For many working with multinationals, January 1st is not only the start of the calendar year, it is also the start of the business year. We have to juggle CY and FY budgets, double reporting and MIS, and we all hope that the year ahead will show growth and improved results which in turn would justify and even reinforce our place in the company. Yet perhaps if we are honest with ourselves, much of our efforts, ostensibly for the organisation are in reality driven by some level of personal recognition, a deep-seated sense of insecurity?
None of us is indispensable, we are only as good as the last deal, which is why we think we need to make a name for ourselves, much like the proverbial builders of the Tower of Babel. But these towers then and now only engender confusion. The builders of Babel certainly made a name for themselves, only just not in the way they envisaged. Rather than becoming an icon of achievement, it became a byword for futility. God knew the inherent consequences, he said, “No telling what they’ll come up with next, they’ll stop at nothing”. In other words, when we seek to build towers and a name for ourselves, the endeavour carries within itself possibilities of even greater disaster.
Chad Bird writes, “The phobia of anonymity is the breeding ground of projects we think will do us good, but God knows will only engender harm”.
Why because he reminds us that there is no need to make a name for ourselves, we are already known in heaven. He whose opinion really matters knows us better than we know ourselves. Jesus reminded us that he calls us by name and even keeps a count of the number of hairs on our heads.
Henri Nouwen writes of the pressures we face to be someone do something: “ Prove that you are worth something; do something relevant, spectacular, or powerful, and then you will earn the love you so desire.”
Yet there is another perspective, Paul writes, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life”, perhaps our quest for 2024 should be anonymity? Give without acknowledgement, serve without ego, and seek to be first by being last. May John the Baptist’s prayer that “ He must increase, I must decrease” be our guiding star and whatever achievements the year may bring, may they reflect on Him, not on us.
Nathan Andrews’ book Force Majeure is available at https://lfkv.co.in/ProductDetails.aspx?id=B4744
