The foolishness of forced ranking

Let’s suppose that heaven and the Divine Judgement are indeed true. Do the Scriptures say that we will undergo a “forced ranking” and that there is a limited quota of people to be accepted into heaven?

What is most important is how well we tried to bloom despite the context we are planted in. Did we become the best persons we could be given the constraints we are placed in?

Forced ranking is foolish because it arbitrarily rejects people who are good or have potential just for the sake of meeting a metric or a quota.

What is more practical is to have a collaboratively agreed-upon standard of excellence, where the question is not “did I beat the other?” but “did we meet the standard?” I think this is the beauty of accreditations or stamps of approval – it does not force needless competition but recognizes what is high quality.

If the Divine Judgement parallels the fisherfolk catching fish and separating the good and the bad, the question is not whether the net is large enough (because the net is large enough!). It’s a matter of being good enough to stand together with other good people.

The foolishness of forced ranking is that we are fooled to think we are better than others; but the essential “ranking” we only have to heed is whether we outrank our previous selves. To be virtuous and a virtuoso; to be better today than yesterday.

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Matthew 13:47-53. When the net is full

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 209: JULY 28, 2022]

Sensemaking

Maybe, to flourish means to make more meaning. To leave a legacy means to leave more meaning than there was before.

Maybe the primary purpose of our senses is not to speak nor move first; it is to absorb what we are seeing and hearing and feeling and “make sense”, or “make meaning”.

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Matthew 13:16-17. Blessed are your eyes and ears

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 207: JULY 26, 2022]

Do we really go beyond our prayers and intentions?

I have coached research groups who have been studying not only intentions, but how (or if) specific intentions can indeed translate to actual behavior. The scholarly literature calls this the “intention-behavior gap”. So far, the trend is that intentions of purchasing low-priced items are statistically reliable predictors of actual purchase behavior within a 1-2 month gap. The data on sustainability-oriented intentions (sustainable entrepreneurship, recycling) translating to actual behavior within 1 to 12 months seem noisier.

One insight that stands out to me is how “easy” it is to “intend”. Many research on values, attitudes, norms, and control stop short at researching intention and usually, the explanatory power of these antecedents is quite high. For example, it feels good (attitude) to think about sustainability. It is easy to say that one intends to perform sustainable actions. But do these intentions really translate to actual behaviors? I’m beginning to rethink the practical relevance of “intention” in certain contexts like sustainable consumption behaviors and sustainable entrepreneurial behaviors because of what my research groups’ findings have initially revealed.

And if we think about it, prayers can be similar to intentions. It feels good to pray, but do we actually act on our prayers? What I like about today’s gospel about the Lord’s Prayer is the emphasis of Jesus on personal agency (action) as part of the conditions that could manifest the prayer’s intentions. My favorite line: “… He will give him whatever he needs (not out of friendship) because of his persistence.”

In a way, I am also reminding myself through this reflection that reflection without action is not complete. This is why the Lasallian Reflection Framework and Lonergan’s general empirical method is so beautiful; experience, insight, judge, and act.

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Luke 11:1-13. The Lord’s Prayer

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 205: JULY 24, 2022]

Cling on to the spirit

We cling on to and place faith on the wholeness of a person, which transcends time (faith on the person’s future) and the material (going beyond appearances and emphasizing the spiritual).

We should watch out that our “clingyness” does not prevent the other from flourishing (parang sa Filipino, clingy na “nakakasakal”! Haha!). Thus, to cling on to the spirit of the person is to have faith in the person’s infinite potential, as well as helping facilitate that person’s flourishing.

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John 20:1-2, 11-18. Do not cling on to me

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 203: JULY 22, 2022]

Do we make our soils fertile?

From a management and entrepreneurship perspective, opportunities can be everywhere. There are various institutional or market voids that we may opt to fill. But the question is: do we have the capabilities? Are we willing to take the risk?

The same can be said about the blessings we can receive. They are plenty, but do we help ourselves receive them? Are we prepared?

The blessings we are supposed to receive are not something that must be spoonfed to us. We have our power and agency to “earn” these blessings.

There is always an invitation to be blessed, but do we even heed the invitations?

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Matthew 13:1-9. Whoever has ears ought to hear

Late post! Effect of taking COVID vaccine booster! Haha.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 201: JULY 20, 2022]