The Heart
I just read John Mackey's (CEO of Whole Foods) commencement address to Bentley College. He speaks in one place about the heart. See if this doesn't sound strangely familiar to all that I have written about the heart quoting Eldredge, McManus and others....

We need to develop our self-awareness skills so that we can know when we are truly following our hearts and when we've lost our way. It is actually easier than it sounds because when we are truly following our hearts we are tapped into our deepest passions in life. We are doing what we most love and we find our lives full of increased energy, greater creativity, purpose, joy, and happiness. We simply feel more alive and we are moving within the flow of life. How do you know when you've stopped following your heart? When the opposite occurs—decreased energy, lack of creativity, no real sense of purpose and you aren't particularly happy. You have stepped out of the flow of life and are just drifting along. When this happens the solution is simple: Choose again. Reconnect again with your heart. As long as you are alive, it is never too late. You are free in each moment to choose the path of your heart and it never stops whispering to you, urging you to follow it.

He speaks of losing our heart - a life of drifting along, decreased energy, lack of creativity, no real sense of purpose and a lack of happiness. A person who has "stepped out of life and is just drifting along."

I have a friend that is right there. He is simply "taken out" by life. He is listless, passionless and plods along day to day. He has walled off his heart and silenced it. Getting him to even engage in a thoughtful and reflective talk is very hard. He won't go there. He feels safe in his walled-off world yet those around him are dying on the vine. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy - he won't open his heart out of fear of hurt. This walls himself off to those most capable of loving him and helping him along. Rejection tends to drive those people away only fulfilling the lie he has bought, "you see, people will hurt you."

I believe God speaks to us from the heart. Jesus came that our hearts of stone would become hearts of flesh. Dead, cold hearts would be awakened to the fullness of living in Christ. My friend is a believer but his heart is cold. He's not a mean person or a bad man...he just fears turning on his heart afraid of where that might take him. The lie from Satan is that relying on the heart of stone to keep us safe actually robs us of the life we were meant to live in worship of the Lord. "The glory of God is man fully alive".

Mackey profoundly describes (I don't think he is a Christian but he nails it) a heart fully alive..."We are doing what we most love and we find our lives full of increased energy, greater creativity, purpose, joy, and happiness. We simply feel more alive and we are moving within the flow of life."

Passion and creativity and purpose - a heart fully alive!

Soar!

Asaph - Psalm 73
I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.
Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance
This is what the wicked are like - always carefree, they increase in wealth.
Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain I have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning.

I share in Asaph's laments. I think (by comparison) I am of pure heart. I think I am innocent. I've given my life over to God and it seems all day long I am plagued. It seems I am punished every morning.

Ever felt that way? Why is it that the other guy seems to have life figured out? They succeed in so many ways. They take the great trips to Italy with their family. Their kids make 4.0's and quarterback the football team. They look like triathletes (many of them are!). Money flows their way with ease. LIFE ISN'T FAIR!

Asaph goes on to say, "I tried to understand all this and it was oppressive to me." Then he entered the sanctuary of God and it is revealed to him...

"When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory...earth has nothing I desire besides you."

There it is - he realizes he was senseless and ignorant apart from the Lord - a brute beast. There it is. None of us is deserving. All of us fall short of the glory of God. Our works and "pure" heart will win us no favors with God. Only faith in Christ gets us there.

We are so focused on life not being fair. We are Christians and at times it feels like we are the ones getting the shaft in this life. Exactly! We weren't made for "this" life. This life was broken in Eden. Asaph says earlier before he is enlightened that he was pure of heart and innocent. No he wasn't. Our sin nature separates us from God. Even if we have accepted Jesus we are still separated by our sin in this life. Even for the strongest believer, the flesh pulls hard against the will of God. God will forgive the sin of those who believe and turn their lives over to God but while we are here, we will still sin. We will never reach the place of "innocent and pure" in this life. Innocence and purity will come to those that accept Christ and enter into the Kingdom. Only then will the wrongs be made right and we will be made whole.

The things Asaph laments over are just that..."things". He sees others that are rich, pretty, successful, have the nice house, have the kids with the 4.0 and the full ride to UVA, the BMW, the beach house, having lots of friends, large parties, the successful career...you know the drill. But everything he sees will burn up. All that we desire to possess in this life will not pass with us into eternity. Cars, houses, titles, GPAs, status, health, etc. will all burn up at some point in this life. Temporal vs. Eternal.

Back to 2 posts ago - this changes the way we view the "things" of this life. They are temporary. The treasure of heaven is lasting. We are deserving of a one-way ticket to hell. Only by God's grace are we able to escape "this" life and enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Praise be to the Lord!

Soar!

Quick addition on servant leadership
Then point I was driving at in the prior post was on getting away from the label "servant leader". It is being overused in business, the church and society. The presumption with the phrase "servant leader" is "I am a leader". I am going at this saying even to say "I am a leader" is putting the focus on "me". The best servant leaders are those that simply, quietly serve. Serve is the key -- not labeling it as "I am leading you by serving you".

I just put down the Wall Street Journal and something struck me. There was an ad for an upcoming symposium on the "deal makers" and the CEO of Bank of America is featured. He is coming to NYC to speak on his accomplishments in the area of buying other companies. I'm not really throwing stones at Ken Lewis (He is from Columbus) but rather I am asking "why?" Why would he take a day off from running the country's biggest bank to go to NY to speak to other executives on the "art of the deal"? What is in it for him? What does this have to do with taking care of employees, customers and shareholders?

I guess I am saying why don't these CEO's take the more humble approach. Run the company, do the right thing for the employees, customers and shareholders vs. going on the lecture circuit to boast about their deal-making prowess.

I'm just wondering where the humility is? Sorry to beat this horse...

Soar!

Humility
Isn't humility rare these days? God has been speaking to me this week and what I hear over and over again is "humility". Don't boast. Don't defend your position. Listen instead of talk. Look at the other guy and ask, "what is it I can do for him ... what does he need". Servanthood. Not servant leadership but rather servanthood. Servant leadership means "I'm a leader and I'm going to put on the hat of a servant" -- nothing wrong with this but you're still the leader (just a unique type of leader). No, servanthood. Serve.

Indeed humility is rare these days. Donald Trump. Tiger Woods. CEO's in glossy $50 million jets dashing off to exotic resorts for corporate retreats while folks in their company are hurting. Skyscrapers being lifted up to mark a company's "status" or importance. George Bush. I like "W". I think he is a good and decent man but I'll agree his swagger has cost us something on the world stage. The old saying is true of W, CEO's, rock stars, you and me ... "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

We crave power and status. We want to be noticed. And in that desire comes a lack of humility. Things go our way, God blesses us and suddenly, we start to take credit for it. Our ability got us to this point and we are going to do whatever we can to lift our status and get us even more opportunities. It seems it winds up being all about "me". My power. My desire to be noticed. My talents and abilities that get "me" the success "I" deserve...

Charles Spurgeon, defined humility as, "Making a right estimate of one’s self." Another noted speaker stated that, "Humility is not denying the power or gifting you have, but admitting that the gifting is from God and the power comes through you and not from you." After World War II, Winston Churchill humbly commented that, "I was not the lion, but it fell to me to give the lion’s roar."

It just seems to me that we need more leaders like Churchill. Those that push the spotlight off of themselves and their accomplishments and more humbly serve. What if our President acted this way - running America is a sacred trust. It isn't a bully pulpit for his glory. What if our CEO's were this way? Pushing away power. Downplaying their role. Taking their glossy photo out of the annual reports and replacing it with customers and employees.

What if you and I came into meetings not fighting to be heard but rather quietly soaking in what was going on and prayerfully seeking God's will? What if we came up with a great idea, passed it on and then forgot about it? In other words, we didn't push that idea, make sure it happened and then were sure to let everyone know it was our idea. What if we let go of the relentless pursuit of things to make us happy and we took on the role of a servant just glad for a roof over our heads and a soft bed to sleep in?

What if we took the focus off of "our" works, "our" accomplishments, "our" talents, "our" abilities and put them on the One who gives all? To God be the glory. Not man.

Soar!

The Problem of Liberalism - a talk about Capitalism, Obama and Whole Foods Markets
OK, now I'm probably going to offend someone with this. I have had a raging debate with a friend about money, capitalism, charity and the government's role in fixing the problems of America. He is a very successful businessman who created a company out of nothing and it has already made him wealthy at a young age. He is quite "evolved" in his thinking. He has recently said that he will gladly pay more in income taxes to help redistribute wealth and income to help the plight of the poor in America.

I don't believe that redistributing wealth or income fixes any problems. First of all it assumes an efficient government will take a bigger bite of higher income earners and quickly, fairly and efficiently redistribute that money into the hands of those who are in greater need. Given the lifetime politicians who control our national budget, that is a big assumption. It is a leap. Big government is not the solution.

But even deeper, what does redistribution really accomplish? If all the doctors in town had to each pay $25,000 a year more in income taxes and $5,000 of that went to five lower income families -- what would that accomplish? Even in the most ideal sense, that would certainly help those families in the short run but after a while wouldn't someone say, "Hey, why $5,000, why not $10,000?" Would a hand out really "fix" the problem? Is that really what the government wants to do anyway? Do they really want to flow through higher income earnings efficiently to lower income earners? No. The government wants a large chunk of that money and very little of it will truly flow through to those who really need it.

Now don't get me wrong, the "model" does sound appealing. Some are incredibly blessed and talented and surely they can pay even more in taxes to help others get out of poverty. It sounds noble. It sounds lofty. Obama talks about "shared national sacrifice" and when he says it, it seems appealing. When Hillary talks about "universal healthcare" and getting every American insured, it sounds noble. She really can't articulate how it will work (other than saying she'll raise taxes) but she and Obama offer up these lofty ambitions to move us.

But there is a real problem with it - it won't work. Never has, never will. Taken to the extremes, this rapidly becomes socialism and eventually communism. Raising taxes and redistributing wealth has the stunning effect of disincentive. Eventually the strong earners will see no benefit in squeezing in that one last surgery or inventing that next product because they know "what good is it, the government is going to take all the excess income it produces." In every case, the government itself explodes in size and soon begins to exist for itself not the people. Don't believe me? Look at pictures of Korea at night from space - the South is lit up like a Christmas tree while North Korea is pitch black dark. Kim has his fancy cars, expensive wines and western sunglasses but his people are in the dark and starving.

I am a big fan of Whole Foods Markets. Whole Foods was started by a very liberal guy that dreamed up this idealistic company that would sell organic food, give to charity and change the world. As he matured in his dream, he quickly realized he was really a communist and was way off base. He's a Libertarian now and has embraced capitalism - but - he also runs a very unique company. They give away 5% of their after tax income to charity and they have embraced "green" culture. He was a hippie, he's still a vegetarian and he practices yoga. He's "earthy", a "tree hugger" and very "un-business" He still wants to change the world but he has realized that corporations and capitalism aren't evil. They are necessary to achieving freedom. He started Whole Foods with $40,000 and it now has a market value of $8 billion. They give away more than $15 million a year, employ more than 40,000 people and he caps his salary at a low multiple of his lowest paid employee.

Listen to what he has recently said...
"I migrated to the Left when I was a young man for my value system. Why did I do that? Because the Left provided an idealistic vision of the way the world could be. However, the reality of the Left's vision proved to be terribly flawed. Its socialist economic system not only didn't work very well, but in it's communist manifestation it justified monstrous governments directly responsible for the murders of over 100 million people in the 20th century. Despite the unbelievable horrible track record of the leftist ideology, millions of young Americans continue to migrate to an intellectual bankrupt Left because the Left still seems to be idealistic, and that idealism is magnetic to the young. Idealism will always be magnetic to the intelligent and sensitive young people of the world."

He's right. Obama is young and dynamic and offers up bold visions of shared sacrifice and dreams. He is like a magnet to the nation's young. Even my 14 year old daughter likes him and says "I can relate to him". Obama is intelligent and idealistic. He reminds me of Bobby Kennedy who captured this same, "We can do better" mentality for America. Crowds swoon and energy flows but it is around a philosophy that cannot work. "We'll make the oil companies pay, we'll make the rich pay, we'll share in the sacrifice, etc." If you buy the logic of making the oil companies pay, you are buying into socialism. Free markets will fix the price of oil. It may be painful but eventually what goes up will come down. We'll either quit splurging on oil or we'll invent more efficient cars or build solar power plants but eventually, the free markets will fix the price of oil. The problem is, we don't want to wait. We get drawn into the message of the Left of big government, redistribution of wealth and universal healthcare. "I don't like pain at the pump, I need the government to fix this..."

Well, if you take this logic to the next step (where does it stop by the way?), we'll be slapping an excise tax on Wal-Mart because they make a lot of money and that "isn't fair to the average American" and then we'll move on to Georgia Power, Bank of America, surgeons, lawyers, etc. "No one should make extra profits, we'll tax the extra profits so we can make everything fair."

Taken to the next step and then the next, we rapidly arrive at full blown socialism. Wal-Mart and BofA and Chevron start laying folks off to help offset their rising taxes. Pfizer cuts way back on their research budget because of their excise tax on drug profits. With R&D cut way back, the drug companies stop finding the new drugs the AARP demands (but is unwilling to pay for). Georgia Power can't build a new nuclear power plant because of their excise taxes so those construction jobs aren't created and we retain our dependence on Mideast oil.

You get the picture....

This has nothing to do with my typical posts but the Whole Foods comments tied a lot of this together. Take your shots at me but I think he is right.

Soar!

Naaman
Naaman was a commander in the army of the king of Aram (Syria). He was a great man in the sight of his master, highly regarded and victorious on the battle field. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

He was a great man but he was also a dead man. Leprosy would eventually eat him alive and he knew it. The story reminds me of a modern day CEO or business owner or mega-church pastor who is suddenly stricken with cancer. Suddenly your status doesn't really matter. Your income or net worth don't really matter. Your importance and status don't matter. Cancer doesn't care "who" you are. It just kills.

Naaman had "cancer" but God sent him hope. A servant girl that worked for his wife told her, "send my master to see the prophet who is in Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy." Naaman asks the king for permission to go and it is granted. Naaman heads off with silver and gold to seek his cure.

When Naaman approaches Elisha's home, Elisha sends a messenger out to greet him. Now remember, Naaman was a powerful general and a renowned warrior. Suddenly, a flunkie is being sent out to tell him what to do. The messenger says, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

Naaman was angry - "Surely he would have come out and waved his hand over my leprosy and called out the name of his God and cure me. The rivers in Damascus are better than any waters of Israel. Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?"

Modern day - the status as the CEO doesn't matter any more. You show up at the clinic and rather than the leading oncologist consulting with you, an intern greets you and tells you in detail how you will be treated - "we will wash you seven times in chemo..." Cold. Impersonal. Lonely. Your status doesn't matter. You're just a number.

Naaman's servants plead with him to follow the instructions and finally, he consents and dips himself in the Jordan seven times. He finally lets go of his "status" and follows the pleading of his lowly servants and he strips and enters the waters of Israel to be healed.

This is a great picture of God's grace. Naaman had a problem. He was sick but he was also prideful. God used the illness and the subsequent treatment to go after Naaman's sin and pride. The picture of Naaman submitting to God's grace and entering the redemptive, healing waters is a remarkable picture of Christ's liberation. Naaman came as a general with all the trappings of that position but he had to be humbled before he could see his sin. Once he realized that in order to be healed, he would first have to submit, he was saved.

The same is true for us. Once we realize it really isn't all "about me" and once we realize we can't fake it anymore and "do life" on our own...once we realize we have to submit to Him, we are saved. We strip ourselves of all our status and prestige, we strip ourselves of our title and possessions and we enter into the river of life and we are saved!

Soar!