Tag: iphone

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CHILDREN FOR SALE

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A couple from Shanghai was charged with the possibility of going to jail for many years after allegedly selling their baby daughter to buy an iPhone and other luxury items as reported by Yahoo.

While this news article is indeed shocking, I so appreciated Ryan Tan’s comment when he posted the news article on his Instagram.

“Before you judge, ask yourself: Am I “selling” my own kids for success, money, fame, convenience?”

He is absolutely right.

While as a parent, I may not be literally selling my kids to a buyer, it is possible that in my pursuit of career, financial gain, or maybe even ministry, I am already sacrificing my children in the altar of success.

This thought pushes me to think about a few things…

1. TIME

Do I spend most of my time for personal gain or maybe even on something world changing while neglecting moments of building life with my kids?

2. WORDS

Do my words build up or do they tear my kids down?

Worse, I don’t even speak to my kids to connect with them.

3. AFFECTION

Do I spend moments to tell them that they are valuable to me?
As an indication of that value, do I physically express my affection by giving them a high five, pat in the back or hug?

I often hear Joey Bonifacio’s voice and his proverbial “Dying Breath” visualization.

“When you are catching your last few breaths in your death bed, the ones who will be around you will not be your golfing buddies. They will be there an hour, maybe 2. It will not be your officemates nor your high school friends. It will be your spouse who has stayed with you all these decades. It will be your children who have been your source of joy for years. It will be your family who will be holding your hand in those last few moments on earth. With this in mind, guess who you should be investing your most precious moments with?”

Just a thought. A good one at that.

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iPHONE LEADER or SAMSUNG TEAM?

Recently, Forbes magazine and other tech magazines report that iPhone loyalty has gone down.

I’m no technology expert nor a leadership guru but I do have an observation I’d like to make.

This is the mistake we often make. When we build an organization around one leader, what happens when that charismatic, amazing, remarkable leader is gone?

But when we build an organization with dozens of amazing nameless leaders, the organization continues to grow without the one celebrity leader.

I realize that there are many reasons why an organization can take a downturn. But this is a major one.

This can be true with cellphone companies as it is true with ministries and churches.

That’s what we see in the book of Acts. The gospel continued to advance with ordinary people in the frontlines.

When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

Listen to what Jim Collins says in his book, Good to Great…

“…Our problem lies in the fact that our culture has fallen in love with the idea of the celebrity CEO. Charismatic egotists who swoop in to save companies grace the covers of major magazines because they are much more interesting to read and write about … This fuels the mistaken belief held by many directors that a high-profile, larger-than-life leader is required to make a company great. We keep putting people into positions of power who lack the inclination to become Level 5 leaders, and that is one key reason why so few companies ever make a sustained and verifiable shift from good to great.”

Ultimately, especially in a spiritual organization, there’s only one hero – JESUS.

Something to think about …

Something to remember…