The Beginning of Wisdom

Polin has already had an idea who he himself is. He knows what he needs to know. He said to himself that he only wants to know God and himself. He thinks it will help him learn any thing.

 

“Our conversation on the last meeting was so inspiring to me. I have never been aware that I only need to know God and my self. I just wonder how Augustine came to that conclusion.” said Polin.

 

“He is a very special person in history. We do not know what would happen to the history of the civilization if he were not born. He lived around 340 – 409 AD. He wrote a lot of books and papers and his books and papers have been the main source of the Great Reformators such as Marthin Luther and John Calvin.” said Radot.

 

“So he is an important person in the history of civilization, isn’t he?” asked Polin.

 

“Yes. He is also a rare person. His statement about knowing was so inspiring. For him, he just needed to know God and himself. It means we do not need to know anything except Godf and ourselves.” said Radot.

 

“Actually, we can not separate those two subjects. To truly know God may not be very apparent to people. The only evidence that someone knows God is through his actions; how he respond to other people: what he thinks, what he talks, and what decisions he makes. Through such actions we may be able to know whether He knows God or not.” 

 

“It seems so simple how to identify whether we know God or not.” said Polin.

 

“If we say we know God but we don’t do what God says- it is not true. So, the proof that we know God is our thought, speeches, and actions. How we dealt with issues we faces espresses our knowledge of God. That is a clear evidence that we know God. It is not true to say we know God but we do not show it in our thought, speech, and action. We can not say we know God if we do not worship him, we do not honor parent, we hate people, we mess around with other woman, we steal other people’s belonging, we lie, and we want other’s people belonging. There is a close relationship between our relationship to God and our relationship with man.”

 

“So, knowing God is the basis for our relationship with man.” asked Polin.

 

“So, if we want to grow personally, our relationship with God must be first evaluated. That is the start of our personal growth. Our relationship with God will dictate our personal development. Those who really have a good relationship with God will have a better chance to have a good personal development. His true growth depends on his personal relationship with God.”

 

“So, God is the basis for our personal growth.” said Polin.

 

“It is true. I think people on the modern age ignore that. We keep thinking that we grow, but we ignore the basic one. There is no true growth without having good relationship with God. It is true that people may still grow, but at the end his growth will sum up to zero.”

 

“Most of us ignore God in our personal growth.” said Polin.

 

“That is the trend of the modern age. If we read all personal growth or evaluate any classes that teach about personal growth, the religious aspect is eliminated. It is so secular. We want to grow without God. It is impossible. We may achieve personal growth to certain level, but on the hand of God such growth has no values.”

 

“That causes to think what we need to learn to grow. On our previous conversation we have discussed that the final result of our personal development is to make right decision. But the basis for making right decision is the Ultimate Guideline, which is the Holy Bible. So, all the principles that we need to understand and apply on our life is available on the Holy Book. All principles that God wants us to know are available so that when we make decision for our life we make them within the boundary of His commands.”

 

“You mean that all principles for our practical decisions are written down on the Bible?” asked Polin.

 

“Yes. That will be the main source of our learning material for our personal growth. There is a saying the in the Holy Book, ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’ Just that statement has laid down the most fundamental principle for personal development. Wisdom is what actually we want on decision making process. So, if any one needs wisdom, the requirement is fear the Lord.”

 

“The principle is so simple: fear the Lord.” said Polin.

 

“It is simple, but in the reality, it takes a lot of consequences.” said Radot to end their conversation. (JM)

Knowing Who We Are

“From our conversation last time we have a point that we have to use the Ultimate Guideline as reference for our personal development.” said Polin. 

“Yes. We need to make clear about it.  It is necessary for us to hold on the Ultimate Guideline as we talk any subject related to personal development.” said Radot. 

“We have a boundary for our personal growth and have accepted the Ultimate Guideline as our reference. Now, it is important to know who we are before we make further steps on personal development. We need to know our selves before we know other things.”  

“You mean the first thing we need to know is our selves?” said Polin. 

“Yes. But, in order to know our selves, we must first know God. So, it is true that the first we need to know is God. Then, we know ourselves. But, we are not going to discuss this now. We will discuss this sacred subject at another conversation on Christian Religion, but we will emphasize our conversation on personal development.” 

“Knowing God is the first; knowing ourselves is second.” said Polin. 

“Yes. That is the true order of knowing. First we know God; then, we know ourselves.” said Radot. 

“If we read the Holy Bible, it is clear who we are. We will stress three important principles about us. The first principle is that we are created by God. It means He is the only Person that knows everything about us. There is a history how we were created in the past. In brief, we are made from dust.” 

“You mean we are made from dust. It seems we are not made from important material like gold or silver.” said Polin. 

“Yes. We are made from insignificant material. God created man and before the first man became a living being, God gave breath. After that, the first man became a living being called man. We could read the line of generation of men on the Bible. If we are able to make a line, we are the descendents of Adam. We are not descended from animal as some people said. No. Our ancestor is Adam.” 

“So, all of us will have the same ancestor- Adam.” said Polin. 

“Yes. Some tribes still use this to identify themselves. For example, Batak tribe people in Indonesia could draw the line of their ancestor up to 25 generation or more. Chinese may have more than that. Jews has probably more. Jews could take their line of ancestor to Abraham and even to Adam. I think they are the only nation that has a clear line of ancestry.”  

“The second principle is that we are crated as the image of God. We are created as his likeness. We are like God. God is Spirit so we are spritual being. God creates, and we are given the ability to create, but the thing we create is made fom existing material. God create something from nothing. That is the differene. If we make a car for example, the material fro car has existed before. If we want to make a new building, the material for that has existed before.” 

“God thinks so we could also think. We are supposed to think like God think, to act like God acts, to feel like God feels. So, because we are created by God we should be like Him in thinking, acting, and feeling.” 

“Will it be possible that we could think like God thinks, act like God acts, and feel, like God feels?” asked Polin.  

“This does not mean that because we have hands or feet or ears or mouth, God has the same thing. God does not have physical element, but God has ability to speak, walk, hear, feel, and see.  God is spiritual Bein; we are also spiritual being. We are the only creation that has spirit and we could communicate with God. Animal may have spirit but they are not able to communicate with God as we do. We could think, speak and feel. Animal may have emotion but to express emotion as we do is not owned by animal. We could dream, we could laugh, we could imagine, we could create but as the derivative of God’s creation. This kind of character is not owned by animal. It is not given to animal. So, we are special. We are so precious in the face of God.”  

“The third principle is that we have responsibility. God himself gives tasks for man and those tasks up to this day do not change. There is a broader role at this present age, but the original tasks do not change. And the task God gave us is to develop the creation, and to subdue the creation. Anything on this world is under man.”  

“It seems we are so special?” said Polin. 

“Sure. We are so special. Man is so valuable in the hand of God. That is why we need to know ourselves in depth. We should make our effort to know who we really are. It is important to know who we are. The more search we make the better our understanding what we should do in this present life. That’s why, one thing we need to know for our personal development, is to know ourselves: who we are, what we should know, what we should do, and what our hope is.” 

“Who am I, what should I do, what should I know, what is my hope. Very good statement.” said Polin. 

“Augustine made a shorter list: he wanted to God and himself only. Our personal development should be viewed on this aspect. This will make our personal development has a meaning.” (Judika Malau)

Changing from Organizational-Structure to Business-Process-Type Approach

“In 2002, there was a re-organization in a company I worked for. This was due to acquisition process. Two big oil companies in the world merged into one company. As we know when two companies merge, the number of jobs available is less than the number of people. As a result, some people could loose their jobs. Two people even more will compete to fill a position available.” said Polin. 

“Was there any selection process done by the top management?” asked Radot. 

“Through e-mail, it was communicated to all employees that qualification would be considered. I did not now how actually the selection process was made. But, the result of selection process was announced and the new organization structure was communicated to employees. The first announcement is of Vice President’s level; after several days, the manager’s level; then, the supervisor’s level; then, the staff’s level. What do you think about that?” asked Polin. 

“Many organizations applied similar approach. We design organization structure and select people to fill available positions. In many institutions, they tend to make as many sections or departments as possible without considering how the relationship between one department to another is. We tend to make a big organization structure without considering its effectiveness and efficiency. We even try to make a kingdom within organization.”  

“That is the common practice in our country, isn’t it?” asked Polin. 

“We should change from organization-structure-type to business-process-type approach. This does not mean that we do not need organization structure. But, our approach will be a business-process-type approach rather than an organizational-structural-type approach.” 

“What do you mean by that?” asked Polin. 

“The logic is simple. When we establish an organization – whatever the type of organization is – there must be a reason. There must be a purpose; there must be something to achieve. So, we need to focus on that purpose. In other word, we need to focus on the final product of the organization.” 

“Often we miss that point and even forget what our product is.” said Polin. 

“That what happen in general. We forget what we want to achieve. We do not focus on what we want to accomplish. We do not pay attention to the product to be delivered to the stakeholder or customer.” 

“Let’s say we know what to be accomplished? What is next, then?” asked Polin. 

“The next to consider is how we are going to achieve it. In other words, if we want to deliver a product to the customer, what its business process is.” said Radot. 

“So, once we decide the product to be delivered- material or services – we need to identify how we are going to produce that product, don’t we?” asked Polin to confirm. 

“Yes. Once the product is made clear – the design, quality, quantity, etc, then, we need to think how we are going to produce it; what activities, material, fund, time, and people, are needed to make the product. When we have all this information, then we design our organization structure such so that we can deliver the product effectively and efficiently.”  

“The concept looks simple. Define the product first, then make its business process, then, design the organization structure we need.” said Polin. 

“Sure. It is simple and workable. That will make our organization be productive, effective and efficient.” said Radot to end the conversation. (Judika Malau)

What Is our Product?

“I walked to Logistics & Procurement Department (now called Supply Chain Management) and saw an employee making a report of 1 ½ cm thick. The report was about the contract status of all services that were given by vendors or contractors. I asked about whom needed the report and what they did with it. She said that the report was made for about more than 20 managers. I asked my self, “Would managers read that report?” If they did not read it, why such a report must be made? Why did she have to spend a lot of time making such report if managers did not need it?” said Polin.  

“Your question could be relevant.” said Radot.

“Some managers may need it; some may not. But, you raise several basic questions about our product. Sometimes we do not care about it. I am talking about the result of our work in an organization. There must be a result of what we do in our organization. Whether we are as a Chief Executive President, Vice President, manager, supervisor, staff, secretary, receptionist, office boy, driver, or clerk, there must be a result of our work. We do not really seriously ask questions such as “What is my product in the organization? What do I contribute to? What does the organization get from me as the return of my monthly salary? Who uses my product?” There are still other questions, “What is the quality of my product? How much time do I spend to make that product? How much cost do I spend to make that product?”

“We rare ask these question to our selves when we work for an organization. If there are, they are rare people.” said Polin. 

“If we know how many hours we spend to make a product, we could calculate its cost by multiplying the number of hours to our rate per hour. The rate per hour could be estimated by dividing our monthly salary with total hours per month.” said Radot. 

“We need considering and answering all the above questions as we work for any organization. From top management to office boy- each should ask these questions because at the end, the total of our products will be consolidated into products of our organization. Again, the same questions that we apply to our product will be the same as that of products of our organization. If many people on organization ask those questions and answer them positively, the organization will be healthy.” 

“The fact is that many people do not consider and answer those questions. The worst thing is that we do not care. The only thing that we care most is payroll slip.” said Polin. 

“If we answer these questions, we will be amazed how effective and efficient we produce a product. If most people on organization ask and answer the same questions, how efficient the organization will be; how effective the industry will be; how effective and efficient our country will be.” 

“But how many people in the organization think like that?” asked Polin. 

“That is something that makes me worried. If not many of us ask and answer those questions, what our organization, industry, and country will be.” said Radot. 

“At least, those who have the greatest impact will think about it.” said Polin. 

“But will our subordinates think the same? Will they care about the product? Do they care about how much time is invested? Do we appreciate the resources? How much do we appreciate the time? If most people on our organization, that organization is healthy? Because if we care our product, we should also care the people, time, and resources to make it”  

“We could expand the questions. For example, what the impact of our product to the customer is; does it make the society better or does it make the environment worse or better? Again, the questions the importance of our product will be at stake? Do we produce something that is not useful? Or is our product just waste of time o resources? We could make a small test on your organization. What is the product or output of employees on? Who use it? How much time did they spend on making that product? What is the value of that product?” 

“People, time, product, quality, resources – if we care about all of these, our organization will be much better, more effective and more efficient. When we appreciate all of these, accordingly, we will enjoy work on such organization. (Judika Malau) 

Starting our Personal Development with God

“I still need to get more understanding on personal development. What do you mean by ‘the baseline’ for personal development?” asked Polin to start conversation with Radot. 

“Most people will shake their heads if a conversation is related to God. He is not an interesting subject in these days. We ignore His existence. Any where we go, most people do not acknowledge His existence: in Arabic countries, China, India, Europe, and United States. This is the main problem on this present age. We are far and far from God. We eliminate God from our life; we don’t want Him in our home. We don’t involve Him in our activities. At almost any aspect of lifer we don’t want God. So sad.” 

“Possibly that is the trend in the world today.” said Polin. 

“The age of religious era has gone in some parts of the world, especially in Europe. There is no more religion, especially of Christianity. People in Europe live like people before the Christian era. It is sad to see that the church in Europe almost empty; few young people come to the church. Only old people come to the church and the number also few. How sad it is.” 

“Will Europe be finished?” asked Polin.  

“They are heading on that direction. People in Europe forget God. They forget their Creator. They forget the root of their civilization; they forget the Person behind of what they have achieved up to this present age. In United States, probably it is not as bad as that of Europe’s. People still have religion in that nation. So, there is still hope for them. But, in general, we see that God has been ignored and is abandoned from our life. We go to business, we will not find God there; we go to court, we will find no God. We go to school we will find no God. We go to anywhere in this world, we find no God. We forget the Person that creates men; we forget the Person behind our existence; we forget the Person that gives us food, oxygen, water, meat, fish, vegetables, milk, and anything we need.” 

“It is true in the area of personal development. God is also eliminated. See what kind of material given to students. People that do not know God teach on personal development. People that do not know God become members of Supreme Court. Politicians, policemen, jury, teachers, and other kinds of profession are without God. We meet so many people without God.”  

“What will be the end of our life if we don’t know him? What kind of life we will inherit if we continue ignoring him in our life?” asked Polin. 

“It will be a disaster. We need to get to the basic and we need to start with Him before we talk anything about personal development.” said Radot. 

“If most people do want to know God, how we will face that?” asked Polin. 

“That will be the challenge for you and me. It will be a challenge for those people that know God. In the world with people not knowing God, we have to make decision what kind of life we should take. What kind of decision is we want to make.”  

“But, some people still go to church or mosque or other place of worship? How could we say that they do not know God?” asked Polin. 

“I am not saying that people totally ignore God. We confess that there is God but we take decision not to follow Him. We make a decision not to follow what He says. It does not dictated by how many times we pray, how many times we read our Holy Book, how many times we fulfill our obligation in religious services. If we know God, we should be doing what He says. We should not make any corruption; we should not make any lie to other people; we should not make evil thing to others. We should not make any scenario to harm other people. So, we may go to church or mosque, or other place of worship, give our money to needy, but if our conduct is not according to His command, sure we do not know Him.”  

“You mean if we do not follow His words, it means we do not know Him.” asked Polin. 

“Yes. Our obedience to His command is the test of our knowledge in Him. We pretend that we know Him, but in reality, we do not know Him.” 

“So, we also need to involve God in our personal development, don’t we?” asked Polin. 

“Yes. When we talk about personal development, we should consider and make God as our reference. Other people will make other reference, but we, at least you and I, will make Him as a reference for any kind of pursuit in personal development. So, if we want to grow, let’s remember Him that He is the source of our personal growth. Our existence depends on His.” 

“If that is the case, God is so important for our personal development.” said Polin. 

“It is. We need to think about Him seriously. If we ignore him on our personal development, we will eventually go nowhere. But if we make Him as our goal of our personal development, there will be a reward at the end. Our true personal growth will be meaningful.” (Judika Malau)