In Hemingway’s novel The Sun Also Rises, there’s a dialog between two characters which goes like this: “’How did you go bankrupt?’ Bill asked. ‘Two ways,’ Mike said. ‘Gradually and then suddenly.’”
Gradually and then suddenly might be one of the most profound insights into how our hearts, as business leaders, can change for the worse if we are not constantly vigilant. At first you cannot see or notice it happening, then suddenly you realize that both you and your organization, whether you are at the helm of a for profit or non-profit, has drifted way off course from its original mission.
St. Augustine said, “Change the heart and the work will be changed.” This saying is true whether the heart moves closer to God or away from him. No matter what direction your heart goes, so goes the organization you lead. If you are living a divided life, your business will too.
Jesus addressed those who live a divided life, and he didn’t mince words. When Jesus starts a sentence with “Woe” or “Truly, truly” — take heed! “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to men but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Mt 23:27-28).
We are human, which means we are broken and inclined toward the triple concupiscence of the flesh, of pride and of an insatiable desire for material gain such as wealth, social status or power. It’s very easy for us to lose focus on being holy and instead be lured by the trappings of the world.
This is why we, as Catholic business leaders, must keep our mission statements under our noses daily. Yes, I said statements, as we all have three missions in life. The first, a universal calling, is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31), and the third is your work. You should be trying to achieve excellence in all three.
Your business mission statement, “why” your business exists, nests within the second — love your neighbor by creating good goods and good services while also sanctifying all those who interact with your business. The mission to love your neighbor nests within your mission to love God. This is how you love God.
I believe that most of us Catholic business leaders try to be holy, but little by little, the daily busyness of life can erode our zeal for our own salvation and with it the zeal for others’ souls as well. It’s so easy to breeze through our prayers in the morning, go to daily Mass, go to confession, and do all the Catholic “things” but still be distant from God in our hearts. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men” (Mt 15:8-9)
The change gradually happens with an emergency phone call or scheduling a meeting during the time you would normally attend daily Mass. The pressure of deadlines overtakes the need to go to the Sacrament of Confession on a regular basis. The desire for just one more sale to be a bit more secure in this month’s numbers makes us less reliant on Christ and more on our own effort. What was once an exception “just this time” quickly becomes the norm and time for God gets pushed off your calendar completely.
When we take our eyes off Christ, we also push him from our office. It also means we cannot reflect him in our business dealings. Gradually, then suddenly, the Catholic culture and nature of your business is replaced with a dysfunctional and perhaps even a toxic work culture. What was once a vocation of work for those you employ downgrades to a career, then again to become just a job — a job they may hate.
In 1965, Pope Paul VI wrote in Gaudium et spes that “the split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” That’s because that split, living a divided life, is a life of hypocrisy, a life of lies to yourself and to others. This can and does happen more often than we like to admit.
I’d like to suggest a daily Examination of Conscience for business leaders, also called an Examen.
Start with identifying your predominant fault — look at the triple concupiscence for hints of what yours might be. This fault will be the primary driver, in most cases, that causes the division between God’s will and your will. Then, with your predominant fault front and center in your mind, ask yourself these questions and with humility answer them:
How did I not act in a Christlike manner to my employees, customers, or vendors today?
How are my business practices not conforming Christ’s expectation of me as a Catholic business leader?
How will I resolve to change and become a better reflection of Christ in the workplace tomorrow?
Take up this practice daily, and you just might find that gradually, and then suddenly, you’ll be living a more integrated life.
