Alvin Ung Archives - Page 2 of 3

Taking Your Soul to Work ? Anger: The burning Desire to Control (Chapter 5)

Anger: Using passion to manipulate people and control circumstances

How does anger express itself in your daily life?? Are you the passionate, say-it-as-it-is-type or more the quiet seething type? Do you express your anger differently at work than you do in other contexts such as home and church? What does this say about you/me?

While acknowledging that there is anger that is appropriate (see Ephesians 4:26), Stevens and Ung argue that ‘… most forms of anger residing within us are destructive’ and give plenty of examples of how this ‘soul-sapping struggle‘ impacts in the workplace:

Getting mad at co-workers
Humiliating others
Seething in silence when? someone steals our idea or gets the credit
Frustrations when our spouse tells us we are working too hard
General feelings of irritability directed at no one in particular

I loved this insight- “Anger freezes over a warm and generous heart, leaving behind a permafrost of politeness and niceness (punctuated by icicles or resentment and sarcasm).” [Read more…] about Taking Your Soul to Work ? Anger: The burning Desire to Control (Chapter 5)

Taking Your Soul to Work ? Joyful Relinquishment (Chapter 22)

Just yesterday, my wife and I were discussing how it might be time to start downsizing – getting rid of some of the stuff we had accumulated over the years. ?

Sadly, on reflection, my motivation was to create more space for more stuff if I am honest. The recent Christmas season has meant more booty around the house than we had a couple of months ago – even if it is just ‘socks and jocks’. ?More things need to find a home.

In the conversation that commences this chapter, Alvin Ung responds to his colleague Paul Stevens with this comment:??The wonderful thing about practicing relinquishment is that it frees us from a grasping spirit.? We relinquish things that have a stronger grip on our soul than God ? be it possessions, social standing, family ties, friendships or bodily needs.??(Alvin Ung) [Read more…] about Taking Your Soul to Work ? Joyful Relinquishment (Chapter 22)

Taking Your Soul to Work – Self-Control: Resolving the Work-Life Dilemma (Chapter 13)

Do you know anyone who suffers from ADT ? Attention Deficit Trait??

According to Stevens and Ung,??ADT is caused by a hyperkinetic environment, when workplace pressure increases and people ?suck it up? without complaining.? ADT people multitask obsessively, answer questions in superficial ways, hurry all the time, spend little or no time with friends, work longer hours, and sleep less.? ADT people find it difficult to generate fresh ideas.?

I?m not sure that describes my current state but I can certainly relate to that as an accurate description of my life at various stages.

In situations like this, the discussion usually turns to the need for work-life balance but that is not where the authors take us.? The real issue, they say, is a lack of self-control.

Work-life balance can simply be a mask for the problem of gluttony (refer to the last post in this series).? ?We want balance so we can fit more in.? The desire for work-life balance can be just another example of being driven by excessive consumption ???the desire to have it all and juggle as many balls as possible.? [Read more…] about Taking Your Soul to Work – Self-Control: Resolving the Work-Life Dilemma (Chapter 13)

Taking Your Soul to Work – Gluttony (Chapter 4)

Do you know anyone who suffers from ADT ? Attention Deficit Trait??

According to Stevens and Ung, ?ADT is caused by a hyperkinetic environment, when workplace pressure increases and people ?suck it up? without complaining.? ADT people multitask obsessively, answer questions in superficial ways, hurry all the time, spend little or no time with friends, work longer hours, and sleep less.? ADT people find it difficult to generate fresh ideas.?

I?m not sure that describes my current state but I can certainly relate to that as an accurate description of my life at various stages.

In situations like this, the discussion usually turns to the need for work-life balance but that is not where the authors take us.? The real issue, they say, is a lack of self-control. [Read more…] about Taking Your Soul to Work – Gluttony (Chapter 4)

Taking Your Soul to Work – Gluttony (Chapter 4)

OK, let?s play a word association game ? what do you think of when you hear the word ?gluttony??? My mind goes immediately to food.? My increasing girth is an indicator that, despite my attempts to blame my genes and sedentary lifestyle, I have at the very least a potential for gluttony.? I am selective though ? it usually has to be something sweet which could be the reason that after finishing this post I am off to the dentist (again).

But if we think of gluttony more broadly as excessive consumption, as having too much of a good thing as suggested by Stevens and Ung, then gluttony can encompass all sorts of things ? television, sex, social media, leisure, company and, of course, work.? ?People can be described as gluttons for punishment, work or even attention.? In these contexts, gluttony speaks of a lack of self-control. [Read more…] about Taking Your Soul to Work – Gluttony (Chapter 4)

?Taking you soul to work? ? Beautiful Purity (Chapter 21)

Experiencing whole-hearted love for God and neighbour is how Stevens and Ung describe the sort of purity that will counteract the struggle of lust and develop the fruit of love in our workplaces. ?

Such purity of heart looks like this:

Seeing God in all spheres of life (Psalm 24:3-4)
Experiencing God working through us (John 5:19,36)
‘Willing’ one thing – singleness of heart and action (Jeremiah 32:39)
Living an undivided life (Psalm 86:11)
Being joined to God – ‘… loving God for who he is, no more, no less’

Unsurpisingly, the bible character chosen as an example or purity of heart was one of my favourites – Daniel. ?Having spent most of my working life in one or other sector of the public service, Daniel is one of my heroes – a lifetime of public service living out the command of Jeremiah (29:7) to, ‘… seek the peace and prosperity of the city.’?[You can listen to a sermon i preached recently on Daniel here] [Read more…] about ?Taking you soul to work? ? Beautiful Purity (Chapter 21)

?Taking you soul to work? ? Love: The greatest thing to give and receive (Chapter 12)

It is hardly surprising that Stevens and Ung propose love as the opposite of lust in the workplace pointing out that, whereas lust looks to be serviced, love serves: ?For people of faith, it is a ,,, universal human desire to be loved by God and to love God.?

The authors provide a challenging and helpful list of questions based in 1 Corinthians 13 adapted for the workplace:

Are you willing to do small things, even when no one is watching?
Do you look out for opportunities to show kindness to people who are usually ignored, shunned or overlooked?
Do you rejoice with the success of colleagues or peers?
Do you resist the temptation to draw attention to yourself?
Do you treat everyone with respect and courtesy?
Do you actively seek not to provoke other people?
Do you consciously choose to frame things in a positive manner, giving your colleagues the benefit of the doubt (while not being blind to their foibles)?
Do you restrain yourself from inflating other people?s faults or exposing their weaknesses in order to tear them down? [Read more…] about ?Taking you soul to work? ? Love: The greatest thing to give and receive (Chapter 12)

?Taking you soul to work? ? Lust: The erotic workplace (Chapter 3)

After chapters on greed and pride, it is instructive to see how Stevens and Ung connect them with the third deadly sin of the workplace – lust:

“Lust is similar to greed because it creates an inner craving to possess things or people that do not belong to us. Lust is also similar to pride because it generates the inward desire to boast about oneself. ?The combination of greed and pride – possessiveness and inwardness – makes lust a deadly enemy.” [Read more…] about ?Taking you soul to work? ? Lust: The erotic workplace (Chapter 3)