in their very design. But much of technology falls into the category of the tools in Isaiah 44. (Photo: An Iron Maiden from the Torture Museum in Amsterdam.)
Isaiah 44 condemns the use of technology to make literal idols. But, when read today, it suggests an analogous implication. It seems to me that we have a tendency to idolize technology and its products. Though we don’t literally worship our inventions, we do tend to hold them in the highest esteem. We come to regard them as necessary tools for living. We look to technology to save us from all measure of ills (including literal ills). Even in the church, we sometimes imbue technology with power that belongs to God.
Some years ago, a pastor friend of mine, I’ll call him Eric, hosted another pastor from a nearby church. Eric’s church was experiencing exciting renewal, growing size, in enthusiasm, and in maturity. The other pastor came to visit Eric to learn his secrets, as it were. Eric talked with this pastor about the things that were transforming his church: strong biblical teaching, empowering of lay people for ministry, a new vision for reaching the community, and so on. The other pastor seemed somewhat interested, but not particularly excited. Then Eric gave the pastor a tour of the church facility. When they visited the sanctuary, Eric pointed out how they had added screens for digital projection. Now the visiting pastor got excited. From his point of view, screens were the key to church renewal. For the rest of their conversation, as Eric tried to focus on what really matter, the other pastor kept wanting to talk about the screens: how much they cost, how they were installed, etc. etc. etc.
This other pastor, it seems to me, was dangerously close to making an idol of sanctuary screens. He seemed to think that the renewal of his church was dependent on this particular technology, and that’s what stirred his heart. Eric was disappointed in the meeting, believing that, if anything, he had helped this pastor to move forward in the wrong direction.
A year or so later, the other pastor had left his church under difficult circumstances. To my knowledge, his unhappy departure didn’t have to do directly with screens in the sanctuary. But I expect his tendency to get his values upside down was a major reason why he was ineffective as pastor of a church desperately in need of genuine spiritual renewal.
Surely one negative impact of technology on our lives is our tendency to idolize it. Yet I fear this isn’t the only problem with technology. In my next post I want to raise another concern about the use of technology in our lives, and especially in churches.
Topics: Technology | 4 Comments »
Technology and Theology: Positive Examples
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Thanks to those who contributed comments to yesterday’s post, and to those who communicated with me by email. As always, I am encouraged, instructed, and challenged by your insights.
When I think about the relationship of technology and theology, I wonder where to start. As a biblically-informed Christian, I know I’m going to start with the Bible. But it’s not as if I can turn to a chapter on the Internet and its applications. Technology does appear in the Bible (farm implements, kitchen tools, weapons, etc.), but it doesn’t get a whole lot of attention.
There are both positive and negative uses of technology found in Scripture. Today I’ll focus on the positive; tomorrow the negative.
Positive Uses of Technology in Scripture
One of the positive uses of technology in Scripture has to do with the spread the Gospel and the nurturing of communities to which the Gospel gave birth. For example, the impressively rapid growth of early Christianity depended, to an extent, on the Roman roads that made travel so much easier than it had been before. Yes, of course the Holy Spirit was the chief reason for the explosion of Christian faith throughout the Roman world. But the Spirit made good use of Roman roads. The Romans were, for their time of history, experts in the technology of road building. This facilitated, not only the economic prosperity of the Roman Empire, but also the geographic spread of Christianity. It should be noted, however, that the system of Roman roads also supported the propagation of pagan alternatives to Christianity. In the first century A.D., the Roman west was being flooded by religions from the east, including Mithraism, the worship of Isis, and so forth. (Photo: A Roman road used by the Apostle Paul, the Via Egnatia outside of Philippi. Photo from www.HolyLandPhotos.org.)
Another positive use of technology that supported the growth of the early Christian church was letter writing. Though we might not think of letter writing as using technology, in fact letter writing in the Roman world depended on the production of writing materials (usually papyrus, a paper-like substance), ink, etc. The delivery of letters from one place to another usually included means of transportation (roads, ships, etc.).
The Apostle Paul was, as far as we know, the first Christian to write letters as a part of his evangelistic effort. We take for granted this fact, but it was groundbreaking in its time. Paul used the familiar form of the personal letter, adapting it for the purpose of nurturing communities he had planted or intended to visit. (Photo: A portion of a papyrus letter, P.Duk.inv. 98.)
In other words, he didn’t just use the technology available to him. Rather, he adapted it creatively and critically. For example, it was common for a first-century letter writer to offer thanks to the gods at the beginning of a letter. Paul does similarly, though thanking the (one) “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 1:3).
Paul understood that his letters were valuable as tools of communication that took the place of his personal presence. Yet he also sensed that letters could never adequately represent him. Hence he was eager to be with his churches, and often promised to visit them personally (for example, 1 Thess 2:17-3:10).
Paul also experienced the limitation of letters as a form of communication. Before writing the letter we know as 1 Corinthians, he had written an earlier letter to the church in Corinth (1 Cor 5:9). This letter led to some considerable confusing on the part of the Corinthians believers, which Paul tried to clear up in his next letter (so-called 1 Corinthians).
The use of Roman technology by the early Christians to spread the Gospel shows how it can be contribute to God’s work in the world in a positive way. But both Roman roads and pastoral letters had certain downsides as well. In my next post I’ll examine a passage that emphasizes the negative implications of technology.
Topics: Technology | 1 Comment »
Technology and Theology: Your Ideas
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, June 9, 2009
I have been asked to write an article on technology and theology for Outcomes, a magazine for leaders published by the Christian Leadership Alliance.
The timing of this request seems to be providential. The cover of this week’s Time Magazine features an iPhone that features a tweet (a Twitter entry). That tweet proclaims: “I’ve written this week’s TIME cover story about how Twitter is changing the way we live–and showing us the future of innovation. Buy a copy!”
The iPhone is making its own news today, not only as a platform for Twitter. Apple announced the released of the iPhone 3GS for 3GSpeed. Now the wildly popular iPhone will process information even more rapidly, as well as offering improved photography and video capabilities.
And so it goes, day after day after day. Like it or not, technology is changing the way we live.
So how should we think about this from a theological perspective? Is technological development good, evil, or a mix of the two? How can we know?
A few weeks ago Time included a story on the use of Twitter in church. Increasing numbers of churches are encouraging worshipers to twitter during church. Congregational tweets are projected on a screen during the service. How should we evaluate this from a biblical perspective?
(A note on Twitter vocabulary.”Twitter” is the name of the whole deal. You’ll often see the participle “Twittering,” which implies that “to Twitter” [or lower case, “twitter”] is the verb that describes one who uses Twitter to post information online. A “tweet” is a Twitter post. You’ll also see the verb “to tweet” as in “to put up a Twitter post.” Right now there seems to be a battle between the verbs “to twitter” and “to tweet” for the best verb to use for Twittering. One of Twitter’s founders said that “to twitter” was better because it was clearer in meaning.)
In the days to come, I’ll share with you some of my thoughts about technology and theology. I will not put up my article for Outcomes, since that needs to be a previously unpublished piece. But I will let you in on some of my musings.
At this point, however, I’m interested in your musings. How should we think theologically about technology? Given that the Bible doesn’t have much to say about Twitter, or the Internet, or computers, or transistors, or electricity, or, well, you get the point, what biblical themes might be relevant to our use of technology?
As always, I’m encouraging you to contribute your thoughts by way of adding comments to my blog. If you prefer, you can email me. Let me know what you think about technology and theology.
Topics: Technology | 10 Comments »
What Makes Us Happy?
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, June 8, 2009
The current issue of Atlantic Monthly has a long article with the title “What Makes Us Happy?” The author, Joshua Wolf Shenk, writes about the 72-year-long, in-depth study of 268 men from Harvard. He focuses considerable attention on the current director of this Grant Study, Dr. George Vaillant (pronounced “valiant”).
I will not survey this article here. I commend it to you for your own reading. But I do want to highlight a few crucial excerpts.
One of Vaillant’s primary contributions to the study of psychology has been the importance of “adaptations” to life (sometimes called “defense mechanisms”). Adaptions help us adapt (no surprise here) to what life throws at us. The healthiest and happiest people use “mature” adaptations to cope with life’s struggles, including: altruism, humor, anticipation, suppression (consicious), and sublimation. Neurotic adaptations are common among normal people, and they include: intellectualization, dissociation (not being aware of one’s feelings), and repression (unconscious). Moving further away from health we find “immature” adaptions, such as: acting out, passive aggression, hypochondria, projection, and fantasy. The least healthy adapations would include: paranoia, hallucination, megalomania.
Vaillant identifies “seven major factors that predict healthy aging, both physically and psychologically.” Using mature adaptions is one key factor. The others are “education, stable marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, some exercise, and healthy weight.” (I like the adjective that goes with exercise!) (Photo: The cover of Vaillant’s book, Aging Well.)
Vaillant also points to important of relationships in a life of health and happiness: “It is social aptitude, not intellectual brilliance or parental social class, that leads to successful aging.” When asked in 2009 “What have you learned form the Grant Study men?”, Vaillant answered, “That the only thing that really matters in life are your relationships with people.”
If you’re like me, at this point you want to take stock of your life. I wonder: How do I react to life’s challenges? Are my adaptations mature? To what extent does my life containt the seven factors that contribute to healthy aging? Do I have strong, healthy relationships?
Topics: Happiness | 5 Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, June 7, 2009
Hope in God!
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
If Psalm 43 seems strangely familiar, that’s because it is the ending of the psalm we know as Psalm 42. This is clear from the themes as well as the exact echo of 42:11 in 43:5.
In Psalm 43, the writer continues his desperate cry for help even as he wonders why God has tossed him aside (v. 2). He anticipates going to the Temple in Jerusalem. At the altar of God, he will be refreshed by God’s presence (vv. 3-4). The psalm ends by repeating a previous refrain: “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God!” (v. 5).
This translation misses a nuance of the original Hebrew. The verb translated here as “I will put my hope” is actually an imperative, meaning “Hope!” (yachal in the hiphil). So this verse allows us to listen in as the psalmist talks to himself (literally, his soul). He begins: “Why are you discouraged, my soul? Why are you so sad?” But then he urges himself to redirect his thoughts and emotions: “Hope in God!” In this hope, he looks forward to the time when he will once again praise God his Savior.
Psalm 43:5 dramatizes the inner dialogue of faith. Discouragement and sadness are a normal part of our relationship with God. When we feel such emotions, we would do well to imitate the psalmist, reminding ourselves to put our hope in God. Biblical hope doesn’t deny the pain of the present. Nor is it wishful thinking. Rather, true hope is “in God,” in the one who is fully, and finally, reliable.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever had an inner dialogue like that of Psalm 43:5? What helps you to hope in God?
PRAYER: Gracious Lord, first of all, I thank you for the honesty and realism of this psalm. There are times in my relationship with you when I feel discouraged and downhearted. Thus I can relate to what the psalmist is feeling here, and I’m grateful for this connection.
Help me, dear Lord, to hope in you. When circumstances feel overwhelming, when I wonder how things will turn out, may I put my full confidence in you and you alone.
All praise be to you, O Lord, because you are my Hope, my Savior, my God. Amen.
_________________________________________________
Would you like to receive a Daily Reflection like this one in your email inbox each morning?
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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org). You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »
New Babies at Home!
By Mark D. Roberts | Saturday, June 6, 2009
A couple of months ago, our back porch was invaded by a couple of Barn Swallows. They’re colorful birds that build bowl-shaped mud nests. Our invasion force picked our porch for such a nest and we decided to let them go ahead and build.
A few days ago we started hearing high-pitched chirps coming from the nest. Both mother and father Swallows got involved in feeding their three babies. Click here to listen to what these babies sound like when they’re excited.
If I get anywhere near this nest, the parent birds have a fit: chirping their warnings as they dive bomb in my vicinity. That’s what I call protective parenting.
Topics: Nature | 1 Comment »
Final Comments on the MBA Oath
By Mark D. Roberts | Friday, June 5, 2009
Today was the 358th Commencement of Harvard University. Among the thousands of graduates from the various Harvard schools were about 900 who received the Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. A significant percentage of these graduates, now well over the published 20% figure, signed the MBA Oath. This oath, by the way, is not just for Harvard students. It is for all who have received an MBA degree. So far, 593 people have signed the Oath. It looks to me like about half of them are from the Harvard MBA class of 2009. (Photo: A recent Harvard Commencement)
In the last few days I have been writing about the MBA Oath. Today I’ll add some closing thoughts. In case you missed it before, here is the MBA Oath (short version):
As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face difficult choices.
Therefore, I promise:
• I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
• I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers, and the society in which we operate.
• I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
• I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
• I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
• I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
• I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
• I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.
My Comments
This oath recognizes that many decisions made in business are ethically complicated: “As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face difficult choices.” For this reason, the oath taker promises: to “safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers, and the society in which we operate.”
As stated, this seems naive, as if it were possible to safeguard these various interests equally. This, of course, is not possible. If you raise the price of a widget, that might mean the interests of customers are not being well-served in favor of the interests of shareholders. Raise the prices too high, however, and everybody loses. Or, there are cases when the society would be best served by drastically limiting the pollution produced by a company, but the result is much higher prices, which would be bad for customers and therefore for shareholders. So, though I appreciate the intent to safeguard the diverse interests mentioned here, I find that oath itself to be simplistic.
In a similar vein, the oath-taking manager promises to “manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.” This sounds good. It might even be better when put more positively: “I will manage my enterprise in good faith, making decisions and engaging in behavior that advances my own ambitions while improving the enterprise and the societies it serves.” Of course if the oath said this, I’d accuse it of being naive.
But is it naive to believe that one can engage in business in such a way that individual, corporate, and societal benefits are produced? I don’t think so. I know many business leaders who have done well for themselves through managing businesses that thrive and make a positive difference in society. Minimially, this difference includes employing people, allowing them to support their families, etc. But often what the business produces is also a plus. I think of my neighbor, Richard, who also happens to own the shop that repairs my car. Richard is honest. He charges a reasonable price. He backs us his work. He makes my life better. And, by keeping my car in tip-top shape, he also helps it to run at maximum efficiency, thereby using less fossil fuel and producing less pollution.
To be sure, the Harvard Business School MBA Oath is just a tiny step in the direction of the kind of corporate transformation that is needed today. But it is a step in the right directions. It reminds me of what the leaders of School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University are working on. I wrote about this a few weeks ago. The folks at SPU are seeking “another way of doing business,” in which profit is not the main point, though it surely matters. What is the main point?
[I]n the School of Business and Economics (SBE), we start with the premise that the purpose of business is to serve. In particular, it is to serve the community by providing the goods and services that will enable the community to flourish (an external goal). It also serves by providing meaningful and creative work that will allow employees to express aspects of their identity on the job (an internal goal).
This goes much further than the MBA Oath, in part because the leaders of SPU are generating their view of business from a Christian theological position. The MBA Oath, though something that a Christian could affirm, is vague with respect to fundamental values and vision.
I am gladdened by the growing conversation about the purpose of business and the calling of managers. I hope this discussion continues, so that businesses and business leaders might indeed find “another way of doing business.”
Topics: Faith and Work | 9 Comments »
Ethical MBAs? Some Comments on the MBA Oath
By Mark D. Roberts | Thursday, June 4, 2009
Yesterday I began by noting an article in the New York Times that describes the efforts of a number of students at Harvard Business School to commit to being ethical in their future business practices. So far, over 160 soon-to-be-graduates of HBS have affirmed the MBA Oath. I’ll repeat the short form of that oath here, and then offer some comments. You’ll find some fascinating observations and conversation in the comments on yesterday’s post. As always, my commenters have some interesting and challenging things to say. (Photo: Harvard Business School with the Charles River in the foreground)
Here, once again, is the MBA Oath (short version):
As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face difficult choices.
Therefore, I promise:
• I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
• I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers, and the society in which we operate.
• I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
• I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
• I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
• I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
• I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
• I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.
My Comments:
First, I must say that I appreciate the effort made by the HBS students and professors who are behind this MBA Oath. I see this as a genuine, well-intentioned attempt to foster morality among people who will, in time, be major leaders in the U.S. and global economy. Whatever shortcomings might exist in this oath, or in the whole “oathing” approach, these folks are trying to find a different way to approach business, and I find this both encouraging and badly needed in our day.
I do agree with the comment by Bill Goff, however, who wrote: “To me it is disturbing that a little over 80 percent of the Harvard Business School soon-to-be graduates have not signed the Oath.” I do wonder what it means if someone refuses to affirm that which is in the Oath. I don’t think it’s quite fair to conclude that 80 percent of the HBS grads plan on being immoral. But it may be that their focus on financial gain, both for themselves and their future business, is excessive.
The Oath begins: “As a manager . . . .” I find this curious, and would love to know more about this choice of language. Do HBS grads see themselves as managers-to-be? Is this the category into which they fall professionally? What about leader? Or business leader? What about those who will be entreprenurial? In years past, managers often took it on the chin from business gurus who touted leadership over management. Is management making a comeback?
The Oath continues, “As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone.” Using “my purpose,” and not, “one of my chief purposes,” suggests that the primary purpose of the moral manager is “to serve the greater good.” I assume this means “greater than my own success or that of my company.” “Greater good” usually points to the condition of society as a whole. So, the beginning of the Oath seems to say, “As a manager, my primary purpose in my work is to benefit society as a whole, and not simply to make money, to find personal fulfillment, or even to enrich my shareholders.”
This may well explain why so many HBS grads don’t want to sign the statement. For one thing, they may be honest enough to admit that the greater good will not their chief purpose in their professional life. They may also be worried that some companies would not want to hire someone whose primary purpose is something other than the benefit of the company and its owners. I expect many more students would have signed an oath that affirmed, “As a manager, one of my purposes is . . . .” There’s a lot more leeway here.
How does a moral manager, HBS style, anticipate serving the greater good? “By bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone.” This assumes that value, whatever that means, will contribute to the greater good. But what is value? The next sentence of the Oath adds, “Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term.” This uses the term “value” again, but adds little to our understanding of what counts as value. It does, however, specify that value has to do with society, and not simply the individual manager and his or her company. The next sentence gives perhaps a bit more to go on: “I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals . . . .” It seems that human “well-being” is part of the value created by managers and their businesses.
In the collection of “I will” statements, one in particular addresses the issue of value:
• I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
In some way, value is related to prosperity,” broadly defined. The longer version of the Oath adds this commentary: “Sustainable prosperity is created when the enterprise produces an output in the long run that is greater than the opportunity cost of all the inputs it consumes.”
The Example of Starbucks
I can think of many ways that business might create different kinds of value. Starbucks, for example, has added value to my life by providing decent coffee (though a little too “burned” for my taste) and a convenient place to meet people or get some work done. By providing access to the Internet (which costs extra, by the way), Starbucks offers me the value of convenience.
Starbucks also provides value in that it takes my money and gets it to people who grow coffee, import it, harvest it, roast it, etc. Starbucks also employs many people as baristas (i.e., coffee preparers and servers). I have known many of these folk over the years, and most of them speak of Starbucks as a fair employer.
Until recently, Starbucks grew steadily, which provided stockholders with a profitable investment. The value of their portfolio grew because of Starbucks. In light of the economic downturn, however, Starbucks has had to close several hundred of its stores. Presumably, this will help the company achieve “sustainable prosperity.”
Now I’m not necessarily a big fan of Starbucks. And, for the record, I am not a stockholder. I generally prefer local coffeeshops or smaller chains. But I do acknowledge ways in which Starbucks has added value to me and to the world. Moreover, I expect that for people in management of the company, Starbucks has offered a context for personal fulfillment as well as employment. This is surely an important kind of value.
The ambiguity of the word “value” in the MBA Oath would allow Oath-takers a wide range of freedom in determining what counts as value. This could surely allow some folks to believe they were moral managers when, in fact, the value they produced was either minimal or even detrimental to society. A factory owner, for example, might believe that he is producing net value for the society when, in fact, the pollution he’s dumping into the environment costs society more than it gains.
The notion of creating value, it seems to me, is an important one when it comes to the ethics of business. This can be easily overlooked by those who are critical of business in general. They forget that business creates goods and services. It provides jobs. It can provide people with meaningful work. It raises capital. It generates income so that non-profits can receive some of it as gifts and governments can receive a lot of it as taxes. Critics of business are often the most critical, ironically, when a business decides to pull out of a given community, leaving hundreds of people unemployed and the whole community languishing economically.
So, I think the MBA Oath is on the right track when talking about value added to society, but much more needs to be clarified in this regard.
Topics: Faith and Work | 1 Comment »
Ethical MBAs? From Harvard Business School?!
By Mark D. Roberts | Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A recent article in the New York Times focused on a group of soon-to-be graduates of Harvard Business School who have signed an oath promising to “serve the greater good” as business leaders (HT: Susan McCool). According to the Times, almost 20 percent of the graduating class have signed “The M.B.A. Oath.”
Why are they doing this? According to The MBA Oath website, the idea for this oath came from HBS students who were inspired by the 100th anniversary of the MBA program and distressed by the absence of business leadership that might have staved off the global financial crisis. The students started asking questions like: “How did we get into this crisis? Why didn’t business school professors sound the alarms in advance of the meltdown? Why were so many MBAs involved in the decisions leading up to the crisis? Are MBAs so concerned with increasing their personal wealth that they ignore ethics and their responsibilities to society?” (Photo: Baker Library of Harvard Business School)
With such questions in mind, several students me with a couple of HBS professors, one of whom had recently written an article calling for a “rigorous code of ethics” for managers. The students and professors decided to get at least 100 HBS grads to sign an MBA Oath. They hoped that such a “small campaign” might “make a meaningful impact in the lives of those students and it might send an important message to the world about how attitudes are changing at one of the most well-known MBA programs.” At this point, over 160 students have signed on to the oath.
The oath comes in two version, a shorter and longer version. The full version is about 500 words; the shorter version is half as long. I will bring the shorter version here. You can find the longer version at this link.
The Harvard Business School MBA Oath, Shorter Version
As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face difficult choices.
Therefore, I promise:
• I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
• I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers, and the society in which we operate.
• I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
• I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
• I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
• I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
• I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
• I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.
This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.
What do you think of this oath? I’ll offer further observations tomorrow.
Topics: Faith and Work | 15 Comments »
The Twilight Books: Should You Let Your Daughter Read Them?
By Mark D. Roberts | Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Odds are that you’ve heard of the Twilight books, even if you’re not a teenage girl. If not the Twilight books, then probably the movie. Yesterday, in fact, it won five MTV movie awards, including Best Movie . . . and Best Kiss.
It’s the Best Kiss part that gets parents wondering about the appropriateness of the Twilight series for their children, whether on screen or in print. Plus, by now, just about everybody knows that the romance featured in these books is between a human being and a vampire. This sounds a little creepy, conjuring up pictures of bloody embraces and midnight murders.
I’ve had several parents ask me if they should let their daughters read the Twilight books. So I thought I might answer this question on my blog. If you’re not wondering about it, you might know someone who is.
“Why am I in a position to answer this question?” you might wonder. Well, for one thing, I have read the books. All four of them. That’s over 2,400 pages. Why did I read these books? For a simple reason, really: I wanted to connect with my daughter, Kara, who is 14, and who loved these books. I figured that if I read them, it would be a way for me to enter her world. I thought it would give us a point of connection in her reality, a basis for lots of conversation that she’d enjoy. I was right. Kara and I spent many hours discussing the Twilight books. She seemed to appreciate the fact that I made this effort to relate to her and her experience. So if you were to ask me: “Should I read the Twilight books?” my answer would be: “By all means, if you have a teenage daughter (or granddaughter) who loves the books.”
But should you let your daughter read the Twilight series in the first place? Or even your son? (I’ve phrased the question in terms of “your daughter” because these books are mostly being read and loved by girls, especially those in the teen years.) Usually, when parents ask about the appropriateness of a book for their children, they’re not asking a question of literary merit. Rather, their wondering if some of the book’s content is inappropriate. Generally, parents are worried about issues such as excessive violence, immoral sexuality, bad language, adult themes, and the like. So which of these show up in the Twilight books?
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
There is quite a bit of violence in the Twilight series, though it’s not what you might expect. The main family of vampires, of which Edward Cullen, the protagonist of the story, is a member, are “vegetarians.” This means they don’t suck human blood, or at least they try not to. Rather, they fulfill their need for blood with animals. (Oh-oh! PETA alert.) This means there aren’t scenes in the Twilight books like those that scared me half to death when I was a kid watching Saturday afternoon Dracula movies on TV. But, though you won’t see a bloody-faced Edward Cullen hovering over a badly-bitten Bella Swan, still there are many violent scenes throughout the series, mostly of a vampire vs. vampire variety. And these are extremely violent, though the author, Stephanie Meyer, exercises restraint in her depictions. (Perhaps one of the most horrific scenes in the books isn’t violent so much as gory, involving an unusual birth.) Given the violence in this series, it’s hard for me to imagine that kids less than twelve should read the books. Particularly impressionable teenagers may avoid them or have nightmares.
There is little bad language in the Twilight books. What’s there is something you’d hear on network television. Many of the themes of the books are clearly intended for those who are twelve and older.
So what about sex? Surely such a popular teenage romance series has plenty of it, the sort of sex that parents wouldn’t want their children to read about. Yes? No! One of the surprising features of the Twilight series is that it doesn’t include scenes of premarital sex or even petting. When sexual interaction occurs, it happens between married people and is described tactfully. You hear lots about emotions, but no descriptions of body parts or particular acts.
Except for kissing. There is a lot of kissing in the Twilight books. Lots and lots and lots. And these kissing scenes are often described extensively, though, once again, with a certain restraint. I don’t remember any descriptions of French kissing. But I do recall pages and pages of description of feelings that accompanied kissing. (As you can tell, I found all of this to be a little tedious. But if I were a teenager . . . . Whew!)
As I read through the Twilight series, I had to wonder why an author in today’s world would write a teenage romance series – and a wildly successful one at that – without including scenes of premarital sexual intimacy. That seems like a gutsy choice in today’s world, one I do admire. It turns out that Stephanie Meyer, the author of the series, is a Mormon wife and mother of three young boys. Mormons frown upon premarital sexual intercourse, so I expect that this helps to explain Meyer’s unusual and refreshing commitment to keeping sex within marriage.
Her storyline allows her to narrate the romance between two teenagers (well, Edward seems to be a teenager) that is “hot and heavy” but still relatively chaste, yet without being preachy. (I don’t mind preaching on sex, by the way, but it generally doesn’t sell teenage romance books.) Because Edward is a vampire, and because he is fighting his nature not to suck Bella’s blood, he has to restrain himself from physical expression with her. They can kiss, but only with limits. So the lack of premarital sex is explained more on the basis of Edward’s desire not to kill his beloeved than his (or their) moral convictions. This allows secular teenagers to read the book without feeling as if they’ve stumbled into a Mormon lecture on sexual ethics. Frankly, I find Meyer’s strategy to be brilliant here (not unlike that of J.K. Rolling, whose teenagers at Hogwarts do plenty of “snogging” but no “shagging.”)
Yet, in a surprising scene in one of the Twilight books (I think it was the third or the fourth), Bella is trying to get Edward to sleep with her before they are married. He ends up defending his commitment to abstinence on the basis of the Ten Commandments. He does not want to commit adultery, so to speak, with Bella.
For the most part, I enjoyed reading the Twilight books. The story is engaging, especially as it gets more complex in the later books. I found Meyer’s supernatural world to be curious. As you’ve probably heard, her vampires have little to do with the bloody monsters of the past. Rather, they are cultured, moral beings, at least some of them. They have supernatural skills that can be used for good as well as evil.
In my opinion, Stephanie Meyer is a clever storyteller and an okay writer. My impression, having read all four books in about a month, is that her skill as a writer significantly improved from the first book to the fourth book. She still doesn’t demonstrate the extraordinary skill of J.K. Rowling, however. But very few contemporary writers are in Rowling’s league when it comes to imagination and expression.
So, should you let your daughter (or son) read the Twilight books? If your point is for your daughter to be exposed to great literature, then I wouldn’t direct her to these novels. But if she wants to read them, then they’re probably okay for her if she is at least twelve. You don’t have to worry about the sexual content, unless you’re nervous about descriptions of kissing and the accompanying emotions. If you’re worried about the violence and gore, you may want to check out the fight scene at the end of the first book and the birth scene in the fourth book.
Perhaps one of the greatest reasons to let your daughter read the Twilight books is that it will give you an opportunity to enter her world. Because I let Kara read these books and because I read them too, I was able to talk with her about all sorts of things, including: writing, characterization, plot, dating, romance, relationships, marriage, monsters, etc. For me, the greatest reward of reading these novels was the chance to spend time with and to get to know my own daughter much better. And that, in the classic words of the MasterCard commercial, is priceless.
Topics: Book Reviews | 8 Comments »
Red, Yellow, and Blue
By Mark D. Roberts | Monday, June 1, 2009
Some birds in my back yard . . . .
Cardinal . . . .
Goldfinch . . . .
Scrub Jay . . . .
Topics: Nature | 3 Comments »
Sunday Inspiration from The High Calling
By Mark D. Roberts | Sunday, May 31, 2009
Paying Attention to the Poor
Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor!
The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble.
Yesterday I began reflecting on Psalm 41:1. Today I want to continue this reflection, because something in the language of this verse strikes me as worthy of further consideration.
The New Living Translation of Psalm 41:1 reads, “Oh, the joys of those who are kind to the poor! The LORD rescues them when they are in trouble.” Other recent translations use a version of “to consider” instead of “to be kind.” The ESV, for example, reads, “Blessed is the one who considers the poor!” In fact, this conveys more literally the sense of the underlying Hebrew verb, which means “to pay attention, to ponder” (sakhal in the Hiphil). This verb captures the idea of focusing one’s mind on something.
Perhaps one of the greatest needs among American Christians today is to pay attention to the poor. Those of us who live with manifold material blessings can easily fail to care for the poor because we simply don’t see them. But when, for example, we take seriously the fact that there are over two billion people in this world who are chronically malnourished, and that over six million children die each year from malnutrition and its implications, then we may find our hearts moved to action.
In my experience, those of us who live in the midst of financial flourishing are encouraged to care for the poor by spending time with them. For some people, this means helping in a feeding program on a regular basis. For others, a mission trip to an impoverished country fosters a permanent change in perspective. Being with the poor not only helps us to see our own life in a new perspective and to be grateful for our blessings, but also it allows God to fill our hearts with compassion and a transformative desire to be kind to the poor.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What helps you pay attention to the poor? How does this attention lead to tangible action in your life?
PRAYER: Dear Lord, I would confess that it’s easy for me to forget the poor. When I was in grad school, or when I worked in Hollywood, I saw homeless people every day. But for many years now, I’ve lived in places where poverty is rare. I know this can limit my perspective. Forgive me, Lord, for my hardness of heart.
Help me to pay attention to the poor. May I spend time with the poor so that I might know them and their challenges. And may I look at this world with your eyes, seeing its poverty as well as its potential. Amen.
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This devotional comes from The High Calling of Our Daily Work (www.thehighcalling.org). You can read my Daily Reflections there, or sign up to have them sent to your email inbox each day. This website contains lots of encouragement for people who are trying to live out their faith in the workplace.
Topics: Sunday Inspiration | No Comments »