Feb
25
Executive Summary
Filed Under Devotional
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been in a meeting with senior management trying to explain intricate problems or describe technology decisions. Sometimes, I’m lucky enough to have another engineer across the table who can speak the same technical shorthand and I can get my point across with all of the nuances. Frequently, though, there is no such knowledge and I know that the details of my discussion are lost. In those situations, I am expected to present an executive summary.
I have to boil the issue down to laymen’s terms and present alternatives or decisions in equally easy-to-approach language. The goal here is to allow the very busy executive to issue the decision with the least amount of time investment as possible. He wants to satisfy the requirement with the least amount of effort. It may be efficient, but it can also be lazy.
I don’t think that’s what the Pharisees were asking here, but I know many new Christians take this approach to walking with Christ:
“‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’” Matthew 22:36
The Pharisee thought he knew the answer and was testing Jesus to see what He would say. But, the new Christian may ask the same question as a way to get the executive summary of a walk with Jesus. “Boil it down for me. What’s the one thing I need to really worry about?” The implication is that all of the other things can be ignored.
“Jesus replied: ‘”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”‘” Matthew 22:37-38
Oh. That’s all.
Jesus boiled it down, all right. He summarizes the entire goal of the Christian life by telling us to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves. That may be summarized into a couple of sentences, but it doesn’t remove any of the responsibility. It doesn’t make the requirement any less.
If you find yourself justifying behavior because you’re doing good on the “big stuff”, cut it out. Love God and love your neighbor. Everything flows from that.