St Norbert, bishop
Ezekiel 34:11-16 | Psalm 22:1-3,4-6 | Luke 14:25-33
Which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, if he laid the foundation and then found himself unable to finish the work, the onlookers would all start making fun of him and saying, “Here is a man who started to build and was unable to finish.” (Luke 14:28-30)
Have you ever counted the cost of living the Christian life?
Have you ever wondered how much more comfortable your life would be now, how much richer you’d be, if you hadn’t let Christian morals get in the way of “me first, last and always” like your colleagues?
Do you regret your decision to choose the sacred over the secular in your daily life?
Have you ever been tempted to, just once, take a page from the Devil’s playbook that every other successful person around you seems to have completely memorised?
Have you ever succumbed to that temptation?
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I think these are some of the most difficult questions to answer truthfully, both for cradle Catholics and for those who consciously sought God out in later life. Indeed, I’ve known people who really tried to put God first in the workplace, only to be back-stabbed into tears and frustration.
The business world can be a very dirty place, and it often seems to me that if your opponents think you’re a moral person, they’ll get sneaky, but if they find out you’re a Christian, they go straight for your jugular. It’s almost as if the Devil were at work (pun intended) here: “Goody-two-shoes can be seduced to the dark side, but Christians? They infect others, KILL THEM WITH FIRE!!!” I guess we should take that as a compliment, but it can be really painful to be on the receiving end.
In fact, my partner put me on the spot just a few days ago with a very simple question: “How much of our ‘secret sauce’ do we reveal on our patent filings, and disclose in our grant applications, and tell our prospective customers?” Since we’ve been friends for a very long time, I’d been expecting that question, and I also suspect he was already anticipating my answer: “The truth, and nothing but the truth. The whole truth, however, will have to wait.”
So we’ve agreed to submit only what’s necessary to get our patents filed and the money flowing, while not committing any falsehoods in the process, either real or implied. We’re working on simplifying our product to the point that most of the details our competitors and more astute customers would want to know should be “hiding in plain sight”, but the core algorithms that we’ve worked out will probably remain trade secrets even to the employees we’ll eventually hire.
And neither of us is willing to screw anyone over, for any reason. Indeed, it was he who came up with the “social enterprise” angle to our project. To my chagrin, I hadn’t even considered the part about doing this for the benefit of others. At least we’re both of one mind in this; it would be really awkward if we had to part ways later over such moral disagreements.
So yes, I’ve counted the cost of living the gospel life. In my mind, it’s not as plentiful as a life spent bowing to Beelzebub, but it’s still comfortable enough and affords me a clear conscience and a good night’s sleep – at least when I’m not busy trying to get this project off the ground. ?
In short, brothers and sisters, you really can bake an angel cake…and eat it, too.
Lord, our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak, and this world’s temptations number as the stars. Give us the courage to keep our eyes fixed on You as we navigate the treacherous waters of human deceit and greed, and the strength to think and act always in ways that give glory to Your Holy Name. Amen.