Four Manly Actions to Take Today to Reflect Christ at Work - Part 2
We recently introduced four manly actions (suggested by Father George Zimpfer) to take today to reflect Christ at work.
Let's continue that discussion now. We're looking to understand some concrete ways we can imitate Christ in our lives, specifically in our work life. To recall:
Attack ignorance and sham as He attacked it, with no complacence in our own superiority, seeing the difference between the sinner and the sin.
Regarding "no complacence on our own superiority," we Catholics recognize the critical role humility plays in our lives if we hope to grow closer to God, to become better people. "Complacence in our own superiority" belies a spirit of humility, feeding our likely already inflated ego. As for "seeing the difference between the sinner and the sin," Catholics know that whenever we happen upon sin - whether in others or our own sin - we must always separate sinner and sin, loving the former, hating only the latter. With this firmly ensconced in our minds, and only if it is so, we might consider attacking the ignorance and sham that surrounds us, with Christ as our model.
Our Lord attacked ignorance constantly throughout His public life, mostly through His teaching. He taught his disciples and the crowds that gathered to hear Him sometimes in direct fashion, more often using stories to illustrate His points (parables). Sometime, for example when He was confronted by Pharisees and Sadducees, He could become more pointed in His comments pointing out their hypocrisy or their holier-than-thou attitudes, occasionally laying a good whuppin' on them when they tried to trap Him into saying something that they imputed to Him as false teaching or blasphemy.
So how do we men imitate Our Lord here, especially when we're at work?
It's unlikely we'll be teaching much on the job, unless teaching or instructing is one of our formal duties. But while it may be impractical and impracticable to walk around teaching our colleagues "the Truth" at work as Jesus did, we can doggedly stick with the truth in every thought, word, and deed throughout the day. Rather than directly instructing, we can teach by example. That's likely our best recourse even when directly confronted by ignorance and sham in the workplace. After all, no one likes to be "lectured to" and to do so typically drives away, or described differently, "turns off" the object of our verbal instruction.
I don't think you want to get in someone's face, as much as you want to present the sort of face to them that they might find attractive, and worthy of imitation.
So, let's say you're working on a sales team presenting your product or service. A colleague makes statements about the product that really aren't true, that are designed simply to "make the sale." Or maybe they're not consciously exaggerating or lying: they simply don't understand the product as they should, whether through inability to grasp some technical point, or perhaps even because they've simply not made the effort to understand. Wouldn't it be better to approach your colleague by refraining from any judgment about their motivations or their capabilities. (After all, how can you really know their motivations; how can you legitimately judge their capabilities?) Wouldn't it be better to help them succeed by making a "humble suggestion" rather than slamming them in their face with your "superior" knowledge?
We'll continue with our four manly actions next time...
Let's continue that discussion now. We're looking to understand some concrete ways we can imitate Christ in our lives, specifically in our work life. To recall:
- Fight for truth as Jesus lived and fought for it.
- Attack ignorance and sham as he attacked it, with no complacence in our own superiority, seeing the difference between the sinner and the sin.
- Develop courage and fearlessness in facing the harshness of men and their deep selfishness, seeing them as ignorant rather than as malicious.
- Seek to acquire some of Our Lord's patience and kindness, His charity and tolerance, His understanding and gentleness.
Attack ignorance and sham as He attacked it, with no complacence in our own superiority, seeing the difference between the sinner and the sin.
Regarding "no complacence on our own superiority," we Catholics recognize the critical role humility plays in our lives if we hope to grow closer to God, to become better people. "Complacence in our own superiority" belies a spirit of humility, feeding our likely already inflated ego. As for "seeing the difference between the sinner and the sin," Catholics know that whenever we happen upon sin - whether in others or our own sin - we must always separate sinner and sin, loving the former, hating only the latter. With this firmly ensconced in our minds, and only if it is so, we might consider attacking the ignorance and sham that surrounds us, with Christ as our model.
Our Lord attacked ignorance constantly throughout His public life, mostly through His teaching. He taught his disciples and the crowds that gathered to hear Him sometimes in direct fashion, more often using stories to illustrate His points (parables). Sometime, for example when He was confronted by Pharisees and Sadducees, He could become more pointed in His comments pointing out their hypocrisy or their holier-than-thou attitudes, occasionally laying a good whuppin' on them when they tried to trap Him into saying something that they imputed to Him as false teaching or blasphemy.
So how do we men imitate Our Lord here, especially when we're at work?
It's unlikely we'll be teaching much on the job, unless teaching or instructing is one of our formal duties. But while it may be impractical and impracticable to walk around teaching our colleagues "the Truth" at work as Jesus did, we can doggedly stick with the truth in every thought, word, and deed throughout the day. Rather than directly instructing, we can teach by example. That's likely our best recourse even when directly confronted by ignorance and sham in the workplace. After all, no one likes to be "lectured to" and to do so typically drives away, or described differently, "turns off" the object of our verbal instruction.
I don't think you want to get in someone's face, as much as you want to present the sort of face to them that they might find attractive, and worthy of imitation.
So, let's say you're working on a sales team presenting your product or service. A colleague makes statements about the product that really aren't true, that are designed simply to "make the sale." Or maybe they're not consciously exaggerating or lying: they simply don't understand the product as they should, whether through inability to grasp some technical point, or perhaps even because they've simply not made the effort to understand. Wouldn't it be better to approach your colleague by refraining from any judgment about their motivations or their capabilities. (After all, how can you really know their motivations; how can you legitimately judge their capabilities?) Wouldn't it be better to help them succeed by making a "humble suggestion" rather than slamming them in their face with your "superior" knowledge?
We'll continue with our four manly actions next time...
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