CEOs don't call on middle managers. Presidents don't rush to the aid of state congressmen. But if you ask any sixth grader who's at the top of the food chain, he'll explain to you that when the great lions die, they get eaten by bugs.
Yesterday, I had the great privilege of sitting at the feet of three God-fearing women with big Texas hair at the Deeper Still conference in Denver. Three generations of women (Kay Arthur, Beth Moore and Priscilla Schirer) and 5,000 women from 41 states and Canada were there with me and Priscilla's talk about 2 Kings 13 seemed meant for me. King Jehoash was ruling over Israel during the time Elisha the prophet was on his deathbed. Jehoash went to Elisha's bedside (unheard of) and addressed him as "my father, my father!" (a spiritual title conveying extraordinary respect). Elisha told the king to pick up his bow and arrows, shoot them out the window and into the ground. When the king had the bow in hand, Elisha put his hands over the king's and watched as the king fired off three arrows.
Elisha was angry. He told the king he could have fully defeated Syria if he had emptied his quiver, but instead he would be granted three small victories in battle instead of full defeat (which would take another 15 years). Priscilla went on to ask us some spiritual questions that seemed as relevant in corporate life as they did in Bible study.
What arrows are in your quiver right now?
The Bible is full of examples of God using provision when we offer it to Him fully. He fed 5,000 people with a little boy's lunch. He used Moses' walking stick to part the Red Sea. He continuously offers us the opportunity to partner with Him, but only if we're all the way in. How does this apply in corporations? Employees feel disconnected and undervalued. They don't have the forum to be all the way in. Our God is the God of work as much as He's the God of home. He wants us to work as though we're working for Him, so why don't corporations understand, reward and unleash the full talent pool of their employees?
Why are you holding back today?
The king was doing something that probably looked foolish. Firing arrows out a window into the ground expecting this to cause the defeat of a mighty army is a bad idea, but our God is mighty. Costco pays their employees almost double that of Wal-Mart and has been equally and occasionally more profitable because of increased employee satisfaction and retention. Google gives its engineers paid time to do whatever they're passionate about and such off-book time resulted in some of Google's top sites including Google Maps and Google Finance. Employees want to give business their all and do a great job. The culture of the organization will help them thrive or wilt. If employees are willing to look foolish on the brink of trying something big, breakthroughs can happen.
Elisha, representing God, waited for the king to put his hands on the bow and arrow first. Elisha told him to, but didn't do it for him. So often this is where employees get stuck. Have employees in your organization been slapped down or ignored with initiatives they've taken in the past? What rewards are waiting? Do they know and trust their leadership? Elisha's word to the king was not "Do what I'm telling you to win this battle, then the war, then defeat Syria which will save countless lives and undue heartache." it was "Do what I'm telling you." God takes the same approach with us. Because He's already worthy of our trust, He doesn't have to reprove anything. Sometimes, He is gracious and will connect the dots for us in advance but He never has to. How do your employees view you? Have you consistently earned their trust over and over?
What are you holding back?
Corporations are not God. They're run by people and people will fail us sooner or later. So how do we reconcile working as though we're working for God, when we have bosses and rules and deadlines to meet? Her point seemed to be to rest in God's plan, to allow Him to drive and wake up every day without our own agenda. I make checklists to keep track of my other checklists. The idea of not having a plan makes me twitch. But I also know the difference between my boss and the Boss of all Bosses. My boss is a nice guy and I work for a good company. I spend considerably more time recruiting people in than I ever would looking outside. But the odds of anyone fulfilling God's promises falsely were 157 trillion to 1. So how could I not trust Him to know the right answers? He knows the numbers of hairs on my head, so I assume He also knows my sales goals. With that confidence, I can move forward to achieve what I know He's put in front of me.
Who else is on the team?
Elisha was on his deathbed, and the bow and arrow would have been too heavy for the king to manage and also open the window. So there must have been at least one other person (either an attendant of the king's or of Elisha's) in the room. Elisha was going to pass away shortly thereafter and that just left the king and the attendant to know what happened. Perhaps the king didn't want the attendant to speak of this foolish act. Or perhaps he would have been more brave if the attendant weren't watching. For me, I think about the many, many people in my life who've been there to "open the window" over the years. My mom. My best friend Fayoke. My prayer partners. My Toastmasters club. My boss. My teammates. My neighbors. My workout buddy. My pastor. On and on. I love feeding their souls too. For employees, so much focus is put on teams, teams, teams. Often this is frustrating when one person isn't carrying his weight or is stealing all the credit. But what happens when teams work? When people who aren't on board get their energies redirected? When people stop focusing on what they do poorly and start focusing on what they do well? When they're empowered to say "I can't hold the bow and open the window at the same time- I need you!"
I loved the teaching at Deeper Still. It wasn't a perfect correlation from Bible study to work but I left feeling empowered. For those of us not called into ministry as a full time job, I wanted to give God permission to move. He is gracious and powerful in ways I can't understand. He allows me to tell Him no when I think the cost may be too high even when my yes would bless me in ways I can't even imagine. I'm heading back to work tomorrow with my quiver full and ready to pour out everything I have for my company so that my King may be glorified.
