We finally get to the part of this series that started this whole process.
Back in the last millennium in my experience in a rapidly growing corporation,
I had this cool office. Outside the window I could see this woodsy setting with
a small stream rapidly tumbling toward Lake Washington. Since most of my job
entailed determining what would work and what would not, I got a lot of
questions of that nature. Over time my reputation for picking winners from losers
and modifying losers into winners was quite remarkable. The essence of the
questions sort of evolved into something like this implied question, "We
know you are too stupid to understand the fine details of this marvelous
solution to this problem, but we have to ask you anyway. We sure don't
understand how you always seem to improve our ideas."
Really it was quite simple, all I did was adapt what was taking place in the
woods and the stream outside the office window. Stuff I learned in my ecology
and limnology training in college and a number of summers working on the farm.
If it would not work out there, is sure would not work with the best minds in
business in charge. Just simple things, like water runs down hill!
When I left the corporate world to seek something else, I developed these
concepts into what I called the Principles of Business Ecology. I came up with
seven, with three graphic curve representations on growth in natural systems.
Over the years as I have become more spiritual in my outlook, I have added two
more curves. So now I have a twelve step process to business success that
anyone can follow. Just like all those who seek worldly success. It was when I
was reading the book the "Centerless Corporation" I began to see that
what they were doing was just the adaptation of the water runs downhill theory,
but because western free market capitalism is based upon the theory if you
build enough dams, eventually we can figure out a use for all that water, and
soon, we will not be able to live without them.
To that end this week we will begin to go through those twelve wonderful
steps to sound enterprise symbiosis. Some of you who have been reading this for
some time will see some similarities with some things that were published in
the Chronicles of Diversity last year. But this time I am going to try to
develop them in the context of a symbiotic enterprise and use the Bible as well
as common grace as a reference.
What was, is and shall be. This is
our First Enterprise Symbiosis principle, even though the principles are not
specifically numbered. It is really a restatement of the First Law of
Thermodynamics but is also a restatement of many of the Alpha and Omega
statements in the Bible. The Bible says that only God was there at the
beginning, only He knows all about the present and as set the end of time. Now
if you believe that God is in charge of everything, then this should be really
a source of freedom, if you understand that you are one of His children. If you
are not one of His children, then it could be a source of frustration and worry
at the least and outright anger for the self willed.
Typically, this principle brings up some reference to the time involved, or
origins. Since all these arguments are really metaphysics instead of physics
(were you really there) it is quite easy to develop an argument of hostility.
To get on with it we will briefly summarize these two basic metaphysical
theories of origins.
Evolutionary western culture says, fourteen or fifteen billion years ago a
Big Bang created the universe, at that time all the matter and energy that now
exists came into being. Slowly evolving over time came stars, galaxies, and
planets. The earth some four to five billion years old slowly evolved life
forms and eventually man with all the wisdom inherit, to figure out this cosmos
or to find some other highly evolved natural alien beings. Man, or these aliens
alone can develop and help us understand this natural evolutionary process.
Now the typical Creation Scientists (scientists who believe in God and the
Bible) respond, "what was or what happened before the Big Bang." To
which of course there is no rational evolutionary argument. Barry Setterfield
of Australia also asks the question. "What if the speed of light has not
been constant over time but was originally infinite?" Then of course the
"infinite universe would not be billions of years old and could be only
thousands, depending upon how your mathematics would construct a light speed
decay curve.
Now only from a purely rational and a logical point of view it really makes
no difference, at any point in time, what is the speed of light. However, it is
very significant from a metaphysical religious perspective. Currently, with the
speed of light at 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km./sec.), the use
Einstein's formula of relativity is inspiring. A nearly infinite speed of light
compresses time, power becomes incomprehensible, distances vanish and the human
mind becomes finite against the infinite all powerful God of a Jewish Einstein.
Now if this light speed change over time exists, or if God just decided to
really create the heavens and the earth thousands of years ago, can rational
western man continue to exist without an infinite dimension, or God? An
infinite past extinguished by an equally valid theory of origins and an
infinite future, shuts out past eternity and subjects all theories to present
reality. Without absolutes established by God, western man is forced to ask ,
Why are we here? Western man centered culture as it now exists does not have
that answer. Only a God centered culture can. Western culture has run the
course and is found bankrupt.
Of course the Bible does have an answer. In the Bible, God clearly states
that he is the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega. He is also the now.
In him we seek and move and have our being. Before the beginning he was. By the
infinite triune God of the universe, a infinite triune universe was created,
time, space, and matter.
What about the Big Bang? In a God centered universe and culture or a
symbiotic enterprise , it really isn't even an interesting question. If the God
of the Bible is all powerful he could create everything in place
instantaneously, at any time, or in any sequence he may choose. In the
beginning, God starts his book and then goes on to describe the order in which
he created everything. It is a description of the absolute, Absolute. It
transcends the religious arguments of rational man.
Now to put these concepts of the Bible into a personal account recorded in
the Scriptures, probably one of the most interesting examples of this concept
is in the book of the prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 37:1-14 is written the
prophesy of the dry bones. In verse three God speaks to Ezekiel asking,
"Son of man, can these bones live?'
Ezekiel answers, "O Lord God, You
know." Notice that the prophet is not presumptuous enough to assume
the answer. And notice how God responds to Ezekiel in verse four: "Prophecy to these bones and say . . ." And
Ezekiel does as he is told and the bones come to life.
Now this is a vision, but most Biblical commentators would say that one of
the fulfillments of this prophecy took place when the nation of Israel was
reborn in the middle of the last century. About 1600 years after this vision
first took place. As we embark on this list of twelve easy steps to understand
natural and supernatural symbiosis, it is great to understand that God created
the world that now exists and he operates within that creation using obedient
men and women to accomplish His purposes. In the pursuit of those endeavors we
can count upon that symbiosis to make our enterprises fruitful, even if perhaps
we do not see the fruit in our lifetimes.
Prayer Plants.
Things were even busier last week than before and it does not look like
there is any respite for the short term. I finally heard from the agent on the
first property I would like to look at. His mother was having trouble and he
was in Colorado with her. Now all that is required is to find the time to go
over to see if either some combination of these properties (includes the
cheaper one from last week) is where the Lord is leading. God willing toward
the end of next week. As with the work of Ezekiel about all I could do is to
prophesy over them and let the Lord bring the vision to life, but the potential
looks to be there. Please continue to pray for this change of direction and the
personal and personnel provisions that will be required.