Ready to Die? Just Retire

Our culture has tried to convince us we deserve to be able to retire – to remove ourselves from this thing called work.  But is that a privilege or a curse?  Research continues to mount showing those who retire at age 55 have double the risk of dying before reaching 65 as compared to those who work beyond age 60.

In The Prophet, poet and philosopher Kahil Gibran says this about work:  “You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.  For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.”

Don’t become a stranger unto the seasons.  Don’t step off the platform of meaningful, purposeful and fulfilling work.  Gibran continues:  “And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret…..Work is love made visible.”

I know you don’t want to stop expressing love to those around you.

I’m planning for my retirement party and my funeral to be on the same day.

My Boss Is Satan’s Offspring

My Boss Is Satan’s Offspring

No, I really didn’t make that up.  As usual, the rich life stories I hear in working with people in transition offer enough real anecdotes that I don’t have to be very creative in finding phrases that colorfully describe real situations.

In anticipation of meeting with me, a very “successful” young lady wrote this in her pre-coaching form:  “My company is going in a strictly money-motivated direction, and my manager may very well be Satan’s offspring.”  She further validated her suspicions with lots of examples that certainly convinced me she might be accurate.  While we saw the humor in her portrayal I also helped her go through a list to confirm the possibility of a less than Godly work environment.

Here’s the checklist to tell if your boss (co-worker or the guy in the mirror) is Satan’s offspring:

• Immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures
• Hostility and fighting
• Jealously, outbursts of anger
• Selfish ambition, dissension, hard to get along with
• Complaints, criticisms, arguing and causing trouble
• The feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in his own little group
• Envy, drunkenness, wild parties

This list is actually a mixture of this lady’s stories and another source I refer to frequently.  If it sounds a little familiar, you might want to check the list yourself in Galatians 5:19-23 (The Living Bible).

It’s a well-known fact that we tend to take on the characteristics of those around us.  We recognize this phenomenon easily in children.  Clothing, music, foods and slang expressions all quickly become a reflection of the group of friends involved.  We do much the same as adults.  If the list of characteristics above describe your work environment, you are likely to start exhibiting those same characteristics.  And if you bring those home with you, your family will start to reflect those same traits. 

Fortunately, if you want to break that cycle, we also have a list of what to expect in a healthy, positive and Godly environment: 

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Self-control 

Not too difficult to tell your boss’s allegiance, is it?  And if you’ve gotten sucked into the first list, you can decide today to move to the other camp.  Your words, actions, and attitudes easily show which “boss” you are following today.

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“Keep away from angry, short-tempered men,

lest you learn to be like them and endanger your soul.”  Proverbs 22: 24-25

No Business — Just Love Me

Recently I spoke at a breakfast Chamber of Commerce meeting.  Sitting at my table was a lady who told me she was in the insurance business.  The next day she contacted me and was persistent about giving me a presentation.  I agreed to give her 20 minutes just as a professional courtesy.  She brought her boss with her and we had a pleasant 20 minute interaction, after which I told her I had chosen to keep my current coverage in place.  She continued to contact me and I have responded briefly.  Yesterday she called me again to ask my advice for growing her business.  I gave her some brief tips as I was attempting to get off the phone and back to my important writing deadlines.

This morning I received a lengthy email from this lady – telling me among other things that she was sold by her birthmother at nine months old for $2000.  Then at age seven, her adopted mother gave her away to someone else.  She was nine years old when she heard in a Sunday School class that Jesus loved her.  That was the first time she had ever been told that she was loved by anyone. 

And now she’s thanking me profusely for listening, understanding and helping her.  As I replay in my mind my interaction with her I’m amazed that she even felt cared for by me.  I was encouraging and businesslike but certainly don’t feel that I went out of my way to show personal concern.

Three points for me to remember (and perhaps for you as well):

1. I need to be sure that my natural interaction with people validates them as individuals.
2. I want to be sensitive to the many hurting people who are hungry for someone to just love them.  (Especially at this time of year.)
3. What I see as important business may pale in comparison to a critical need right in front of me.