You’re spammers, each and every one of you,” Seth Godin told the Direct Marketing Association this week.
You’re sending me unanticipated, impersonal, irrelevant junk in a format I don’t want to get about a product I’m not interested in and won’t have time to look at. And you’re hoping to persuade enough people to buy so you can go buy more stamps, or call more people, or buy more inserts, or run more ads. And the problem is, spam doesn’t work like it used to.

Godin called this TV Thinking:

TV thinking says I’m a marketer, I have power. I can interrupt whomever I want, whenever I want because I’ve got money. I can call you at dinner, I can send e-mail, I can buy magazine ads. The entire model of this industry, the model of Proctor and Gamble or any company we grew up with is this: Spend a nickel. Make six cents. Repeat.

At that same DMA event, Brian Quinton noted the sparse crowd gathered for a session on ethical, legal and privacy issues facing marketers. Meanwhile there was a standing room only scrum at something called “Emerging Technologies: How Marketers Can Capitalize on Innovations.” Quinton asked, What’s Wrong with This Picture?

Does anyone else see something distorted in these priorities? Yes, new tech like podcasting and RSS offers lots of interesting possibilities for marketing. But some of those media pose the same important questions about information security and personal privacy that e-mail and adware do. And I can’t help feeling a certain amount of surprise that the DMA audience felt it wasn’t equally important to give attention to the policy issues surrounding both new and existing channels.

Quinton continued:

All the sexy tech in the world isn’t going to help if consumers don’t trust that opting out of a channel will stop the messaging or if they’re afraid of being tracked inappropriately on the Internet.

So there it is again . . . Trust drawn front and center in the conversation about whether our companies can survive and thrive.

• How important is trust to the future of your industry?
• Where does your business rank among the most trusted companies in your category? How do you know that?
• What would a Trust Audit for your company look like? Could you do such a thing in-house or would you need to go outside?
• Here’s one benchmark against which to evaluate the level of trust your customers have in you—it’s Luke 16:10, part of The Sermon on the Mount:

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

• How do you think your customers would say you’re doing against that standard? Why do you think that?

But, no, God has chosen to reveal them.  For OUR benefit. And for His (in some ways beyond our knowing.)

Psalm 143 is David speaking to God.  No one else seems to be around or of concern to David.  But he has a LOT of concerns that he must express to his God.  He has at least fifteen direct requests in these twelve verses.

O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.  ² Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you.  ³ The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in darkness like those long dead.  ⁴ So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed.  ⁵ I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.  ⁶ I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.      Selah ⁷ Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.  ⁸ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.  ⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you.  ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.  ¹¹ For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.  ¹² In your unfailing love, silence my enemies; destroy all my foes, for I am your servant.
— Psalm 143

As David writes he reveals his circumstances. He needs a hearing. He fears God’s judgment. He is fully aware of his sin. He is under persecution and is afflicted. He feels crushed…

One of his expressions is “So my spirit grows faint within me…” (verse 4).

I am very fortunate that this ISN’T how I feel right now.  But as one wag said, “Be patient. This too shall pass.” I don’t look forward to the time when I’ll feel overwhelmed, but I’m sure it will come again.

Yes, I’ve felt it before. The longing for previous days of relief. The parched soul. About the only request that makes sense is “deliver me, O God.”

While David is at this spot he has an interesting request. It is one in which I find myself resonating.  Apparently it reaches all of us, whether overwhelmed at the moment or merely whelmed .

“ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul” (verse 8).

I guess it strikes me for its simplicity. Each day is new. Each day needs sustaining. Each day needs direction. There is only one place to find provision and that is in the LORD. My part is to trust.

It reminds me of an often memorized set of verses in Lamentation 3:22,23, “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

Just what I need.

Howard Morrison is a partner in Gilbert, Arizona’s Morrison Ranch (where one of his nicknames is Bias for Action). In addition to being an active second-generation partner in the the family owned business, Howard identifies himself as a pastor (in a previous life), a husband, and the glad father of three.

Some people would like to blame the Devil when they have a bad day, when their spirits are sinking, when things don’t work out as they would like. But I am a little hesitant. Mostly because - well, I must confess that I have much more faith in Jesus than in Satan. In fact, lately I’ve barely paid any attention at all to Satan and his demonic forces. They don’t really have much of a priority in my life, since I am trying to focus all my conscious spiritual thoughts on the Good Guy. Why would I want to spend any mental energy on Satan?

In the routines of my personal day-to-day life, filled with work and home and teenager daughters and a wife and church, Satan does not seem to have much direct interaction with us.  We are minding our own business. And when the usual disappointments or discouragements or illnesses or emotional meltdowns occur, I’m not thinking of Satan. I’m thinking that we’re dealing with the normal conditions of family or work life. Which, of course, are far from perfect. We struggle with all sorts of challenges. They come and go like the changing face of the moon. Ups and downs. Peace and tension. Good times and bad times. Isn’t this the essence of life? Why give Satan credit for every little detail that goes wrong?

Then last night, while I was sleeping, I had the most terrifying dream. It scared me enough to second-guess my cavalier dismissal of the evil forces. In this dream, I was being terribly harassed and taunted by these horrifying demonic beings. They were threatening my very soul, and it seemed so…real. Scientists don’t quite have a good explanation for dreams, other than neurons randomly firing in our brains. But somehow these electrical impulses tapped into my deepest fears and emotions in such a way that the experience was incredibly magnified into a most personal horrifying demonic encounter, far beyond anything I’ve seen in a horror movie.

In this dream, I am paralyzed as these evil demonic forces slip into my room and surround me. They are pure evil, and they begin to taunt and threaten me. The problem is that I can’t move or speak, and I am desperate to escape. All I can think of is that if I just Call On The Name Of The Lord then I will be Saved. Just call out the name of Jesus!

JESUS!

For a while the demons continue to have their way with me and I’m absolutely petrified, still unable to move or speak as they move in closer and closer for the kill. I’m trying like heck to mobilize my body and voice so that I can just call out the name of Jesus. Just when it seems like they are going to do me in, I somehow garner the strength and stretch out my hand. I point at them with a fierce resolve, and shout out “I CALL ON THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST!”

Like a magic incantation, the demons then shrink away, shriveling up and covering their ears as they howl in pain. Finally, I am free! Thank you Lord Jesus!

In the process of liberating myself from the oppression of the demonic forces, I have also woken up myself, and my wife, who is wondering why I was shouting/mumbling some nonsense while flinging my arm up to the ceiling. What she heard was more like “ihhh clllllllll jhiiizzzssss” without quite the same heroic drama that accompanied my rapidly firing brain neurons.  But I woke up scared and vulnerable and absolutely grateful to Jesus for saving me in my imaginary warfare adventure.

Did it mean anything? I don’t know. I was exhausted and emotionally spent from those difficult meetings earlier in the day, so it’s only natural that my subconscious just gets it all out in a big cathartic production while I’m sleeping.

But I quietly wondered—was that real? Are there really demons battling for my soul? Are the anxieties and emotional struggles I experience connected in some way to this spiritual invisible world of demons, out doing Satan’s bidding, trying to take me down, to make me a loser and a failure, not to mention take my very soul?

I’m not sure. All I know is that calling on the name of Jesus saved me then, and it somehow saves me every time I am struggling. It saves my family when we are going through difficult experiences, and it saves me at work when I feel that I am in over my head. Whether Satan has anything to do with me or not, I will always take comfort in the power of calling on the name of Jesus. Jesus gets the benefit of the doubt, and that alone is a victory for Jesus and big defeat for the Evil One.

Bradley J. Moore posts regularly on the joy and challenge of business spiritually engaged at shrinkingthecamel.com. Bradley is an executive in a large corporation in the Northeast which shall remain nameless.

In each of my various moves (three states in the last twenty five years) I have sought out men for an accountability group—usually 2 or 3 men. We meet weekly, look at some scripture, talk about our lives, and pray for each other. There is no magic program or formula.

Eventually we get around to two deeper things. First, we get to the point where we ask the others in the group to hold us accountable for something(s) specific—often a sinful pattern we want to break. Mind you, this isn’t something necessarily that the group says, “You must do to be spiritual.”  This is something we voluntarily submit to the group.

The second thing that often happens is that the guys feel freer to speak up and point out things in each other’s lives that need some attention. As hard as this is, it is also very welcome. It means we love each other, trust each other, and want to watch each others’ back.

Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.
— Psalm 141:5

David knew the benefit of this kind of relationship. He had apparently received a strike from a righteous man (makes me curious as to what it was). David was very fortunate. It came his way through the grid of kindness.

The result? It was actually soothing.

Yet David recognizes we will have a tendency to back away. I have never found accountability to others easy; just a HUGE growth opportunity.

I’m in a new situation now and beginning to form new relationships. I meet with a small group as well as with several men one-on-one. We have yet to get to these deeper levels because, in my experience, it takes time.

David’s request is a wonderful reminder to me to value the exhortations, rebukes and reproofs that come my way. “Let a righteous man strike me…My head will not refuse it.”

O LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to you.  ² May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.  ³ Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.  ⁴ Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.  ⁵ Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it. Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;  ⁶ their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.  ⁷ [They will say,] “As one plows and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”  ⁸ But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge—do not give me over to death.  ⁹ Keep me from the snares they have laid for me, from the traps set by evildoers.  ¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.
— Psalm 141

Howard Morrison is a partner in Gilbert, Arizona’s Morrison Ranch (where one of his nicknames is Bias for Action). In addition to being an active second-generation partner in the the family owned business, Howard identifies himself as a pastor (in a previous life), a husband, and the glad father of three.

How in the middle of all of this do you get ahead?

The author of Psalm 127 says it is vain to rise early or to stay up late.  Gosh, I thought that was one of the secrets of success…just work harder.

The psalmist says it is vain to be a diligent worker (guarding or watching over the city). What?

He even says you can work your tail off trying to be a good father, husband, wife, or mother and it all can go up in smoke.

This author seems like a real killjoy.  What point can he possibly be making?

Here is his point:  “Unless the LORD builds the house…unless the LORD watches over the city” (verse 1)…all these things can be in vain.

This author is not anti-work or anti-family. In fact it is here that we find “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him” (verse 3).  “Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (children, that is!) (verse 5).

The author happens to be the man regarded by Jesus as the wisest to have lived, Solomon. In fact, Solomon wrote an entire book about the brevity of life and what counts (the book of Ecclesiastes). He knows his stuff.

What Solomon has learned is that I can use all my self effort to work hard and be a committed family man and still find the result is all in vain.  BUT, if I work and lead my family with the Lord’s effort, with God’s strength, with his provision, then we’re getting somewhere.

Lasting results spring from the only one who lasts, the LORD God Almighty.

My part is to learn how to get out of the way and let God build, let him guard, let God establish his ways.

But it sure is hard for me to learn to get out of the way!

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  ² In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.  ³ Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.  ⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth.  ⁵ Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
— Psalm 127

Howard Morrison is a partner in Gilbert, Arizona’s Morrison Ranch (where one of his nicknames is Bias for Action). In addition to being an active second-generation partner in the the family owned business, Howard identifies himself as a pastor (in a previous life), a husband, and the glad father of three.

Truthiness is a surrogate for reality, unencumbered by pesky facts. Truthiness fits our zeitgeist—the spirit of our age. And nowhere better than the world of commerce. Most of the businesspeople we know are impatient for direct, specific, practical solutions:

I have a bias for action. Just tell me what to do. I don’t want to know how it works; just make it go. Take me to the bottom line. How can I profit? How much should I live on? How much should I save? How much should I give away…and to whom? What is the best investment today? How much should I leave as an inheritance?

It’s no surprise that armies of accountants, lawyers and gurus circle the walls of any company with positive cash flow, all of them selling plug + play answers. No muss, no fuss, no thought required.

At the dawn of the 21st Mr. Skilling agrees to take the new job at Enron only if he can install mark to market accounting and Mr. Lay later claims he never knew what he agreed to. The two of them sanction Mr. Fastow’s dummied-up corporations so they can kite funds (we use the term loosely) and later defend themselves with the Hey, I’m not an accountant! plea.

(Meanwhile, up in New York City and down in Palm Beach, Mr. Madoff made off with billions—actually TENS OF BILLIONS—and darned near everyone thought, not Ponzi scheme but, genius!) How many wizened mavens of Wall Street saw what was going on and looked the other way because…well just because?

And who ever thought what Skilling and Fastow were up to sounded like a good idea? Well, in addition to the late Kenneth Lay and Arthur Andersen LLP, that would be two dozen of America’s top financial institutions, all perfectly willing to say Enron’s black box process was good enough for them (because boy did it sound like there was a lot of money dropping to the bottom line in those conference calls, huh?). Balance sheets? Balance sheets are for chumps.

In 1936, Lord Keynes wrote:

…the ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.
— John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1936, (CreateSpace edition, 2009, page 331).

The worldviews we embrace from economists, philosophers, politicos and prophets—whether on purpose or not—govern our marketplace behavior. When, like fish who simply lack the context to comprehend how wet they are, we embrace a worldview without really engaging the ideas—really thinking the thoughts—the results may be disastrous. Or they may be spectacular. One way or the other, we won’t know why—it might as well be magic. “This column’s chief goal is to supply you with a worldview—a mental operating system—that will be as good 30 years from now as it is today,” writes a leading business thinker. “Hurray!” his readers presumably shout. “At last! Someone to show us the way!”

And right there is the rub: That childish belief that someone will do our thinking for us. Why do smart people have such difficulty figuring out the right thing to do in business and economics? It’s not because most of us are incapable of understanding; it’s because we are too busy, too distracted, too trusting, and maybe too lazy to do our own thinking. What a shame.

Maybe Roy Disney had it right when he said,

“We’ve always tried to manage by our values because, when you know what your values are, decision-making is easier.”
— Mike Vance + Diane Deacon, Think Out of the Box, Career Press, 1997, page 180

The trouble is on other side of that coin: Decision-making is very difficult when we don’t know what our values are. Decision-making is difficult if our values are loosely held…or borrowed from someone else. The illusion of a disintegration between the material and the spiritual—as if they were two distinct domains—is an article of faith that informs day-to-day business practices in our culture. Some of us make an uneasy peace by trying to ignore one dimension or the other. Others live schizophrenic, compartmentalized lives; expending substantial effort to separate the material from the spiritual, with mixed results. The bitterest pill comes to those who somehow succeed at keeping those two selves from meeting.

It may be that the deadliest words a Christian can utter are: “This is business.” At that point, it’s not the world of spirit or the world of work that disintegrates; it is we ourselves, splintered beyond recognition. Is this not part of what requires so many of us to start serial families with new spouses who don’t know how far we’ve strayed? Of course it’s more complicated than that…isn’t it?

This is all the stuff of worldviews and, honestly, every one of us has to cobble together his own and the sooner the better. But we’ve always known this, haven’t we… No less a junkie than the brilliant and broken Billie Holiday saw it through her druggy haze:

Rich relations give Crust of bread and such You can help yourself But don’t take too much Mama may have, papa may have But God bless the child that’s got his own That’s got his own.
— God Bless the Child

You have a bias for action? Fair enough. The most practical thing any businessperson can do is become more aware of her own thinking, to surface and examine and understand the worldview that drives her economic behavior. And then tackle the hard work of developing a more biblical worldview. This is a lifelong quest, certainly, but eminently practical.

It’s worth mentioning that the biblical narrative does not fully endorse any modern economic system. What’s there instead opens the way to a spiritual mind and heart equipped to integrate economic thinking and living. The biblical core gives anyone, regardless of current economic circumstances or geographical location, an opportunity to move toward the goal of maturity and purpose as a citizen—first, last and always—in God’s kingdom.

As we experience closer alignment between our worldviews and how God sees the world, we begin moving beyond truthiness to engage the height and breadth and depth of God’s purpose for our lives in the marketplace.

Joanne B. Ciulla
The Working Life – The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work, (p. 154-155), Times Books – Random House, 2000
How can companies expect employees to be loyal to them when they can’t be loyal to employees? One way is to strip loyalty of its moral meaning. Employees will be “loyal” if you pay them more than they would make in other places …
When commitment is reduced to time at work, loyalty to something one pays for, and trust to a legal contract, these terms are emptied of moral meaning and the workplace becomes morally bankrupt.

Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16
The New International Version

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

² I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”