Good to Great?

One of the recent books I read was Jim Collins’ best-selling management book, “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Others Don’t.” It came out seven years ago and still it reportedly sells over 300,000 copies a year. The phenomenal hardcover featured 11 companies which, simply put, transformed from simply average to super amazing, making lots of money along the way. Collins and his team sought to pinpoint the principles that led them to that leap of greatness. When I looked at the “good-to-great” list, I immediately noticed the mortgage company Federal National Mortgage Association or, popularly known as, Fannie Mae. This year, it went belly up and the US government had to bail it out. Another “good-to-great” company, the giant electronics dealer and retailer Circuit City, filed for bankruptcy last month. A business columnist wisely pointed out, “‘Good to Great’ companies can fail, too.” The remaining nine in the list reportedly lost 45 percent of their value in the last five years. One possible reason why some of these companies became below average is that they failed to continue in the principles that made them “good-to-great.”

Asa was a “good-to-great” king (Read 2 Chronicles 14:1-16:14). Through the Lord’s help, though vastly outnumbered, he won a war against his enemies. Since then, for 35 years, there was peace and prosperity in Judah. But he made an ungodly deal with a pagan king. Thus, a prophet rebuked him. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” (16:9, NKJV) In the next (and last) five years of his reign, Asa sadly deteriorated into an oppressive king. To his last breath, he remained stubborn. He slid down from great to bad because his heart failed to remain loyal to the Lord. It is really one thing to start well and it is another to finish well. We will only experience His power upon our lives when our hearts continue to be totally His. I pray that, when the Lord’s eyes that run to and fro throughout the whole earth settle on us, He would find a heart that is fully committed to Him and Him alone.

Brethren, let our hearts remain loyal to God.

The Wise Thing

Decisions are the stuff life is made of. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “Do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” Unless we think of life as just marking time, unless we see ourselves as prisoners scratching a notch on the wall to count their days in prison, then there’s more to the stuff of life than time. I believe it’s the decisions we make that define life.

In his series, “The Best Question Ever,” Andy Stanley, senior pastor of North Point Community Church, pointed out that we never plan to mess up our lives. But, unfortunately, we never plan not to. That’s a fresh way of saying, “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail.” When faced with a decision, we usually ask whether it is a right or wrong decision. If we can’t find a verse in the Bible about it, we assume that it means God is for it because He apparently did not say anything against it. But then again when we are not careful we can make the Bible say anything we want it to say. So, Stanley brought it to a higher level based on Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (NIV) The question is not just whether a decision is right or wrong. The best question is, “In light of my past experiences, my current circumstances, and my future hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do?”

Now, that’s a wise question to ask! It is because life is not only a choice between good and evil. It is also a choice between good and great. Hebrews 12:1 tell us, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” We are to cast off not only sin but “everything that hinders”. That means everything that can keep us from what is best. Everything here includes that which is good. The wise thing for us to do is to choose to be great in God’s eyes!

As the year draws to an end, we face another fresh year of crisis. I wrote last week that crisis calls for a choice. We must decide for example to make the most of the opportunity that the global financial crisis gave us this year and will continue to give us next year. We just concluded a series on spiritual gifts in our church. The wise response would be “to fan [it] into flame” (2 Timothy 1:6), to set and keep it ablaze.

Brethren, let us wisely define life.

Crisis

A crisis is a door, not a dam. It is crisis that separates the decisive and the defeated. Those who are decisive would even expand their businesses for example during such dire times. That sets them apart from the rest. When the dust settles, they are already ahead of the competition. Those who are left behind missed out on an opportunity. Isaiah faced such a crisis. King Uzziah died. Even if he died a leper, Uzziah was still at that time a powerful king. There seems to be a power vacuum. But though the earthly throne was empty, the heavenly throne was not. “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1, ESV) God was (and still is and will always be) in control. The crisis became an opportunity for Isaiah to witness God’s sovereignty.

Usually when we hear the word “crisis” we think of a time of intense dread or danger. But the Greek word for “crisis” denotes “decision.” It was, according to a dictionary, the crucial point in the play or story that determines the outcome of its plot. Thus a crisis is also the turning point when a critical decision must be made for an important change to occur. So, when there’s a crisis, either we face it or we flee it. We flee it and we miss out. We face it and we make the most of the opportunity. It’s up to us to decide. Ephesians 5:15-16 commands us, “Therefore be very careful how you live—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (NET Bible) We make the most or take advantage of the crisis precisely because the days are evil. We don’t wait for convenient times. We act decisively.

Financial analysts predict that there will be harder times ahead of us next year. People are more open to the Gospel during times of trouble or transition. Let us seize this moment! Thus, even the present global financial crisis is an opportunity, not an obstacle. Let us share the Good News so that they would trust our God who is in control of our circumstances. People are exasperated. Let us encourage them. Our Lord assures us, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

Brethren, Jesus conquered the crisis already!