The great commandments – love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Are these great commandments and profitability at work mutually exclusive propositions? In this edition of By Your Life, we’ll see how honoring the Great Commandments is good for business.
Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_11_04.mp3
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – November 4, 2018
Welcome to the thirty-second episode of By Your Life. Thank you for joining me. If you haven’t already, please subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, or on the right side of the page so I can send you notifications when each new episode is posted. And please forward to a friend you think would benefit from By Your Life.
My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular, business world. It is my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace and to trust that it is good for business. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.
In this edition, we will reflect on the readings for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the Gospel, the scribe responds to Jesus, “He is One and there is no other than he.’ And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (Mk 12:32-34)
The other day, my brother sent me an article about new research on how exercise impacts lifespan. They wanted to know how much exercise is too much or too little and at what point does increasing the amount of exercise have diminishing returns in terms of adding years to your life. The research showed, as expected, that any amount of exercise is better than none, and that increasing exercise by various amounts can reduce the risk of premature death.
I thought the study was interesting and I compared my exercise habits to the study results. I am 39% less likely to die prematurely than people who never exercise, but is that really good news? I mean, who decides what is an ideal lifespan? Don’t get me wrong, exercise is good for the body. I exercise because I feel better the rest of the day when I do and feel like a slug when I don’t. But I’m not exercising to add another day to my life. I have absolutely no control over that outcome.
So, what does exercise have to do with Sunday’s readings? I think we tend to measure the wrong things when it comes to our desired outcomes. The scribe answered “with understanding” that honoring God’s commandments “is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mk 12:33) Do we have the same understanding? Or, are we pouring our hearts, minds, and strength into generating burnt offerings instead of living love?
Let’s take this lesson to the workplace. In business, success is measured in terms of profits. Personally, most of us toil every day for something that has no worth from an eternal perspective. Day in and day out we measure our success in terms of dollars and cents when God is more interested in how we love him and our neighbor.
Now, I know that we all need financial resources to support ourselves and our families and companies need profits to serve customers, pay employees and reward investors. But, are living according to God’s commandments and profitability (personal or corporate) mutually exclusive propositions? Are these two diametrically opposing forces? Not if you are a values-centered person working in a core values-centered organization.
Living according to God’s commandments and profitability are not mutually exclusive propositions if you are a values-centered person in a values-centered organization.Last week, I talked about companies that have “fun” as a core value. They recognized that work is about more than money and should be joyful. This is core to who they are and how they operate. That’s what core values are. They are principles that guide the decisions and behaviors of every person in the organization and are foundational for who they are how they conduct business.
Most companies have core values. At least, they say they do. Far fewer honor them, day in and day out, even when it hurts their bottom line. These are values-centered companies who recognize their core values are non-negotiable. What is it that drives these values-centered companies to act this way?
Before writing The Value of Core Values, I interviewed dozens of CEOs who were recommended to me because they led companies that were successful because they lived their core values. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular and I didn’t know what I would find. I just wanted to hear and share their stories.
Although each company had its unique set of core values, I discovered that there were things they all had in common. Five keys, if you will, to their success. Each of these elements was important and dependent on the others. The “five keys” are 1) own your values, 2) define them 3) share them 4) institutionalize them, and 5) honor them. As I reflected on Sunday’s Scripture, I recognized these same five keys (to own, define, share, institutionalize, and honor) were presented throughout the readings and they apply to us as individuals as much as they do to organizations. If we want to love God with all our heart, all our understanding, and all our strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves, these five keys are important to our success.
In the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses encourages the Israelites to “own” the commandments as their own when he said, “Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” (Dt 6:6) Have you taken the Great Commandment to heart? Do you “own” it? That is, does love of God and love of neighbor guide all of your decisions and behaviors?
To answer this question, we must understand what behaviors these words reflect. To that end, Moses “defined” what the Great Commandment meant in terms of behaviors. He explained, “Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (DT 6:5) In other words, 100% committed, self-giving love.
But, how should we define love in the workplace? St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, gave us a pretty good definition of behaviors that do and don’t reflect love. We can apply this definition to our personal and professional lives. Love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, does not keep record of wrongs (in other words, forgives), does not delight in evil, rejoices with truth, always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Cor 13:4-8) Most places of work would be a lot more successful if everyone was a little more patient, kind, humble, generous, forgiving, honest, and positive. Don’t you think so?
In the Gospel, Jesus repeats the scripture we heard in the first reading when He said, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mk 12:29-30) The Great Commandment had been “shared” down throughout the centuries and Jesus had memorized it and so did the scribe. They shared this core principle of life. Organizations that are values-centered are constantly and consistently sharing their values in conversations and in writing. They are revisited in meetings, trainings, and in one-to-one conversations. The individuals in these companies know the core values. They have memorized them and understand what they mean.
Even when we know and understand the values, living them can be hard. In business, institutionalizing the values means that the company has support systems, structure, policies, and procedures that help employees honor the values. The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews gives us insight into how we are “supported” in living the commandments through Christ, for “he lives forever to make intercession for them.” (Heb 7:25) It can be hard to love our neighbor, especially those we find most annoying. But, we have an advocate in the Holy Spirit and all the support we need if we just to turn to Jesus and ask for help.
Finally, none of this matters if we don’t honor the commandments. This is why Moses said, “keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you and be careful to observe them.” (Dt 6:2) The values-centered companies I interviewed all had a process of self-evaluation when it came to honoring their values, and we should too.
Ask yourself, “Am I patient? Was that comment kind? Am I envious of what the other person has? Do I boast about myself and my accomplishments? Did pride keep me from acknowledging my mistake? Was my tone rude or did I use sarcasm when I corrected someone else’s mistake? Did I lose my cool? Have I forgiven others for losing their cool with me? Do I talk about others and their mistakes? Was I honest? Did I look out for the welfare of others? Do I have a positive attitude? Did I keep going and learn from mistakes?”
If you’ve failed in any of these ways, which you undoubtedly have from time to time, did you make it right? Just as the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that the high priest “offer[s] sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people,” (Heb 7:27) we must admit our failings and do what needs to be done to make it right. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great way to receive the grace we need to make it right.
And this is the point of today’s readings, to honor the Great Commandments. Moses tells the people about the benefits of keeping the commands. The value of honoring God’s commandments is “that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Dt 6:3) I found the same was true of the values-centered companies. They were prosperous.
I’m not proposing a false “prosperity gospel.” In business, living by core values won’t exempt you from economic downturns, troublesome personnel issues, unreasonable customers, or other challenges. But, adherence to values will allow you to weather these and other storms with calm confidence. You will be more likely to prosper because you will be operating within a solid framework of right priorities.
To quote Peter Cunzolo, President and CEO of ExecuJet Charter Services, a private air travel services company founded on the values of safety, service and excellence, “This is a very competitive business, but we have maintained our profitability. Yet, bigger barns aren’t better. To have your family and your health and to just have joy, that’s really and truly what matters most. To me, that’s the success of it. It doesn’t have anything to do with money.”
“To have your family and your health and to just have joy, that’s really and truly what matters most.” ~ Peter Cunzolo @execujet1 @execujetcharter Taken from The Value of Core ValuesWhile living according to core values leads companies like ExecuJet to “grow and prosper,” I’ve observed that organizations that benefit most from living their core values tend to define success in light of their values. They’re working for rewards that are substantially greater than profitability alone. They recognize and appreciate the greatest value of core values is ultimately in the values themselves.
Jay Fechtel, CEO of The Fechtel Company, a designer and builder of high-end, high-quality custom homes, put it this way. “It’s vitally important that we get it right concerning what God values, so we can build those values into our personal and professional lives. When we get to the end of our time on earth, we’re not going to wish we had made more money. We’re going to regret it if we didn’t develop better relationships and do things right. God made us to glorify Him. Whether we like it or not, or know it or not, that’s what our purpose is. Unless we live for that purpose, we will never truly be fulfilled.”
“God made us to glorify Him. Whether we like it or not, or know it or not, that’s what our purpose is. Unless we live for that purpose, we will never truly be fulfilled.” ~ Jay Fechtel @JayFechtel @TheFechtelCo Taken from The Value of Core ValuesLiving according to God’s commandments and profitability (personal or corporate) are not mutually exclusive propositions. But, profits are not the thing to be valued. Doing so only gets in the way of loving God and neighbor which are the keys to earthly success and eternal rewards as well.
So, let’s exercise every day because we feel better when we do. And, let’s love God and love our neighbor every day too. Although exercise may keep us on this earth a little longer, it is love that makes life worth living. And, that is really the measure of success!
Be the force of love at home and in your workplace this week and you’ll no doubt glorify the Lord by your life.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created, and You shall renew the face of the earth.
May God bless you abundantly and may you give away the love of the Lord to those you meet this week and glorify him by your life. Amen
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