The Way

"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. Malach 3:1

How many times have we pondered the goal rather the way, the end rather than the means, the target rather than how to get there? God did. He clearly had salvation well planned out since the fall of Adam and Eve and could have saved all his people even before Moses was in the picture - but that is not the way He works.

Our Lord is a God of preparation. A God of Planning. A Lord of well thought pathways. In His last book prior to the Old Testament, He declares, one more time, a messenger who will prepare the way. What about the years and centuries prior to the book of Malachi - wasn't that preparation? Clearly that time was not enough. That time was not enough to teach His people to stop sinning and whole heartedly follow Him. It was not enough time for His people to learn to worship and love Him as the only God. It was not enough time for the vessels He chose to be clean and ready for the refiner's fire on the last day.

Many times God takes away the goal and the targets we want or live for - no matter how noble or logical they may seem because - He is more interested in the way. He is more interested in us becoming pure, Holy and ready for the last day rather than the souls we desire to bring to Him, the good works we want to do for Him or even the talents we want to use for His glory. Not that the latter is not important but the former drives the latter. The way drives the quality of the fruit. The Vine Keeper refines the branches because He desires fruit that lasts.

God chose Abraham to become the Father of all nations but it took Him over a decade to fulfill that promise. The final test was very important. Abraham putting his will on the altar was the goal and only after that would the Lord hasten to do carry out His promise. And hence the meaning of the rest of the verse in Malachi, 'Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come."

Nobody wants to be in 'Under Construction' phase. The wilderness for forty years certainly was not pleasant. But it was critical for the Lord to fulfill the rest of His promises and more importantly, critical for the holiness and sanctifcation of the Israelites.

Many people I have known or not known recently were taken away from this world in the blink of an eye. It taught me how frail we really are. At the end of the way is a Judge who will rule according to the essence and not the outward fruit. 'But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.' (Malach 3:2-3). Only pure metals will endure the purifier's fire. It does not matter whether it was a ring that was used to save many souls or a pleasant pendant that attracted many onlookers. It does not matter whether it was a bracelet that wrapped around many people's thoughts or a chain that brought others to church services. What matters is whether each metal can withstand the test on that day.

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the 'Christian' life we believe we are leading - many plans, ideas, many visions, many events - have we taken the way of preparation? Have we been obedient at all costs? Have we been pure and holy behind closed doors, in the secrecy of our hearts? Are we ready every day for a moment that will come like a thief when no one looking? That is the essence.

On Eagle's Wings

It's 11:00 am and Im tired. I have been working for the past one hour. Yes, one hour. Because I spent two hours and fifteen minutes commuting here. I spend the same aount of time on the road on the way home. On my first day here, we lost the way. On our second day, we also lost the way. Today, we knew the way but they had to block the road that brings us here. The King wanted to go shopping or something. I have also had a weird week. Several strange things have been happening in my life recently that are difficult to grasp. They're not all tragic, nor painful, but only difficult to rationalize. Some people live in denial to maintain thier sanity. Others release the anger at work or take up go karting - whichever is more violent. I am one of the types that think.

Hence, I decided to read and meditate on way here. Then midway I started listening to my heart instead of my mind. My inner voice told me to listen to me, to get in touch with who I really am and what I really want. I decided to let go of the questions I had and the answers I wanted but didnt have. I surrendered to The Power that is greater than I am...and I listened. I was told to accept and believe for those who do shall never be ashamed.


Then I arrived. My legs were aching. My head hurt. I was feeling sick to my stomach. But a strange sense of strength carried me...on eagle's wings. I met an unpleasant woman who gave me a strange look as i entered the office. One of the curious guys here shocked me to my toes as I picked something off the printer with his squeaky but loud 'Good Morning (What are you doing, by the way?).' I had an unexpected meeting with a very very wary Chinese man who looked as cynical as Inspector Gadget. He asked the tea boy to bring his china cup (with its own little lid on it - looks like the mizo soup containers you get at sushi places) and then he left it untouched as if to set up a turf, lol) in our room. The meeting output made my task a little bit more complicated than it already was.

I drifted away in tought again. I had mixed feelings of joy and saddness. Then my cell phone beeped. It was a short message, only to say, "Trust in the Lord with all you heart and do not rely on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3). I think I need another ride...on eagle's wings.

Food For Thought Series Continued...

Pottery Plans

Sometimes we face great pain in our lives and we blame it on many factors, including God. Because of the sense of blame and self pity, we fall into several traps: Anger, frustration, unforgiveness etc...By time we become chained and eventually these feelings build strongholds in our lives that become immensely difficult to break down. We read God's word and promises and we feel they are so distant. In fact, God Himself becomes distant, because we have shut ourselves away from Him, refusing to hear his reasons and his divine purpose.

Then, because of His constant providence, He continues to strip us away from worldly solutions. All of a sudden, we find ourselves cornered with no way out but Him. At this time our prayers become different. We no longer pray, 'Get me out of this' or 'Help me get out of this' but we pray, 'Lord I have tried but I have failed. I have no solution but you.' Then the surmounting peace of the Lord overcomes your heart and mind. You find yourself yielding. Yes, yielding. The key word. We yield and surrender our all. And we realize that this is all He wanted from the beginning.

I have come to realize that we do not yield for two reasons:

1. Our inability to logically accept the solution. We wonder how and why and keep running around in a vicious circle because the situation defies logic and what should be right.
2. Our inability to accept pain in a certain area of our lives. Quite often, we store up treasures for ourselves in a certain place on earth: Our careers, our relationships, our possessions, our children etc. And we fear losing them. We fear failing in that area. We fear any harm that might touch these things. However, in reality, we are actually fearing the Hand of the Lord. We are fearing His 'pottery plans.' We would actually sometimes pray, 'Lord touch anything, take away anything but that.' And the Lord decides to strike just that to consecrate our hearts and minds only for Him.

Once we stop arguing with the Potter, we know the truth and it sets us free. His shaping is still painful, but merged with loving touces. His fingers become sometimes unpredictable, but He slowly reveals His plan. His pressure might become unbearable, but His accompanying Breath of Life eases the furnace. The shape might look strange, but our slow yielding will break the shell of our understanding. The process is slow but every day of yielding brings closer His deliverance.

Until Your Cross Is Mine

How did you carry me when I couldn’t care less?
How did you wipe my tears when I couldn’t caress
Your head in my arms and heal your pain?
How did you love me like that with no restrain?

How can I follow you carrying my cross?
How can I deny myself and consider it a loss
Incomparable to the greater gain, as you nail
My old self and revive the new man again?

How do I heal my pain with yours -
When I am humbled by my failures
Broken and sore? How do I follow you to
The Golgotha when death is so sure?

I followed you with my self-pity,
It looked like your cross.
But I walked alone.
I followed you carrying my anger
It felt like your cross
But I walked alone.
I followed you carrying my despair.
I nailed the pieces together. I built a cross.
But I walked alone.

Then I gave you my cross and yours became mine
And you walked beside me as death took its time
We passed through the grave, and then your light did shine
And I rose with you because your cross was mine.

Why Don't We Trust?

Why don't we trust when we know there is a way out?
Why don't we trust when all the lights go out?
Why don't we trust when we know there's a stronger Hand
Holding together the earth, the seas and the clouds?

Why don't we live like we're taken care off
Singing, smiling - and dancing to the One
Who's there when lifes' curves throw us off?
Isn't there a time for everything under the sun?

Why don't we render control to the One
Who sits on His throne only to summon
the angels, the saints, the rulers, even the waves
To the service and aid of his needy ones?

Why do we fear to break our human arms
And believe that there will never be any harm
When we lay the reins at his Holy feet
And break the bonds of fear and charms?

Why do we believe that we have to control
Every minute, every second of our days
Lest the night arrives and our plans fall
Crashing and taking with them our all?

Why don't we ever release our planning
- And the jamming - and the damning,
To the One who only wants you to trust
While he for us ensures a safe landing?

For when I do let Him play in time,
He orchestrates all events and times
To a beautiful symphony that becomes mine,
For he is always faithful to keep time.

Yet, I ask - Why don't I trust
- All the time?

Somebody tell me something will change...

I haven’t been on too many consulting projects in my life. This is only my second one and I must say that change management is the most frustrating experience in the world. I am currently having a thought on what is wrong. We have a program in place, we have a structured approach, we have a slogan, we have a vision and we have a training plan. Yet, all in vain.

I still walk in to the customer service department and I see employees shouting and arguing with customers – taking them for granted. I still walk into other departments and see people lost in their own frenzy about the latest Gucci bags or the next meal they’re about to have.

The real change here is behavioral change. How can you get people who’ve operated in one manner their whole lives to change their behavior?! Psychology 101: How to get dogs fetch a stick? Give them a slab of meat when they do. Positive reinforcement in the form of some sort of appreciation: verbal recognition, bonus points etc.

How to stop a dog from sniffing around people eating? Lock it up in the kitchen. Negative reinforcement. Verbal warning, note it in their appraisal etc. Have we tried this? Yes. Has it worked? No.

If I correctly remember the reinforcement theory, the idea was to be consistent. However, it never said how long. In this place, I think, it takes a lifetime.

I was told to cascade top-down. Get the top management to buy-in. Most of the management has internalized the need for change. Yet, there isn’t much happening. It’s the archaic concept of: People come to work for a pay – and they will do whatever they’re told for that pay. Taking your people for granted.

Top-down also does not work because there is another reverse order. Suck up to boss and guarantee your next pay check. Boss also sucks up to his boss to guarantee his next pay change. And the sucking up, goes all the way to top

I guess that’s the pivot – if you’re taking your own people for granted, why won’t you take your customers for granted? If you’re taking your salary for granted, why won’t you take your current position for granted. A cultural dilemma. Wrong values. Zero work ethic.

Managing the people side of change is important. People need to be educated on the reasons for change, motivated to change and given the necessary skills to change. But then again, if the culture doesn’t sustain long-term change…you need to restart your change management program by building awareness, desire and ability once again …I guess that’s why consulting firms make so much money… Anywayz.

SWIPE

Being a new junior consultant, my company decided I need some Consulting 101. This guy was flown in from France – worked for the largest consulting firms in the world, graduated from INSEAD, speaks five languages and just steals the show during his sessions. On the first day, we were discussing consulting basics and he said it can be partly explained in this five letter word: SWIPE. I scanned my brain for any scientific definitions and finally figured it means chopping your client’s neck off when they cross their fine lines with you. When we all failed to guess, he wrote: Steal With Pride

He said that because consultants are typically bored people who read and flip through anything they see, they can easily create slides and concepts from various things they have seen before. This “mosaic” is customized to fit the current, specific problem and normally this impresses their clients – and hence “with pride!” I gaped in utter shock. This guy is advocating plagiarism! I was ready to storm through the door and didn’t mind stepping on him on the way out.

I later went back to work and started adding a reference list at the end of all my presentations and reports. When my team had issues with it, I would mention the reference verbally to the client. I referenced every single thing I used. A month later I was assigned to a softer/less technical work stream – managing change. Google “change management and you’ll generate half a million hits if not more! And then it sank in – my mosaic skills were improving! I was creating so many concepts and frameworks out of nothing – from things I just stumbled upon – the idea was to stop reinventing the wheel, somebody out there must have done it before! (sales pitch).

Last week, I worked very hard on a workshop. By ‘hard’ I mean, a mosaic of some old slides plus a few other projects’ slides plus some random surfing – tweaked the output a bit and VOILA! Only one slide was missing. I looked everywhere for something similar that I could ‘customize’ but NONE, ZILCH, RIEN! I finally gave up and decided to actually create something from scratch. I wasn’t really sure whether I was ever going to upload that slide on our intranet for somebody to ‘swipe’ it. I had ideas about copywriting it or probably even putting it in the hidden folders on my laptop.

Today, I reopened the file to make a few changes and mistakenly deleted the slide. I could not undo. I lost the slide. I got frustrated and started blogging this. In being so tight on time, the next time I work on it, I will definitely swipe it….so much for personal ethics...anywayz!