Posts Tagged ‘Boardroom’

Posted on November 9, 2008 - by Tim L

God - Chairman of the Board

When we think of the Board room we generally think of older men, suits and serious discussions.  If we think about the Chairman of the Board we think of someone who people fear or respect.

To be a good Chair you need to be able to let people have their say, to keep your eye on the main business that needs to be discussed, ensure that people are motivated for all the right reasons to keep on building your business and you need to make sure that everyone is aware of the decision that has been made.

The closest many of us may have come to seeing a Chairman at work is in The Apprentice.  Alan Sugar grills and tests 16 candidates over a number of weeks to see who he will ultimately hire.  The job interview from hell he calls it.

Over the weeks of the programme we see all of the candidates jostling and vie-ing for his attention. Some get it for all of the wrong reasons.

Those of who watch it get hooked to see who will get fired each week.  Maybe we think if we got the chance we could better and we watch with bemused attention as one by one the candidates ultimately hear those words - you’re fired!

We tend to focus on this side of the story line, trying to distance ourselves from the unfortunates to get dismissed week.  You know it’s so easy to fill in the blanks about other people without knowing the full story.  Listen to these, how quickly do you jump to stereotypes and assumptions.

Really old and wealthy man marries a young beautiful girl

Telemarketeer calls you to offer exciting new opportunities

A celebrity checks into hospital again for undisclosed reasons

The guy who slept though every lecture gets an A on his final paper

Someone pulls up next to you at the lights in a BMW series 5

It’s easy to fill the blanks in with our assumptions.  It’s even easier to do it with God. Because of his otherness, his mystery his power it’s easy to assume that the pictures we have of God are the correct ones.

¹¹While he had their attention, and because they were getting close to Jerusalem by this time and expectation was building that God’s kingdom would appear any minute, he told this story:

¹²“There was once a man descended from a royal house who needed to make a long trip back to headquarters to get authorization for his rule and then return. ¹³But first he called ten servants together, gave them each a sum of money, and instructed them, ‘Operate with this until I return.’

¹⁴“But the citizens there hated him. So they sent a commission with a signed petition to oppose his rule: ‘We don’t want this man to rule us.’

¹⁵“When he came back bringing the authorization of his rule, he called those ten servants to whom he had given the money to find out how they had done.

¹⁶“The first said, ‘Master, I doubled your money.’

¹⁷“He said, ‘Good servant! Great work! Because you’ve been trustworthy in this small job, I’m making you governor of ten towns.’

¹⁸“The second said, ‘Master, I made a fifty percent profit on your money.’

¹⁹“He said, ‘I’m putting you in charge of five towns.’

²⁰“The next servant said, ‘Master, here’s your money safe and sound. I kept it hidden in the cellar. ²¹To tell you the truth, I was a little afraid. I know you have high standards and hate sloppiness, and don’t suffer fools gladly.’

²²“He said, ‘You’re right that I don’t suffer fools gladly-and you’ve acted the fool! ²³Why didn’t you at least invest the money in securities so I would have gotten a little interest on it?’

²⁴“Then he said to those standing there, ‘Take the money from him and give it to the servant who doubled my stake.’

²⁵“They said, ‘But Master, he already has double . . .’

²⁶“He said, ‘That’s what I mean: Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.

²⁷“‘As for these enemies of mine who petitioned against my rule, clear them out of here. I don’t want to see their faces around here again.’”

Luke 19: 11-27 (The Message)

Most times we hear this we focus on the one who got fired just like in the Apprentice.  We think we know he should have done better but we have a little bit of sympathy because well Alan Sugar or the King in the story can be obnoxious and rude.  We can assume that the King is cold, calculating and ruthless.  The servant was in fear so took no risks and yet perhaps that was the biggest risk.  Let’s say the servant is right in his assumptions about the king then he should have done better than this.  Just like the apprentices, they know Alan sugar is a hard task master therefore they do need to think through their answers.  I’m half Jewish but I don’t what Kosher is, how can you be half Jewish?? Springs to mind

But just may be we spend too long focussing on the ones that get fired and its true in this bible story too.  We let their sense of reality; their assumptions define our views of what the man at the top is like.

Lets for a minute think more about those that got hired.

Those that tried hard, were faithful didn’t just get a pat on the back; they got back five fold more, ten fold more.  The man at the top did take their profits for himself or play safe with them in a low risk bank account in Iceland!

No he gives them all that he entrusted to them and more besides; he gives away fifteen more cities from his new kingdom.  This blows our assumptions out of the water.  The man at the top is generous and yet also just.

How long have you imagined God as the fearful Chairman of the Board, glaring, self-righteous, just waiting for us to mess it up - so that he can say with great relish you’re fired.

Perhaps instead if we think about to what makes a good chairman -?

To be a good Chair you need to be able to let people have their say, to keep your eye on the main business that needs to be discussed, ensure that people are motivated for all the right reasons to keep on building your business and you need to make sure that everyone is aware of the decision that has been made.

Clues to God’s great generosity are all around but often we don’t want or can’t see them because our assumptions about who he is has blinded us.  Our relationships, those who love us and support us, a sunrise, or a crisp clean morning frost, sleep, food, sex, work.  These could all be mundane and ordinary and yet God in his great generosity has created them to be hugely pleasurable.  God is more good, more generous, more full of grace than we could ever imagine.  He want us all of the candidates to succeed, He’s longing to say you’re hired,

And what if the business is bringing about the kingdom of God, the rule of Jesus here on earth right now.  Then to those of who are faithful even if we think we have so little to offer then he is waiting with grace and generosity to say you’re hired!