Growth

The Bubble

One of the coolest things that I have the opportunity to do is to hang out with business students from California Baptist University every Thursday night. Of course, these gatherings take the form of a marketing class, so what I consider cool, they may consider work, but regardless we tend to have a good time. Additionally, although its my job to teach them, I learn more from them then they could imagine.

In a recent class, there was a discussion regarding a rival university. The topic eventually veered off into whether people who go to a Christian university really experience life or whether once they get into the “real world” they will be ill-prepared for what they find. It mirrored a discussion I had with a student in another class. Is life at a Christian university really life in a bubble? Does the bubble pop upon graduation?

This discussion was brought to mind as I read about a Christian who started a business but then wasn’t sure about the legal ramifications of incorporating his faith into his work. Essentially, both the businessman and the students are wondering the same thing. Does this “Christian-thing” really have application to real life? If so, how?

The only answer I can give is the one I gave to the student who questioned me about the value of a Christian education, and that it is this – the foundation that is being laid will shape who you are and the type of life you lead. The experiences that you have a result are can’t be quantified. Its about the person that you are, not the status that you attain and in the end, that’s all that matters anyway.

There is no such thing as a “Christian life” and a “work life” – there’s only life. The challenge is that when the bubble bursts – whether upon graduation or a thousand other life situations that will change your perspective – do you have faith that will see you through to the end?

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Growth

Unintended Consequences

We’ve all been in the situation. We’ve just said something and no sooner have the words left our mouth than we wish we had a time machine that we could jump in and revert to five minutes earlier. Now, having the wisdom of our mistake, we would never have uttered the words that caused offense. The folly of our error would remain un-experienced and our reputation would remain intact.

If this situation wasn’t bad enough, we now enter the wonderful electronic age where the transgression of writing without thinking takes faux paux to a whole level. With e-mail, a click of the button can be the difference between saving face and losing it. And electronic communication doesn’t give you the benefit of seeing the other person’s response so you can not immediately assuage their condemnation. You have to wait until a surprise of your own finds its way into your inbox to discover that your brilliant humor caused offense and not laughter. And immediately the backpedaling begins.

As someone who tends to have a sharp wit, I find myself in this situation more often than I care to admit. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that a large part of the reason for my sarcastic tendencies is that I’m a woman in a man’s world. Even though I work in a pretty feminine industry (jewelry), most of the people that I deal with outside of the office are men. Additionally as Tom Hanks said about baseball, “there’s no crying in business.” You’re supposed to be tough and as any guy will tell you sarcasm is one of the ways you earn your credentials. People of the male persuasion use sarcasm as a bizarre indication of bonding. I entered their world and adapted. Now, I find my sarcastic tendencies hard to turn off. Even when I try to edit myself, I find my natural response is a sarcastic one. Unfortunately repeatedly finding myself in hot water hasn’t done much to encourage censorship.

Which leads me to my point (if I still have any readers are this stage, they are thinking – it’s about time.) Sometimes there is nothing you can do about unintended consequences. You make a mistake, realize that things weren’t as clear as they first appeared, and you move on. Of course, along the way it’s important to reconcile with those who’ve hurt but as of yet, there is no time machine you can drop into to make the error altogether disappear. When I find myself in these situations, it’s a painful reminder of God’s grace. Somewhere along the way “Perhaps I’m not as wonderful as I originally thought” usually occurs to me and then I’m immediately grateful that God’s grace isn’t dependent on how great I am – and that it covers all consequences even those that are unintended.

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