If you admire an organization or person, I have a fix for that: get to know them better. No, I’m not being pessimistic. I’m being quite literal, even biblical. The truth of the matter is that all of us are not the same person we present to strangers. And since all organizations are made up of people, their internal workings are pretty scrwed up, too.
I remember my first real engineering job with Chrysler. I wasn’t even done with college yet. I thought I’d arrived. Here it is, the big leagues. twenty-four years old and an engineer at the Chrysler Tech Center. If you’ve never seen CTC, as we call it, it’s quite an impressive building. This was when Chrysler was making a huge comeback. They’d just released the Viper. They were where all the cool engineers worked in the Motor City (it’s actually Auburn Hills, 30 miles north of Detroit, but close enough).
When I got there, though, I was shocked to find that the huge platform teams comprised of engineers, managers, accountants, etc., were as disorganized and disjointed as the mom and pop potato chip company I delivered for while in college. In fact, I’d say the little operation was more organized.
Any of you who’ve worked for a big company know what I’m talking about. They put on a good front for the public, and do put out some great products, but how those great products ever get off the asembly line is a mystery. In fact, I’d say it’s a miracle.
To close the loop on my analogy, we’re no different as individuals. We seem pleasant and funny and look like we really have our act together when meeting new people. If you start believing that false front is true, just ask your spouse. She’ll bring you back to reality. Even the most successful people in our society, those we really look up to, will almost always disappoint us when news of their personal problems comes to light. And those who haven’t been exposed as human are just better at hiding.
The good–or bad, depending on how you look at it–news is that God sees past our false front. In fact, He doesn’t see it at all. He sees the mess that lies underneath. He sees our pain, our struggles, our bad decisions, our sin, and loves us nonetheless, just as we love our children despite their imperfections.
Are you hiding today? Are you hoping that your church attendance, tithing, and bible reading are creating the necessary front for your friends and God? Don’t bother. And don’t worry about it. God will admonish you for your mistakes and rejoice when you make those little corrections, but He’ll never give up on you. Unlike us, He won’t “change brands” because of a few quality issues.
He’ll take the best you He can get. And He’ll demand the best you. But thank Him that He won’t reject us if, and when, we fall short.
