The Sacraments of Life (4)

Coffee Mugs (3)

Our mugs from Alaska were given to us by Letisa. I worked with Letisa during the last seven years of my career in multifamily management. Letisa’s parents lived in Alaska, though they were originally from Harrisonburg, VA. When I think of dear Letisa I think of “family.” I think of her mom, her grandmother, and of her entire extended family. I also think of the entire group of wonderful property managers I had the joy of serving with during those years. 

I first met Letisa when she worked for my friend Gloria (more on Gloria in another reflection). The apartment community that Letisa managed for Gloria was being sold to another owner and our company needed to find another job for Letisa so that she could stay with our firm, which valued long-term employees. I had a property on Chamberlayne Avenue in Richmond that needed an assistant manager and so we offered Letisa that position, which she accepted, until another manager’s job opened up.

I was new to the firm, and so I was learning both the company and my portfolio, which consisted of apartment communities in Richmond and Petersburg, VA. One of the vital elements of learning my portfolio was learning about the people who operated each property, from the managers, to leasing agents, to maintenance folks, to grounds keepers and custodians. Every person mattered; everyone was important. I was also learning about my clients, some were individuals and some were financial institutions. 

We also brought another employee from Letisa’s property over to our Chamberlayne Ave. community, I’ll call her Jane. Jane had also worked for Gloria for a while and we were committed to keeping her employed; once again, this was a core value with our firm and I really appreciated this and still do as I look back. Our challenge with Jane was that I couldn’t justify her as a full-time employee at just one property, but I could justify her presence at two properties, splitting her hours during each week. Our plan was that once a position opened where she could work at just one location that we’d assign her to that community. 

To my surprise, Jane wanted nothing to do with our plan and quit. She was angry that she would have to split her week between two locations and resigned. This isn’t the only time something like this happened during my career, and I’ve never really understood it. In every instance motives were assigned to “management” or to me that simply weren’t valid, we were attempting to keep people employed and because they didn’t like the circumstances, they either resigned or the misunderstandings (let us call them that) led to soured relationships. 

One reason these occasions have puzzled me is that there was a time in my own life when my boss did all he could to keep me employed during a corporate layoff. I was with a national homebuilder in the late 70s – early 80s when mortgage rates of 18 – 21% caused a slowdown in residential construction. When he was told that my position was being eliminated, he called the president of our division and went to bat for me, according to what the president later told me he said, “We’ve got to keep Bob employed.” 

The result was that I was transferred from a position that I enjoyed, from a boss that I loved working for, to a new environment with new opportunities – not having any idea how close I’d come to unemployment. While I had no idea at the time, the transfer would open doors that led to my career in property management as well as to seminary. An added blessing was that I also enjoyed my new position, had another great boss, learned, was challenged, and had fun. 

Perhaps because I’ve never forgotten what my boss Dave did for me when I faced unemployment, I’ve always tried to keep others employed. Another reason is that I deeply believe that we are called to be blessings to others, just as our heavenly Father is a blessing to us. Whether folks appreciate this or not is pretty much irrelevant to me, for we don’t always appreciate the kindness of our Father yet He still sends us refreshing rain and warm sunshine (Matthew 5:43 – 48). 

Not long after Letisa came to work for me, I had to replace the manager of her community, she was in over her head and she wouldn’t accept coaching (there are those who do and those who don’t, both in the marketplace and in the church world). I offered Letisa the position but she turned it down. The community in question was in a tough financial situation with many challenges, it had been repossessed by a financial institution which had retained our firm, and we were charged with turning the property around and putting it on a sound footing. The pressure in these situations can be intense – a client’s expectation is weekly improvement – they often don’t care to take the long view. 

I’ve never asked Letisa why she turned my offer down the first time, maybe she was uncertain about me, maybe it was the formidable challenge. I then made a bad hire, a really bad hire. This happens, you think you are making a good decision and you aren’t.

The new manager turned out to be a dictator, mistreating employees, contractors, residents. I think she lasted less than two weeks, better to admit your mistakes and protect people than close your eyes to the truth. I’ve made some good hires, bad hires, and mediocre hires over the years, but this hire was likely the worst and the employee’s tenure the shortest of any hire. 

I went back to Letisa and asked her, “Well, do you want me to try this again, or do you want the job?” She accepted the manager’s position and did a stellar job. 

This led to a vacant assistant manager’s position, and our hire for that position became not only a wonderful manager on my team, but became a life-long friend for Letisa – they are like sisters, quite the duo. 

I wrote above than when I see my Alaska mugs and think of Letisa that I think of “family.” I really think of two families, I think of my work family, represented by Letisa and her colleagues, and I think of Letisa’s family. Vickie and I loved (and love) both families. More on this in a future reflection. 

Seeing life as a sacrament means seeing Jesus and His grace in all of life, including our vocational life. Every relationship matters. Every person matters. Every day is an opportunity to learn and grow in Jesus and to serve others. The way we treat others matters, for we are the daughters and sons of the Living God. The workplace is sacred just as our gatherings on Sunday are sacred, just as our interactions with neighbors are sacred.

Our loving God comes to us throughout every day, in every way; Jesus is always appearing to us, and hopefully He is touching others through us, whether they realize it or not, whether they sense it or not. 

Life is indeed sacramental in Christ. 

"Not in the Correct State"

Recently my computer slowed to a crawl, it was so slow that had I taken it for a walk a turtle could have out paced it. The culprit? AI. AI was eating up resources. Microsoft had installed AI during a weekly update without my permission – what else is new? 

Once I disabled AI things went back to normal, which for an old computer is not that good, but it gets the job done. I have deep concerns about AI, ethical concerns, and spiritual concerns, but this isn’t the piece in which to explore them. I’ll say this, if you don’t know who you are before you use AI, you certainly won’t find out who you are if you use it. In elements of AI we are abdicating our personhood formed in the image of God, we are exchanging the glory of God for a mess of gruel…a poor exchange I think. 

Lately a message has been frequently appearing after booting up and starting WORD: 

“The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.” 

When a computer is as old as ours you don’t like to see anything out of the norm because it could always be the BIG ONE, the problem that can’t be fixed, the car that breaks down on the side of the road that is destined for the junk yard. 

About 7 years ago our 1994 Ford Ranger pickup stopped running as I was driving it to the small engine shop to get 2-cycle oil. It was a 5-speed, sweet little vehicle. We had purchased it from Vickie’s brother Rod who had a small used-car dealership north of Des Moines. When we lived in Massachusetts, in the winter we’d put studded tires on it, throw firewood in the bed, and we could drive it anywhere in the snow. At the time of its breakdown, we drove it less than 300 miles a year, short trips to Lowes, Home Depot, and the dump were the extent of its use. As a practical matter it didn’t make sense to put any more money into the little truck, so we gave it to the young man who was operating the tow truck – he was quite happy. It was our pleasure to both give it away and to spare the pickup from the ignominy of the junk yard. 

“The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested operation.” 

When I read these words on my computer screen I wonder if they are true about me. Am I in a place today where I can respond to the Holy Spirit? Am I in a state of being where I can be a blessing to others?

I am easily distracted. My own wants and needs and worries often deaden my sensitivity to our Lord Jesus and to others. There are times I go to the store, get what I want, begin the drive home and then realize that I didn’t pay attention to people while in the store. This shames me before our Lord Jesus, this ought not to be. There have been countless times when I’ve met people while shopping and have been able to encourage them, pray with them, and leave them with something to think about in Christ.

The same is true with our neighbors. Sometimes I am in a good state in which to be a blessing, and sometimes I’m too self-centered to respond to others in our Lord Jesus. 

In WWII allied bombers dropped strips of aluminum foil into the sky to confuse Axis radar, they called it chaff. I don’t know about you but I’m always dealing with chaff. Chaff confuses me, it distracts me from Jesus and people, it diverts my attention from things that matter. Talking heads scatter chaff. Advertising is chaff. Chaff is dispersed from Washington all the way down to the local level, from Hollywood, from Wall Street, and from many religious institutions. 

If we are going to avoid getting locked in on chaff we will do well to recall the Great Commandment:

“The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29 – 31).

Then we have, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12 – 13). 

And then, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). 

I think that in order to be in the correct state to respond to the Holy Spirit that we need to be in a state of loving God and others, a state of living for others, a state of laying our lives down for others. The shape of our lives is to be cruciform (Galatians 2:20; 6:14). 

I want to be responsive to the Holy Spirit throughout the day, I want to be drawn deeper into the fellowship of the Trinity with each breath I take. I want to keep learning and growing in Jesus and with my brothers and sisters.

What about you? 

Are we living in the correct state to perform the requested operation? 

Unplugging the Computer

 

We are not machines, we are people, people made in the image of God. For this reason I do my best to avoid illustrations that have to do with machines, for if we think of ourselves as machines or as technological phenomena, we will treat each other as machines. When we use language such as, “Today we are going to download what the Holy Spirit has for us,” I want to jump up and shout, “Flagrant foul! You are out of the game.”

When I was starting out in the business world we had Personnel Departments, then we had Human Resources, and now we have Human Assets or any number of other titles. We are no longer actual people, we are assets and resources and we exist to produce, to be utilized, and to then be thrown away. Maybe the powers that be will soon recycle us as fertilizer – no doubt there will be a debate as to whether agricultural producers will have to disclose this on their packaging. 

Now I’m going to violate my own rule by using a couple of electronic illustrations – fair warning. I’ll share one illustration in this post, and follow up with the second in another post. 

Our computer is old, I mean really old; at least ten years old. It is too old to load Windows 11, and since Microsoft is eliminating support, including security updates, for Windows 10 in a few months, we are going to need a new computer. The same thing happened to us when Microsoft terminated support for Windows 7. The rascals! Yes, I realize there are patches from third parties, but there are other reasons it’s time for a new computer. 

Our computer’s processor can’t handle things such as a new camera or external microphone, it slows down, it freezes, and it can be frustrating – but I suppose also sanctifying in terms of cultivating patience. Sometimes when it freezes there is only one solution, disconnect the power, unplug the offending peripheral, and reboot the system. 

Disconnecting the power means more than simply unplugging the cord, since this is a laptop, it also means removing the battery so there is a clean electrical break. 

Do you think it is possible that we all need a clean break from the electronic cocaine we imbibe throughout the day? 

How is it that professing Christians take their cues and set their agendas based on the things of this world? How is it that we are more familiar with news headlines than with God’s Word? How is it that we are more eager to conform ourselves to worldly political and economic and national and academic and entertainment and sports ideologies than we are to conform ourselves to the Word of God?

How is it that we will follow political and economic and sports and entertainment leaders, rather than follow Jesus?

How is it that we fail to recognize the inherent evil in the world system, including its economic and political and nationalistic systems?  

Does not John write, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15 – 16, NASB).

Does not Jesus say concerning us, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:16, NASB. See also John 15:18 – 21). 

I recently read that the national news broadcasts by the three major networks used to be only 15 minutes each evening. Can we imagine this? 15 minutes!

Now we are consumed by 24/7 news delivered myriad ways. Note that I did not write that we are consuming news 24/7, but that we are being consumed, for the consumers are now the consumed. We simply cannot allow the messages of the world to enter our souls and hearts and minds in such an overwhelming fashion and not be profoundly affected by them, not be formed into the images of the world system. It is one thing to be informed, it is another thing to be conformed. 

And let’s be clear about one thing, all news media have bias. Let’s also be clear that this is nothing new, it has been happening since Colonial times in our own nation. To think that one media group somehow presents the news in a purer fashion than its competitors is foolish, and it is particularly foolish for the son or daughter of God to think this for fallen man cannot, by his nature, discern the fulness of truth. 

I will also point out that while media group A may come closer to the truth in some things than media group B, in other areas media group B will likely come closer to the truth than group A. But isn’t this generally true of groups of humanity? Only in Jesus do we have consistency, only in Jesus do we have a sure and certain refuge. 

It is also foolish for professing Christians to think that any message, other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the true Truth. 

It is as if we live in a prison with speakers on 24/7 telling us the same things over and over in various ways until our minds and hearts become products of the words and rhythms we subject ourselves to. We are transformed into creatures we were never meant to be, with ill will and anger and hard-heartedness and anxiety and vitriol and lying and spin and selfishness, with hearts grown cold and unfeeling toward others. 

Perhaps we need to unplug the computer, remove the battery, and take a break from the poison, perhaps we need detoxification. Perhaps we need to recenter ourselves in Jesus Christ and His Holy Word. Perhaps it’s time to return to Psalm 1 with its emphasis on meditating and delighting in the Word of God, day and night. 

O dear friends, the people around us do not need us to be advocates for political or economic or nationalistic philosophies and agendas, but they do need us to show them Jesus, to be a refuge from the wind and a shelter from the storm and streams of water in dry places (Isaiah 32:1 – 2). 

As our society and world engage in mutual assured destruction, let us fulfill our calling in Jesus Christ, showing Him to others and calling them into a deep relationship with Him. 

Who can you and I share Jesus with today?