TAKING AN OATH

 

TAKING AN OATH

Public Officials who win the elections would usually take their oath of office before assuming  their positions and perform their functions. The oath taking ceremony is often pompous if not elaborate with all the important  and popular figures in attendance. Essentially this is no idle ceremony because once they assume a position of authority and responsibility, they take an oath and swear  to discharge their powers and duties faithfully. They proclaim that they will do that which they had sworn to do.

In the life of the Hebrew nation, the Lord God Jehovah had “sworn by His right hand and by His mighty arm” that He will do what He had promised to do for His people.

“The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: “I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink your wine for which you have labored.”

-Isaiah 62:8

Ordinary mortals like our politicians would recite their oath placing their hands in the Bible, symbolic of the Higher Authority of God before whom they swear their oath. In the passage in Isaiah, Jehovah God had sworn by Himself and by His Power for He could swear to no one greater than Him. God the Almighty, swore that He will not allow His people to be overcome by their enemies. Never again will the armies of invaders capture, take and loot the produce of their land. God’s people will enjoy peace and plenty for God will secure them. They will enjoy uninterrupted peace and live on the abundant fruit of the land. This God had sworn to do.

Government leaders have come and gone, but never fully and completely or even hardly fulfilling their oath.  Their promises remain unfulfilled.   

God’s promises to His people have proven true. In Joshua 21:43-45, …”Not a single one of all the good  promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything He had spoken came true.”

 

You Are Great

You Are Great

The heads of states, the leaders of nations, the captains of industry, the pioneers of science, the scholars and artists, even the religious luminaries,  these are persons we look up to as having accomplished great and earthshaking things.

This thought came to mind, one day, while I was talking to a friend who is fairly a successful man. Most would trade places with him, but over cups of coffee, he poured out his feelings. He felt, he hadn’t accomplished anything yet, of great significance.

I believe he was looking for the real meaning of his life’s work. He felt he could have been a greater person.  I asked him if he wanted to know who might be the ideal  person I consider great in my own eyes. He said he couldn’t be more curious.

I told him she’s no other than my wife, who is a full time housewife, mother, lover, and caregiver. This shook him a little bit.

I should confess I had far greater ambitions like my friend does. Becoming a Christian has changed my perspective. One need not do earthshaking things to find meaning in one’s life. There is meaning in doing the work which God has entrusted to us, in areas we find ourselves. Whether you are running a household with romping kids, or managing a corporation, or debating in Congress, or evangelizing the lost, God is accomplishing far greater things through you, than you can ever imagine.

The great Apostle Paul in his Letters to the Colossians reminds us: “ Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.” (Colossians 3:23).

The iconic leader of the Afro-American civil rights movement, the late clergyman Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve.”

To my friend, man, you are great. Cheer up!

LESSONS FROM THE MONK AND THE CEO

LESSONS FROM THE MONK AND THE CEO

A story is told of a monk, who one day was visited by a friend, who needed advise about the quarrels which often ensued in his company’s board meetings.

 

The monk brought him to the water-well of the monastery.

As his friend peered down the well, the monk, asked, “What do you see?”

His friend replied “I see the water.”

“Is that all you see?” asked the monk.

“I see my face mirrored in the water.”

“Good, now throw down the pail and draw water,” instructed the monk.

His friend cast the down the pail which hit the water, began to sink as it filled with water, and started pulling up the pail.

As his friend was doing this the monk said, “Now do you still see yourself in the water?”

His friend replied, “No, all I see is the troubled water.”

“There’s your lesson,” the monk said, “better not to stir up things, instead, wait for them to settle down, you will see better and clearer.”

At my age, I have met and observed people who may be considered leaders, heads, chiefs, executives, and decision makers, the ones who make things happen, either in the public, or private sectors, in the academe or among the religious.

I have found that the brightest, finest and ablest of them all, are humble, pleasant, witty, and firmly resolute, but fairly humane. 

I also find them to be the most reflective of all thinkers, which is a very rare quality. They take control of sudden impulsiveness. Some struggle with a superior ego, the cause of being smart, as they wrestle with the demon of arrogance.

These are leaders who look at the facts, after all the clouds, dust and hazy particles have settled down, patiently waiting for  things to clear up. They wait for the murky waters to become clear and see their faces reflected as in a mirror, silently gathering their thoughts, feelings, and experiences to guide them in their decisions. They say what they mean, mean what they say, produce results, and give credit to whom credit is due.

I wish we have more of them, particularly in the government service, which is top heavy of self important bureaucrats.