Years ago my wife and I were handling a youth group and with all sincerity wanted to know how we were faring. We printed out a “feedback form” for them to fill in, encouraging them to be sincere and, if they wished, to remain anonymous. We thought we were doing great. But the feedback suggested we needed improvements in certain areas. Our emotions went berserk. Our immediate reaction was not to improve on those areas but find out who “those” anonymous ones were! Though our intentions were good, our reactions were not! When was the last time you have asked for a feedback about yourself, your work, your progress, your business, your church? What do others think your strengths and weaknesses are? How you are faring? Feedback can be disturbing and can stir up all kinds of emotions. But every good leader needs one and should not be afraid to get it! When in prison, John the Baptist wanted to know if the person he had prophesied would come had actually come. The feedback he received was positive! On one occasion even Jesus wanted a feedback. He asked His disciples: “Who do people say I am?” The answer was: John the Baptist or Elijah or Jeremiah or another one of the Biblical prophets; no one said He is God! (Mt 16.13,14; Mk 8.28). But Jesus was more concerned about what His disciples thought of Him. “But who do you say I am?” He asked them. Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16.16). Being “fully human,” Jesus had to be assured that His disciples had the right perception of Him. The disciples too needed to be assured who they were representing. If the disciples were not sure about who exactly had sent them out and their true identities, they would be miserable failures and so also their mission. Ask your friends or others to give you a genuine feedback. If you report to a board or a team, ask them for one. Questionnaires and rating scales are sometimes necessary. Feedback can be formal or informal, named or anonymous. We need all of them. The beginning of the year is one of the best times for introspection and feedback, a time to take stock of our life and lifestyle, direction and destiny, health and habits, weaknesses and strengths, accomplishments and failures. There’s a possibility we may be totally on the wrong track and are in need of a makeover! One definition of insanity is: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This is where an authentic feedback will help us to: wake up, check up, clean up, own up, shake up and stand up! -- WAKE UP: Human history shows that we tend to follow the easiest, friction-free path of least resistance. A Canadian study suggests humans are biologically wired to be lazy! Research shows, “You’ll be relieved to hear that choosing the couch is only human. Humans are inherently lazy, which may be a trait left over from our ancestors’ days of conserving energy for the next hunt.” Genesis 12:1 says, Abraham had to wake up to a call, leave his country, his people and move to an unknown, unfamiliar territory to be blessed and be a blessing. A wake up call was necessary for his next move! CHECK UP: Regular check-ups are important, necessary and recommended, both for our body and our soul! This includes a check to see if our aims and goals in life are being fulfilled. Are we using our God-given talents to the max? Are we in the right place where God wants us to be? CLEAN UP: Many times a clean up of ourselves or our work areas is necessary for our well being - be it physical, mental, emotional, spiritual or organisational. “Search me, O God, and know my heart... see if there be any wicked way in me...” asked the psalmist David. OWN UP: Blaming others for our failures is the easiest thing to do. John C. Maxwell rightly says, “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” SHAKE UP: Living the normal way is sometimes not normal; there are always better ways to do things. No one is going to handover your dream, fulfilled - on a platter. Be willing to take risks or do things differently. Ask God for wisdom. Pray the prayer of Reinhold Niebuhr: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” STAND UP: Jesus had to stand up to Pilate when he asked Him: “But you are a king then?” “Yes,” Jesus said. “I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world.” John 18:37-38 (TLB). Jesus knew His identity, His mission, His purpose on earth. As Christians we need to know who we are and Whose we are and know the purpose of our living. It’s easy to say, ‘I am saved, I am born again, I am on my way to heaven.’ But we need to constantly examine and correct ourselves - along with the feedback we get from others - to ensure we are on the right track. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Pro. 3:5-6)
— Jose, josetn@hotmail.com Rev. Dr. Jose T. Nithi, Managing Editor, Forerunner, Christian Magazine from Bangalore