Tis the season for making budget decisions. It’s an exciting, but also stressful time. In some ways, budget season just adds to the work load. We still have to meet all of our normal deadlines even as we take on the task of reviewing strategy and proposing new initiatives.
I like budget season because it forces us to put our money where our mouths are. All of our talk becomes a list of action items that either get approved or don’t. I love the certainty of the budget season. I love going to our leadership and saying, "Here is how we’re interpreting the vision. These are the actions that we think best embody our words."
Then they say, "Yes! Well done good and faithful servant." Or else they don’t. Either way, our talk turns into very tangible direction.
Related to all of this, I read a good article from Gary Klingsporn this morning about work and God. I remember editing this piece a few weeks ago. We adapted it from a sermon outline he originally wrote for our free sermon notes service to pastors who are looking for material on faith and work.
This morning, I was especially struck by an idea from his article. He explains, "One of the main barriers to turning knowledge into action is the tendency to assume that talking about something is equivalent to actually doing it. How true I think this is of love in the Christian life. We talk about it all the time, but talk can easily become a substitute for action."
Here are some other great thoughts from Gary’s article:
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Love in Action at Work and in the World | SERVICE – Bible Reflection
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What does it mean to “lay down our lives for others”?
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God calls us to open our hearts to the needs of people around us. This involves practical, concrete acts of love in the ordinary matters of everyday life.
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Love is something we do, not simply something we believe. It’s not pious talk, but committed action.
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What are the needs of people around you at work? How can you address those needs with more than words?
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What would it mean for you to reach out to someone in your workplace with an act of love?
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NOTE: This post is also an experiment to see how it works to highlight and blog using my Diigo account. Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
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oh..i looked at the title, and i thought that you were gonna talk about phone bills or somthing.
We are entering the stewardship campaign time at church…this is a timely read. I am thinking, “put your money where your mouth is, Laura.”
We seem to get offended about matters of money when it comes to church…but the reality is, we need money to make church happen. (well, sometimes, anyway).
I'm heading over to read Gary's article now. Thanks, Marcus–great to see/hear you today.
I have no idea how you keep up with so many online tools. Amazing.
Sam,
Diigo is super cool. I use it all day long every day. It is an incredible
research tool.
Marcus
Marcus,
It's not just the dollars, but also the time that should back up our expressions of love. As a church body, we have become so efficient with our expressions of love.
The ladies of our church are great providing food, etc. to the family when there is a surgery, death, birth, etc. The secretary handles the flowers and a check is sent with a love offering if the occasion requires it.
The bereaved is met with flowers a chicken spaghetti casserole (don't know why that is so popular) and a quick “we're praying for you” on the way out the door.
Where are the friends, brothers & sisters of the church that come and just sit with them? Before Job's friends opened their mouths they were GREAT friends.
Sometimes efficiency isn't all it's cracked up to be. Thanks for the reminder.
Brad
Brad, thanks for the thoughtful comment. I'm no fan of chicken spaghetti.
You've also reminded me of an article on TheHighCalling.org called The Idol
of Efficiency:
http://www.thehighcalling.org/Library/ViewLibra...
I'm curious Marcus, What do you think of posting from Diigo now that you've tried it?
I am underwhelmed about posting from Diigo. It is much easier to just copy
and paste the bullets.
I'm curious Marcus, What do you think of posting from Diigo now that you've tried it?
I am underwhelmed about posting from Diigo. It is much easier to just copy
and paste the bullets.
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