Although I’ve been a regular reader of Fast Company from its beginning in 1995, I have to confess to aging out of its target demographic several years back. Which likely explains my increasing annoyance with the self-satisfied tone of the magazine.
A case in point – the editor’s column in the December 2013/January 2014 issue. Titled “How to Make Your Own Luck,” it states:
If you’re reading this column, you are almost certainly among the luckiest people on the planet. The demographic of the Fast Company reader is affluent, young, educated, employed. We’ve had plenty of good breaks. Most of us have also worked damn hard to get here.
This fall, my Sunday school class is working its way through the Gospel of Luke. Which likely explains why the FC editor’s words leaped off the page at me.
The red-letter sections in Luke’s book remind again and again that our worth comes not from earthly power and prestige, but in what we store up in heaven. That Luke felt it important to include so many stories from Jesus of a similar theme suggests His is a message hard to hear and harder still to follow.
RICH YOUNG (AND OLDER) RULERS ALL
I wagged my finger at the Fast Company crowd, just as centuries of Christians have wagged theirs at Luke’s rich young ruler. But truth be told, the FC editor’s description of his readers applies to most of us. By every global measurement, contemporary or historical, we North Americans are among the most fortunate of people.
The young, driven, and fast-rising are far from alone in feeling they’ve made their own luck. Such is the prevailing sentiment of our time, including among the faithful. It’s just that most of us don’t put our hubris out there for all to see.
The advantages (luck?) we, you and I, enjoy – the magnitude of good things (breaks) for which we should be thankful – are staggering. Our affluence, education, employment – even dare I say, our luck – are for God’s glory not our own.
So in this season of gratitude, let us give the credit to the One from whom all blessings flow. As we sit down with friends, family, and a turkey, let’s thank we all our God, humbly and with awe.
Then it’s back to working damn hard. A needy world – God’s world – is waiting.