The Fall Of The Mighty

There's an article on the web by a famous writer Jim Collins entitled "How The Mighty Fall: A Primer On the Warning Signs." It was printed in Business Week some time back. In it he chronicles some of the warning signs that let companies know that they are in trouble. He talks about how there have been companies that didn't see the signs and fell and couldn't get out of it like Motorola, Circuit City and Fannie Mae – icons that once served as paragons of excellence. If they can succumb to the forces of gravity, anyone can. But there have been other companies that have seen the seeds of decline early, and have managed to reverse that decline, as in the case of IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Merck and Nucor. They have managed to claw their way back."

DESENSITIZED? ME?

In the last 10 days, I have been with foreign visitors and have had some interesting experiences with them, as I looked at India through Indian eyes or a person who lives in India. I was trying to point out various things that show our economic growth and stability in some ways, pointing out the tall buildings. And I realized that all they would see was the settlement of slums around those tall buildings. I showed them the wonderful bridge that we have connecting Bandra and Worli in Mumbai; they glanced at it and then their eyes settled on the fishing hamlet that was in the area.

I realized that I was almost inoculated or desensitized to some of the things around; that I was looking at things from a perspective of wanting to see growth and good things happening in India. At the risk of that, I was being desensitized to pain and poverty and need.

In The Right Place?

While reflecting and praying on what to share with you, my mind went back to an incident that happened many years ago. When I was 15, just getting into high school (which was the 11th std at that time) my parents, in desperation I think, promised me a gold ring if I passed the 11th std with a first class. I just about did, and the gold ring was my prized possession for about 9 years. Then one day, when we were on the beach in Mumbai having a good time with some friends, while playing around in the water, I felt the ring slip off my finger. A wave had come in and was just beginning to go out again; those of you who have been in the sea, know the strong current that pulls as the wave is going out. I desperately tried to catch the ring, but it fell to the ground. I saw it through about a foot of water and stomped my foot on the spot where it had fallen. I could feel the ring under my foot but could also feel the wave pulling strongly at it. To my horror, I could feel the sand underneath giving way. When the wave had gone, I plunged my hand into the sand, desperately searching for the ring, but there was no sign of it. The next wave then came in and I knew that it was a lost cause.

Addressing Denial

I want to talk to you this morning about Denial. I wonder whether you’ve been in denial. I have been many times and sometimes it creeps up upon you and you are not aware of it and other times, something that we willfully do but I think in most cases denial is a problem.

Theologian Walter Brueggemann, tells the story of Toots Shor, a famous New York Salon keeper who died of Cancer. He says, Toot Shor, just few days before he died, told the people around him, “I don’t want to know what I have.” Denial.