Over-deliver

I like to read all kinds of books on business, management and leadership. One of the authors who does a great job on his blog and in his books is Seth Godin, the marketing master. In a recent post he makes this point: Make promises and keep them.

This seems to be the problem with Christians and the Church in North America. We have failed to deliver on our "promise." You see, most everyone knows what we are supposed to be about: Doing unto others, turning the other cheek, being merciful, giving, blessing, all that Sermon on the Mount stuff. Someone else made our promises 2000 years ago, and we really haven’t lived up to them, have we? However, like the bunch of Pharisees we are, we keep saying to God, "Thank you that I am not like them." Well guess what, we are exactly like "them."

Godin makes the point that great organizations "overdeliver." My suggestion for all of us for 2008? Under-promise and Over-deliver. Tell others: We don’t have everything figured out, but here is what we do have figured out: we want to love God with all we’ve got and love our neighbors at least as well as we love ourselves. Let’s be nice to each other, especially our family members and then spread that circle out to include our co-workers and everyone we come in contact with daily.