Where there is no vision, there is no hope. But when you have a clear vision, and keep it before you, it provides motivation to keep moving forward, a guide for making decisions, and direction for when we get off course, in business and in life.
Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_11_18.mp3
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time – November 18, 2018
Welcome to the thirty-fourth 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-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings give us a reminder of our ultimate goal in this life and that is to be with God in the next. Although the apocalyptic readings foretell of great destruction, there is hope in the tribulation. We need to hold onto that hope. We need to not lose sight of the vision. For as George Washington Carver said, “Where there is no vision, there is no hope.”
“Where there is no vision, there is no hope.” ~ George Washington CarverThis is why it is so important to have a clear vision. The psalmist wrote, “I set the LORD ever before me.” (Ps 16:8) When we have a clear vision, and keep it in our sights, it provides motivation to keep moving forward, the guide for making decisions, and direction for when we get off course.
At work, we know the importance of vision. It is an essential element of any strategic planning process. However, a lot of companies have these awful, unmemorable, and totally uninspiring vision statements. They are the result of a committee wordsmithing a bunch of concepts into one hot mess of words. It is kind of like when my mother-in-law makes soup. Anything that is leftover in the refrigerator or freezer is fair game and ends up in the pot. Lettuce, French fries, nothing is left out. A vision statement that is created this way is just as unappetizing. As Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” ~ Helen KellerA vision should give us a clear picture of the future we are working toward. An example of a great vision statement is the Alzheimer’s Association’s which says, “A world without Alzheimer’s disease.” Simple, memorable, clear, and purposeful. It gives meaning to the work of every employee and volunteer. The vision clarifies the desired results and expresses a true and meaningful destiny. It answers the question, “Why are we doing this?” And, it motivates perseverance when challenges might otherwise overwhelm.
A vision also guides us. Our days are filled with hundreds of choices, each one of varying importance. In the first reading, Daniel prophesized about the end of time and said, “the wise shall shine brightly.” (Dan 12:3) He also spoke of the “others” who were doomed to “an everlasting horror and disgrace.” (Dan 12:2) That prompts me to ask, are we making decisions like the wise?
When making decisions at work, we should ask, “Is what I’m planning to do take me closer to or further away from my goal? Without a vision, we can end up making choices based simply on short-term gain and one of the things I’ve learned in life is most of the time when there is a short-term reward, there is also a long-term consequence.
Beware of short-term rewards, there is usually a long-term consequence.For example, I want to eat the cookie. The cookie tastes good. I enjoy that short-term reward of that yummy cookie. However, in the long-term, that cookie is not adding any value to my life. It is full of calories that add to my weight. The more I weigh, the worse I feel and potentially, if it gets bad enough, I end up with other consequences like heart disease and diabetes. I don’t think about those longer-term consequences when I’m enjoying that cookie. So, I have another cookie and it tastes good (short-term reward), and another tastes good too (another short-term reward), and before you know it, one small bad choice starts to snowball into a long-term overweight, unhealthy, and unhappy me.
Here’s another example. One of my clients recognized that he had a bad habit of snapping at his wife. Why did he do this? He said it was because she was so critical and always had something negative to say. He could say, “It’s a nice day,” and she’d respond, “Yes, but it is supposed to rain tomorrow.” So, he would snap at her, in his words, to “shut her up.” It worked. The short-term reward was silencing the negativity, but the long-term consequence was the damage it caused to their relationship.
Unfortunately, this is how bad habits are created. Like sin, bad habits are reinforced by short-term rewards. But, when we keep our vision clear and in front of us, it helps us to look beyond and deny the short-term rewards so that we might achieve the long-term goal. Visualizing the healthy, thinner you can help in saying no to the cookie, and imagining a healthy, happier relationship can help us to hold our tongues when a harmful rebuke is waiting to come out.
Vision is also important to creating good habits. Generally speaking, most good habits have short-term consequences and long-term rewards. Take at exercising as an example. When you start a new exercise regimen, you end up with sore muscles. But if you work through it, after a while, you build strength. When you are in the middle of a workout, you feel horrible. When you are done, you feel invigorated. And even though you may experience some tired, achy muscles, if you keep working at it, you begin to enjoy the feeling and you are creating a healthier you. The good habit of exercise has short-term consequences but long-term rewards. Without the promise of those long-term benefits to keep us going, we’d not likely persist at creating the good habit of exercise.
Another benefit of vision is that it gives us perspective. Although the tribulation Jesus speaks of is of far greater significance than what we face day to day, we can sometimes feel like our daily troubles are overwhelming. But when you look at them in the scheme of eternity, most of our problems are insignificant. Keeping an eternal perspective also helps us see that a lot of what we do makes no sense.
In the scheme of eternity, most of our problems are insignificant.We heard this in the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. It said, “Every priest stands daily at his ministry, offering frequently those same sacrifices that can never take away sins.” (Heb 10:11) Every day they are doing something that will never deliver their desired results. Like these priests or like my clients that get stuck in mire of their own making, are you doing something over and over that isn’t yielding you your desired results? That’s the definition of insanity. You know, spinning your wheels and doing the same old thing over and over again and expecting different results.
To get off the merry-go-round of insanity, you need to realign with your vision. In How to Develop Your Personal Mission Statement, Stephen R. Covey talks about how an airliner is off course about 90% of the time. He says, “The plane takes off at the appointed hour toward that predetermined destination. But in fact, the plane is off course at least 90 percent of the time. Weather conditions, turbulence, and other factors cause it to get off track. However, feedback is given to the pilot constantly, who then makes course corrections and keeps coming back to the exact flight plan, bringing the plane back on course.”
Because of our human nature, we too need to constantly make course corrections in life. We all face turbulence personally and professionally and we can get off track. We all are lured by the short-term rewards of sin and take a wrong turn. But if we set our GPS, our “God Positioning System” on the Lord before us (Ps 16:8) he will recalculate and get us back on track. His path is usually better than the one we would have taken on our own. He helps us avoid traffic. He shows us the scenic route. He helps us avoid tolls. He shows us “the path to life.” (Ps 16:11)
The goal is “at [his] right hand forever.” (Ps 16:11) We don’t know the day or the time, but we do know the right destination. If the plane you are on is headed to the wrong place, listen to the announcement. The doors are going to close, you need to get off now.
And don’t keep it a secret. Don’t leave your family and friends on that plane headed to the wrong destination. When we see people headed for “everlasting horror and disgrace,” (Dan 12:2) we should warn them. Shout “Hey, get off. You’re headed in the wrong direction.” You do this when you get poor service, try a product that doesn’t deliver as promised, or are disappointed by an event. You warn people not to make your mistake. You post a 0-star review.
Similarly, when you’ve found a great new restaurant, you want to share a 5-star review, so others might enjoy it too. When you see a good movie, hear a great song, visit a beautiful place, you want others to know about it too. So, tell them about how your “heart is glad and your soul rejoices.” (Ps 16:9) Share with them the “abounding joy in [his] presence,” (Ps 16:11) so others may experience it too. We’ve found the way to everlasting life, we should be eager to take others with us.
The Prophet Daniel said, “those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever. (Dan 12:3) Let your star shine brightly and light the way for others to follow you.
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 glorify the Lord by your life. Amen
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