focus

I'm reading a business book entitled "Focus" by Al Ries. In it, he argues at length that companies need to narrow their objectives and product lines. He provides a multitude of examples of companies that either became less focused and less profitable, or more focused and more profitable.

This focus notion easily applies on the individual level. Am I spread too thin? Am I going in too many directions? Are there too many things competing for my time and other resources? And am I ineffective as a result? These are the questions I've been asking myself.

Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll recently pinpointed a good example of someone who was very focused: Jesus.

In the past, I've taken Jesus' ministry to be something a little more on the unfocused side. The way the narratives read makes his destinations and interactions with people seem without pattern. But when Driscoll brings up a passage in Luke 4, I realized I was wrong.

Jesus has just finished a full days' worth of ministry, healing people and exorcising demons. It had been going on all night and was now morning, and he tries to withdraw to a "deserted place." Yet the crowds of people follow him and beg him to stay. Jesus response is one of focus: "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent" (v. 43). He had the chance to do more good in Capernaum, but realized it didn't fit into his personal mission; and, beyond that, when he realized it he said no.

I need to get to that level of focus.

of success

I caught something I'd never noticed in the book of Luke recently. It's in the familiar story of Jesus inviting Simon, James and John to follow him. Usually this passage is used as an example of what it takes to follow Jesus: dying to ourselves, leaving behind everything. People seem to like to quote v. 11: ". . .they forsook all and followed Him" to emphasize this point.

That is a key point of the passage. But I never really considered that Jesus' invitation comes on the coattails of a very successful fishing trip. Jesus had just helped them reel in probably one of their biggest catches ever (v. 9 states the people who witnessed it were "astonished" at the catch). They had just hit a load, and this could have meant a change of economic fortune for them. For sure it was a solid payday.

We don't know what their outlook was before they got the catch. Luke's narrative is pretty passive as far as this is concerned, but we can imagine an unsuccessful fishing trip would be pretty frustrating if a person's livelihood is at stake. Maybe Simon, James and John's fishing partnership was on the brink of failure. Maybe they needed a catch that day just to make ends meet. Regardless, I'm assuming even a small catch would have been a reward, and for it to be of the magnitude described in the passage, I bet the partners were overwhelmed.

An extension of this story into modern culture might go something like this: 3 friends own a small shop together. When the economy slowed in 2008, their business couldn't move its inventory and its financials looked pretty grim. Business was slower than ever and the company was near bankrupt. One morning, the 3 friends gave themselves an ultimatum. "Ok," one said. "If we don't end today in the black we have to call it quits. If we shut down now we can cut our losses."

A Hours went by. No sales. Not even a customer. One of the owners began to shut down the shop and switched off the open sign.

Just then, a recent acquaintance stopped by and offered some unwelcome marketing advice. "Turn that sign on!" he said. "You can't get customers if they don't know you're open!"

Then the strangest thing happened. Customers began to walk in. First one, then a couple more. Before long, the shop was filled with them. And they weren't even looking for deals. Items were being pulled off the shelf in bulk, and the owners could hardly keep up with all the sales. They kept the shop open several hours late, and that day ended up being the most profitable day they had ever had. They couldn't believe it.

Cheesy, I admit. But it helps me recognize something.

When I achieve a "success"--whatever it may be--I usually take that as a sign that I'm on the right track and should keep going. The bigger the success, the stronger my resolve in my path. In the story above, why in the world would the business owners quit now? They've just had their best day in retail ever.

But is this wrongheaded thinking? In the Luke story, Simon, John and James left their profession immediately after a tremendous success. Why? Because they had the opportunity for success on a much grander scale: catching men instead of fish--participating in the work of the Kingdom instead of the work of this world. And Jesus seemed to use the material success of a gigantic fish catch as a metaphor, as if to say: "if you think that was awesome, come see what else we can do."

I wonder if I've ever had a fish catch like the one these three experienced. Then I wonder if by blessing me with it, Jesus was really trying to invite me to do something much bigger. If so, I'm afraid I might have been busy basking in the success of the fish catch and planning my next trip.