Would you do your job any differently if you had the authority and resources to do it any way you wanted and total responsibility for the outcome? This is a relatively recent concept in the world of commerce and is referred to as empowerment. But it has been around a long time in the Kingdom of God. Have I not given you the authority to act in my name from the very first? Have I not promised to grant all your requests and to provide you with all the resources you need to do all that I have commanded you? I told you to occupy until I return.

Have you ever answered the phone and thought that you were talking to a real person, but found out that you were talking to a recorded message machine? Who wouldn’t prefer to talk to a real person? Yet have you ever had the same experience with a real person? Have you ever heard someone present a memorized message on autopilot and suspected that they were not really listening to you any more than the corresponding machine on the phone? Don’t do this to other people. It is okay to listen to what people say and make a response based on what is actually said.

Do you assume that all tribes are monolithic? You could think of denominations or entire faith traditions the same way. Yet you know people in your own church who hold variations on your shared beliefs. Do you assume that those outside of your tradition or tribe are monolithic within their own tribe? They probably feel the same way about you, but the same arguments apply. Do you think of atheists as being monolithic? Yet even here there is considerable variation. Some are hopeful skeptics who hunger for a transcendent reality they have not yet encountered. Can you help them to find it?

What do you think of as  the source of meaning for all things? The natural tendency of people is to use themselves as a reference point. This results in a self-centered viewpoint, and makes the individual the measure of meaning of all things. Another term for this is narcissism. You know this is undesirable so what is the alternative? Are you prepared to accept that I create meaning for all things, including you? This perspective invites you to step aside as the center and the measure. It is the only way to see things as they really are.