Before, and almost always, my New Year’s resolution would include how to trim off the extra weight I gained during the holiday season. Personal targets would be set in terms of what healthy foods to eat (I tried pescatarian diet for 30 days last year), and how many times to go to the gym (I enrolled in a fitness center a few years back, only to go there once for the entire year!). Recently, I realized that a better resolution must include how I can share my faith to others.
All over the country, believers have manifested their faith in different ways this Christmas. I see a few friends sharing their blessings to some underprivileged neighbors; others put up intricate colorful ornaments in their houses, complete with the a replica of the Nativity scene (Belen). Giving gifts to family and friends seems to be a norm. The holiday season is the best time for family reunions. It is also the best time to set New Year’s resolutions, or what other people call as their individual strategic plans.
Most, if not all, companies have prepared their respective strategic plans for year 2020. For private corporations, those plans would basically include how to increase revenues and cut down costs to maximize profitability. For schools, plans would include how to increase student enrollment. For online businesses, plans would involve how to increase the number of “hits, likes, comments or shares.” For government agencies, they would likely entail how to streamline services and cut down corruption. Good strategic plans are products of a series of meetings among relevant people whose aim is to have a better year than the last one. Better plans are those faithfully followed and diligently implemented by all concerned. But the best strategic plans are those anchored not on self, but on others and on our faith.
Others might say that a commercial enterprise, organized for profit, can never become God-centered. After all, by law and by regulation, the primary purpose of companies is to generate profit for its shareholders. Still, there are business leaders like Francis Glenn Yu of Seaoil, an independent petroleum company in the Philippines, who have found ways to be God-centered and profit-oriented at the same time. In an interview a few years ago, Glenn said, “I could see opportunities and profit from my talent, but life wasn’t just about profit. I was challenged to think about how to live a meaningful life.” He further explains: “I work because it is a way of honoring God.” Hence, Seaoil as a company has initiated programs to help its employees obtain a higher degree or specialized training. The company has a strong sense of corporate social responsibility as Seaoil Foundation Inc. tries to propagate “good governance, transparent business transactions and strict integrity standard in the Philippines” in response to the country’s corruption issues. I can sense that Seaoil’s culture of stewardship is deeply embedded in its strategic plans—past, present and future.
While faith in God is shown through acts of kindness, generosity and love, I was told that one of the best ways to display our faith is by simply sharing it, by words or by gestures. We should seize every opportunity to talk about God, the Bible and our faith. Yu is one of the few business leaders who have openly declared that he is living his life in service to God. Ernie Lopez of ABS-CBN Publications is another. In a eulogy for his sister Gina Lopez, who died last year, Ernie said, “If all of us make an effort, if all of us make a commitment to love God, love our neighbor, take care of the environment, [what Gina said] was really true: Our country doesn’t have to be a poor country.” What we do as Filipinos, as fathers or mothers, as sons or daughters, as employers or employees, should boldly display our faith in God.
In our society today, it seems not “cool, chill or chic” to openly talk about our faith. But the Bible in Deuteronomy 6:7-9 tells us, “Talk about them [our faith] when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands, and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” I see a few houses with prominent posters of the revolutionary statement found in Joshua 24:15, which ends with, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” We can talk about our faith to others at anytime and anywhere. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 3:6, “in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight.” Incidentally, logic tells us that the fastest way to accomplish any plan, goal, target or objective is a straight path.
Whether in business or in our personal lives, let’s remain mindful of the peace and joy that we get from being with Christ at the center of everything we do. Let’s make it a part of our strategic plan 2020 and every year thereafter.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.