Someone who glances at the title of this inspirational piece
might conclude I am writing about some kind of missionary work in Africa or
some other far away country. It might be
concluded that I have decided to start saving lost souls, like I remember in
some of the revival services I witnessed as a kid. While that has not been the thrust of the
myriad of pieces I have written heretofore, maybe I finally “got religion” and
am now doing something worthwhile.
For the person who concludes this, I am going to be a
serious disappointment. While I do not
put down the experience or commitment that underlies such a missionary effort
somewhere else than home, it has not been my pathway. I hope I would be obedient if God were to
lead me that way, but so far that has not been my leading. Instead, much of my ministry is done in the
context of a college and with rather traditional-age students. It is in that context I have strived to be
obedient to a spiritual leading.
So where does the title come from? How do I talk about living in a foreign land? Of course, literally foreign lands are those
countries far distant from our own. In
my case foreign lands would be Africa, China or Australia. I could do the kind of work in those three
geographical areas (and have done some in those places). But that is not the kind of work in a foreign
land I am describing.
Perhaps surprisingly, the foreign land I am describing in
the title is the world of business. The
foreign land is the land of big corporations---often very global in their
reach. It is the land of the small
business and family businesses. It is
the land where effort is apparently driven by the quest for a
buck---profitability is the goal. I
admit this is not my native land. My
career work has been in a very different land---the land of the Spirit. Ministry has been my job. And I have not made much money and profit is
measured by some other means than the buck.
Periodically, I leave my spiritual land and wander into a
foreign land---the land of business. In
many ways the language of that land is strange.
Even though it usually is English, I am not very fluent in it. I get the
basics, but the subtleties often escape my understanding. People get excited at places where I am not
even smiling. I stand with folks having
coffee and hear about P&L, ROI and so forth. I smile to cover my lack of understanding.
And yet, oddly, I have learned to fit into this land. Business folks even invite me into their
midst to share what I know and lead them into discussions that may positively
affect their businesses. I love doing
the work and sometimes am rewarded in ways I never experience in my normal
ministry. It makes me laugh at life’s
quirkiness. So let me explain.
I have written a couple books with a business friend. In and of itself, that has been a fun and
learning process. It has moved me from
having little affinity to business to a pretty good understanding and
appreciation for the positive, creative role business plays in our
society. It has destroyed many of my
not-so-healthy stereotypes of that world.
As simplistic as it seems, a huge breakthrough was to learn
to see the businessperson and not focus solely on the business. Once I saw I was dealing with people, I could
easily grasp the role I could play.
Especially since I was teaming with a guy who knows more about business
than most of the people with whom we were dealing, I was freed up to bring what
I know to the table. And what I know is
a great deal about how human beings want meaning and purpose in their
lives. And I know how to help people
begin to get meaning and purpose---regardless of what they do for a
living. I realized people were hungry
for what I know and what I could teach them.
While I had no sense that I was going to contribute to their
bottom line profitability, I soon learned I could profit them as spiritual
humans in ways they found unbelievable.
I became richer with a whole new group of friends and soul mates. I don’t know that I saved their souls, but in
many cases I do think I helped them be saved from a robotic, sometimes
purpose-less life.
Meaning and purpose can be found in work and, surely, in
businesses. But deeper meaning and
purpose is a spiritual thing. You can
buy it or sell it. Certainly, you can’t
rent it! But you can have it---it’s free
and usually graciously given. Of course,
we have to do our part. We may have to
put in some time and make wise investments with our time and commitments. But the thrill of watching business folks do
this is very rewarding.
As one who has travelled quite a bit, the more time you
spend in a “foreign land,” the less it seems foreign. It’s just different. We are all humans on a quest for meaning and purpose
that comes to all from a generous, gracious Spirit.
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