The insight experience depends on our inside conditions

There are times when the hint or the answer may be in front of our eyes but we do not realize it. And maybe that’s the irony of the information age – terabytes of data right before our eyes, but are we ready to make sense of them?

Or the more appropriate question, can we even pay attention in the first place?

What if God appeared before us? Are our inside conditions ready to gain the Primary Insight? Or would we be distracted and unprepared, for we direct our attention to something else?


Luke 10:13-16. Woe to you; whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 273: SEPTEMBER 30, 2022]

Is media just a platform or is it a messenger itself?

Messengers are supposed to let us know something; they can even trigger insight based on a fact that we begin to discover something we have not realized before.

Such is the power of media. On one perspective, media can serve as platforms or channels for content or messages to be transmitted. But with algorithms and artificial intelligence, media can predispose us to receive certain messages and ignore another. We may not notice it, but hidden biases begin to form and influence us. In a way, the curating powers of media can influence the message itself. Maybe this is what it means for the medium to be also the message.

If media allows us to be better persons, maybe media can be like angels. But if they make us worse… then media could be like a demon that devours our souls.


John 1:47-51. Angels (messengers) of God

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 272: SEPTEMBER 29, 2022]

Suikoden and recruiting the stars of destiny

The allure of the Suikoden game is how the best ending requires recruiting 108 stars of destiny or companions. If the hero completes the recruitment of the 108 stars before a crucial part of the story, the collective powers of the stars can prevent death or mend relationships that were otherwise destined to break. I’m especially fond of Suikoden II.

Each star of destiny would have their own dreams that they would either abandon for the sake of the hero or align with the grand vision of the hero. Some allies would abandon their lucrative careers (like Shu giving up being a businessman to be the strategist of the army), give up dreams of a peaceful life (like Nanami being tempted to convince the hero to run away and live a normal life), or bury their grudges (like Jess acknowledging that it is not the hero’s fault that the mayor of Muse City died).

In a way, the game allowed me to appreciate that there is indeed cost to discipleship, a certain sacrifice needed for the pursuit of the grander goal – a peaceful and unified nation. Even the hero had to lose friendships (due to differing ideologies) in pursuit of peace.

From a meta perspective, even the player has to sacrifice time and repetition to replay events or even replay the entire game just to recruit all 108 stars of destiny (I easily ran through Suikoden II at least 10 times!).

Indeed, there are costs to getting things right. It is through faith that we believe everything would be worth it.


Luke 9:57-62. The cost of discipleship

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 271: SEPTEMBER 28, 2022]

I’m excited for the Suikoden HD remake

I recall one story about the hero’s adoptive father in Suikoden II named Genkaku and his “frenemy” Han. If I recall correctly, they started as opposing generals in a war.

After numerous battles, there was a call for a ceasefire, which led to an opportunity for themselves and their troops to find something in common. Maybe both generals thought of a sentiment written by Dispatch (and the song’s name? The General!)

“You’re young men, you must be livin’! Go now, you are forgiven!”

This story of Genkaku and Han, as well as the Dispatch song, resonated with me because even in times of war, enemies may find something in common with each other: a shred of humanity.

I wonder: in pursuit of differentiation and exclusivity, have we made enemies when there is really no need to do so?


Luke 9:51-56. They would not welcome him

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 270: SEPTEMBER 27, 2022]

Goodness is not an exclusive club

Sometimes, in an effort to differentiate ourselves and our groups or to make ourselves stand out, we tend to accentuate what makes us unique. Marketing and strategy refer to this as differentiation and positioning.

The tragedy is when we embrace an “us vs them” perspective, drawing lines, and adopting a mindset of exclusivity.

Wouldn’t it be more worthwhile if instead of focusing on competing for a piece of the market share pie, we grow the market, the category, the industry?

Wouldn’t it be more worthwhile if we differentiate ourselves not merely for competition or exclusivity, but to find our niche and improve how we can complement and harmonize?


Luke 9:46-50. Whoever is not against you is for you.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 269: SEPTEMBER 26, 2022]

In between gullibility and skepticism

We cannot be too trusting; we may be fooled especially by those who act in bad faith. This makes us gullible.

We cannot be too doubting; we may lose opportunities of relating with those who act in good faith. This makes us unhealthy skeptics.

The challenge, yet again, is to find the golden mean. This makes us faithful.


Luke 16:19-31. If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 268: SEPTEMBER 25, 2022]

To freely flourish is to not be afraid of inquiring

What is a dumb question? Oftentimes, students or people in general are afraid to ask questions because we might ask “dumb questions” – questions that reveal our lack of knowledge and understanding of a subject matter.

Now that I’m on the other side of the classroom as a teacher, I realize that dumb questions are perfectly fine especially at the introductory phases of a module. What is frustrating is what I would call “ignorant questions” – questions that reveal a person’s deliberate ignorance over the topic. Maybe the student did not read or watch a pre-assigned material. Maybe the student did not actually try to understand a subject matter; they merely wanted to rely on being spoonfed what and how to think.

A fulfilling dialogue in a classroom, whether physical or digital, is when we clarify our (mis)understanding. In good faith, there are attempts from all parties to understand a subject or a phenomenon. And the invitation is for teachers to cultivate a psychologically safe space and for students to have the courage to understand and to inquire.


Luke 9:43b-45. Its meaning was hidden… And they were afraid to ask

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 267: SEPTEMBER 24, 2022]

What others say versus what we say about a person

Oftentimes, professionals in a field that deals with people frequently can build a “public persona” or a reputation that may not necessarily be who the person really is.

Do we settle for what we see on the surface or do we risk getting to know the person more? We cannot be reasonably expected every person in this world.

But maybe, the discipline is to lessen our judgement of others when we know someone’s reputation, not who the person really is.


Luke 9:18-22. Who do you say that I am?

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 266: SEPTEMBER 23, 2022]

Taking a stand breeds natural opponents

I recall someone expressing that if a person has never encountered an opponent, then that person likely never took a stand in any contentious issue.

Maybe this is why suffering is not necessarily punishment; it is a natural by-product of pursuing change for the good.


Luke 9:7-9. Herod the tetrarch

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 265: SEPTEMBER 22, 2022]

If managers were medical doctors

The tragedy of mainstream and greedy capitalism is that the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer.

But if managers were medical doctors, would managers search for opportunities to maximize profits or opportunities to address disengagement and quiet quitting behaviors in organizations?

If managers were medical doctors, would managers externalize costs or partner with communities to pursue sustainable development goals?

If managers were medical doctors, would they swear allegiance to pesos and dollars or, similar to the Hippocratic Oath, they would swear towards a set of virtues, vocations, and the covenant for shared prosperity?

I honor my medical doctor and nurse friends who have immensely helped me, my loved ones, and society. Truly, a profession in the medical field is a vocation.

Hopefully, in the near future, we could say that management and entrepreneurship are vocations too.


Matthew 9:9-13. When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinners.’

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 264: SEPTEMBER 21, 2022]