Episode #505U Transcript. Click here to listen to the episode.
Dr. Karen:
Today on The Voice of Leadership, we are revisiting some very important concepts that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared many years ago. What I want to revisit are his four strategies for nonviolent social change. If you go back and listen to one of the things Dr. King said is that his vision was really to:
- Create a relationship of love and brotherhood that was rooted in equality.
- Move people from prejudice and racism to understanding and again to brotherhood.
- To get to the promised land of racial justice.
Those objectives and that vision is still incredibly relevant today. I love the idea of getting to the promised land of racial justice.
Now, one of the concepts he said and mentioned was that freedom has to be demanded. In other words, the people who may be seen as a Thank you. and go out to harm people or to fight evil with evil or fire with fire necessarily.
The Four Tenets of Nonviolent Social Change
I want to review again the four tenets of nonviolent social change and what those are, what they mean, how we can use it today.
1. Collect Facts
The first step is to collect facts. You have to go out and be able to identify that, yes, there is a difficulty, there is a problem, there is an injustice of some type. You’re collecting facts, number one, to show that there really is injustice. You don’t just go out and act before you have the facts and information.
2. Negotiate
Secondly, once you’ve determined that there are some scenarios of injustice, then you go into a negotiation phase. Rhat negotiation phase actually takes you to work with those people who are in a position to make a difference. Those people who may be holding the status quo as it is today. Those who are in positions to, whether it’s politically, or if it’s in an organization, they can change laws, they can make change in organizational structures, rules, and so on and so forth. You’re attempting to work things out using existing structures. That’s incredibly important because you are really looking for a win-win.
Now, let’s say you negotiate and you’re talking to the people in all these organizations and structures and you’re not getting anywhere.
3. Self-Purification
So you determine he called self-purification. In other words, when you’re operating from a nonviolent frame, you have to make sure that you’re prepared and ready for whatever you might have to deal with. So, for example, in Dr. King’s time, he conducted workshops with people and trained them on the behaviors, the tenants, the attitudes, the thought processes that go with non-violence.
In other words, this doesn’t necessarily come naturally. It requires preparation. It requires training. He had to train the people so that in case those who were against what they were promoting, attacked them and came to physical blows and tried to harm them in any way, they had to know how to stand and absorb all of that hurt and all of that assault without assaulting back.
That’s a huge tenet of nonviolence. So people may be violent towards you, but you are not violent back towards them no matter what they have done or are doing to you. That takes training. That takes discipline.
You have to really bring your whole self, emotions, physical, everything into a certain space in order to be able to respond in that way. And when you are participating in civil disobedience, you might have to go to jail. And jail may not be a pleasant experience. And therefore, he had to train people how to survive in a prison context and also in a jail context.
4. Direct Action
Now, after self-purification, after you’ve already done the attempts at negotiation, after you had already established that there’s an issue, and now you’re ready for direct action, like I said, it could be a march, it could be a boycott. It’s a nonviolent approach that says, okay, we’re going to do something that affects very often economic scenarios or bottom line. So the bus boycott definitely affected the economy when, in fact, that was done in Alabama. So this is what we’re talking about. Direct action, you’re still, even in direct action, you’re still trying to invite the parties back to step to the negotiating table for a win-win. That’s the whole purpose. The direct action says, okay, we want you to take it seriously. We are forced to be reckoned with. Come to the table and let’s negotiate a better outcome, something that’s a win-win.
So again, here’s why I believe that now is a very relevant time to implement what Dr. Martin Luther King implemented so many years ago.
More Diverse People Available as Strategic Partners
First of all, in today’s world, we actually have more diverse people available as strategic partners. There have always been diverse people who were willing to stand for justice and what was right. on many of the protests brotherhood and understanding. That is a real asset and benefit in today’s time that we can choose from even more diverse strategic partners.
More Visibility in Today’s World for Different Issues
Secondly, there’s more visibility in today’s world for different issues because we are living in a world where the cell phone is everywhere, where video cameras are everywhere, where news coverage goes beyond country boundaries even. It doesn’t take long for information to travel quickly around the globe and for people to see what’s happening and what’s going on. And in fact, that march that took place years ago where Representative John Lewis was marching across that Pettus Bridge with 600 peaceful protesters, it was because when the police attack those peace the laws to change. And today, we have even more opportunity to display in a public way what often happens behind closed doors.
More Access to a Variety of People
Thirdly, in today’s world, there’s even more access to a variety of people to the systems in our societies that actually maintain things as they are, and also systems that could be a force for change. That means there are people who are that in your workplace, maybe you look around and the company has been very committed to bringing in diverse people of color at lower level jobs in the organization. And maybe historically in the organization that there has been no such commitment. That really hasn’t happened. But for many years now, people have been coming in, diverse people of all types at these lower level jobs. Then they can rise up, get promoted to a certain level, and then there’s a ceiling beyond which they no longer are promoted. Maybe it’s the executive ranks. Maybe the people don’t advance past the executive ranks in your organization.
What is Causing the Gap?
You want to ask the question then, what is causing that gap? Why are these people not able to go from one level to this next level? You don’t want to assume the reason. You go back to that first principle, if you will, and collect the facts. What’s really going on? What’s really happening in your setting in your organization? What’s causing that gap? You might have to interview a lot of different people. Maybe you’re interviewing the hiring managers. What is it that they’re seeing? What is it that they’re doing? How come from their perspective, John Doe does not get to move to the next level or Jane Doe doesn’t get to move to the next level. You also want to interview those who didn’t make it. What are their perceptions? What do they think happened in their interviews and the reviews of their records and their history and their background? You want to continue. Target the group that may be inadvertently disenfranchised, have actually made it to the executive levels. You certainly want to interview them to find out what was different in their profile, in their record, in their experience.
Why Does the Ceiling Exist?
Now, there are multiple possible reasons why there could be the ceiling that you experience. I’m not going to name all the possibilities here. However, I’ll name a few of them because these are some of the ones that may come to mind. Some of you may think, well, the reason why there’s the ceiling is because there are prejudice gatekeepers who are keeping people out. That may be true or it may not be true. You don’t want to assume that just because a group may be enfranchised means that someone is holding a viewpoint that you could describe as prejudice. There could be some other scenarios going on.
For example, it could be that there are some problematic criteria that those who are in the hiring positions are using. Perhaps these are criteria that they’ve always used and they’ve always done it this way. In their minds, these criteria are effective and it’s what works. Maybe it’s not really necessary, but they don’t know that. So it could be it’s a certain educational background that’s required, a certain degree, and maybe that degree in that background is not required to actually do the job. The people in the target group may not have that particular education or background, however, they may be highly qualified to move into the next level and to do the next level job. You want to challenge sometimes the selection criteria. Maybe they’re outdated, maybe they’re not relevant or no longer relevant.
Barriers
If we think back in the olden days, when there were barriers in place to people voting, one of the barriers but manifests in a way like this, well, you can only vote if your grandfather was a landowner and also had the right to vote. Well, clearly that meant whole groups and categories of people would never be able to vote as long as those kind of criteria were in place.
Lack of Mentoring, Training, or Preparation
Thirdly, it could be that there’s a lack of mentoring, a lack of training or preparation for those who are now coming up to this executive rank level. Maybe that’s the level of intervention and the place where you want to make a change. Sometimes it’s just that there’s continuing education that people have to have along the way and they haven’t been getting that continuing education. They haven’t been getting that next level that they require in order to step into new responsibilities. Or maybe they’re not getting the feedback that they need. They’re doing jobs at a lower level and there’s some improvements that are necessary, but nobody is brave enough to sit down with that person and to provide feedback that could help them improve and step up to where they need to be.
Personal Development
That personal development is really important. What we know from prior research is that very often it is people of color who do not get the necessary feedback and therefore don’t know often what they don’t know and where the blind spots may be.
Unfair Barriers in Place
I’m saying, yes, there may be unfair barriers in place. There may be prejudiced people who are gatekeepers. And also, there may be other issues and scenarios so that when you collect data, you will discover more of what the real problems could be and also where the opportunities for intervention exist. I say all of this to say that we can still very powerfully use these four strategies for nonviolent social change, including in the workplace. Remember, don’t rush to direct action. There are so many steps. how you show up and the way that you’re demonstrating really is not along the lines of the principles of nonviolent social change, and you’re causing more issues taking the eye off of what really needs to be changed.
You want to show up in such a way that the issue is highlighted, not you being seen as a bad factor, so to speak. So don’t rush to the direct action. Go through the steps.
- Collect the data.
- Negotiate. Look for the win-win opportunity.
- Do the self-purification. And only when the negotiation is not effective and you’ve really given it all you’ve got, then go to
- Direct action and use direct action to bring you back to negotiation so you can make a difference and, come up with a win-win outcome.
Questions for Executive Business Leaders
As an executive business leader, you have many difficult decisions to make every single day.
- It’s important to think about how do you develop your people?
- How do you launch and develop high-performance teams?
- How do you create a culture that wins every time?
Contact Us
If you would like to take a look at your organization and to talk about the wisdom and guidance that would propel you to create a best place to work and also competitive advantage, then I invite you to apply for a consultation to work with me.
Go to my website, www.transleadership.com, go to the services page, and under organizational consultation, you will see a tab that says, Contact Us. That’s where you request a consultation.
If you are an executive business leader in a medium to large size company, then I look forward to leaving your application and having a conversation with you.
Part 2: Love and Power: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Recipe for Success
Dr. Karen:
Welcome to the show today, The Voice of Leadership. It is time to again celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I want to cover some items from a speech that he gave on the 16th of August in 1967. It was the 10th anniversary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference
He also in 1967 wrote a book called Where Do We Go From Here, Chaos or Community? Some of the concepts from the book were also in the same speech. I’m titling today’s topic Love and Power, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Recipe for Success – Part One.
Love and Power as the Ultimate Recipe for Success
Let’s unpack a little bit about what he said about love and power as the ultimate recipe for success. And I’ll warn you now that although I am quoting him in many places today, it’s in a different order than how he actually gave the speech. So this is what the message meant to me.
I talked about the German philosopher Nietzsche, and he said that Nietzsche misinterpreted a few things and therefore rejected Christian love. On the other hand, Christians often misinterpreted a few things and rejected Nietzsche’s concept of the will to power. Love as resignation of power, he said, is a misinterpretation. Power as a denial of love is a misinterpretation. Power without love is reckless and abusive. Love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best. morality. Power is the ability to achieve purpose to bring social, political, and economic change. So we can see from Dr. King’s remarks that love and power go together for the best effect.
Let’s not get lulled into a false dichotomy. God is love, yet God in the person of Jesus Christ has all power that were not typical in terms of the healing of the day or even our day today. We see that in Jesus Christ there is that combination of both love and power. We are most like God when our power is combined with his love. It’s both/and rather than either/or.
The Meaning of TRANSLEADERSHIP
Another point that I think is important in what Dr. King was talking about is the concept of renew your mind. Those of you who are familiar with TRANSLEADERSHIP will know and understand that is a powerful concept to me because of Romans 12:2, which is the Bible verse that inspires this business known as TRANSLEADERSHIP. It comes from Romans 12:2, which in part says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
What Dr. King said is as long as the mind is enslaved, the body can never be free. He talked about the fact that there were 134 words for white in the Thesaurus, And every one of those words was positive. There were 120 words for black in Roget’s Thesaurus, and all of those words were negative. Things such as a white lie, which is better than a black lie, or even if you are a problem to your family being called the black sheep of the family, and so many other examples that he gave. He went on to say that the Constitution had said that the black man was 60% of a person. At the time in 1967, a black person was valued at 50%. There’s a problem of being taught. We are nobody’s for so long, he said, and he goes on to say, I am somebody, a man with dignity and honor, in spite of being called boy, he learned the dignity and courage of being a man. And in our times today, when we talk about microaggressions, back at that time and also at our current time, there are both macro and microaggressions of all different sorts.
I am Black and Beautiful
Dr. King says, I have a great history. I am black and beautiful. Human worth is not based on income. Identify the unassailable and majestic sense of value in every person, in all persons. His vision was all God’s children walking hand in hand together. He said the problem of American whites is that they have an inaccurate and unrealistic view of the ongoing plight of black people in America. And I can say that this is still true today. I have many white colleagues and friends who honestly believe that racism is over, who honestly believe that the fight for civil rights. where I could turn them black for just two weeks. I wouldn’t do it for longer because they might not make it. When they discover that there are disparities alive and well, even today at this time in our history and in our society.
That lack of understanding and the unrealistic view is often what fuels inappropriate policies, inappropriate ideas about what it takes to go forward. I would go further to say that it’s important to know and value who you are. It’s important to appreciate and value others. I would say that when I find that my white friends really don’t understand, I want to share with them what reality is really like. Some still may not believe it. Identify how to work synergistically together to fulfill God’s kingdom agenda on earth. That’s what we’re here for.
Love and Power Go Together
Once we have understood that love and power go together, once we have transformed our minds in a better way from where they were before, then it is time to unite to fight poverty. What Dr. King said about this, he said, the whole of America must take a turn toward economic justice. There is this problem of doing nothing to eradicate slum conditions. He said, everyone is worrying about the long, hot summer with its threats of riots. He says, we had a long, cold winter when little was done about the conditions that create riots. We’ve got to think about that today. There are conditions that have been unaddressed that create riots in different communities. We have to unpack that and get behind it. And as Dr. King would say create equality of opportunity. That’s really what he was all about. He said that radical change is both just and necessary. We have to organize our strength into economic and political power. We have to create full employment to address at that time 40 million poor in America. He says it’s important to transform the poor. beggars must be questioned.
Not a Communist
Many people mistakenly thought that Dr. Martin Luther King was communist. However, he was no communist. He was a very well-read man and he was aware of communist ideology. What he said is that communism forgets that life is individual and capitalism forgets that life is social. It’s a synthesis of the individual and the social that is called for in modern times. He talked about Nicodemus in the Bible and he said that America like Nicodemus must be born again. The whole structures must be changed. And Jesus, when he was talking to Nicodemus, didn’t nitpick with Nicodemus about individual sins of lying or cheating or stealing. He told Nicodemus that he had to be fully born again. When we unite together to eradicate poverty, when we unite together to create economic opportunity, that’s when we begin to see our world change.
The SealTest Dairy Company
Dr. King was not just talking about inspiration or philosophical position. He had results to back up what he was talking about. We don’t have time today to share all of those results. However, I do want to share just a couple of examples of success when people unite to fight poverty, disenfranchisement, and injustice. He gave one example from Cleveland, Ohio and he was talking about the SealTest Dairy Company. I remember SealTest. They were very popular in the 1950s and in the 1960s. At that time, the milkman would come to your house every day and would drop off the daily milk. Rhe milk that we received was from the SealTest Company. SealTest was known for milk and for ice cream and other dairy products. At that time, in Cleveland, they had 442 employees. Only 43 of those employees were black people, although Cleveland at the time was 35% black.
What Dr. King and his colleagues did as they distributed and posted leaflets urging stores not to buy from SealTest. They put pressure on these stores who refused to comply, and they did an economic boycott where in the black community in Cleveland, the people would not purchase SealTest products, nor would they patronize stores that were selling SealTest products. As a result of that, in one day, 18 A&P grocery stores, and I remember the A&P grocery stores from back in the day, too, they were as popular as a Safeway or anything else you might know of today those stores not just in the black neighborhoods. And then A&P grocery went to SealTest, talked to them and said, if you don’t correct these problems, we will remove SealTest products from all A&P grocery stores in the state of Ohio.
That was amazing. When they finally got that worked out and straightened out, not only did the SealTest company begin to involve the people in the community and economic opportunities as far as employment. There were some other gains. Their company, as well as A&P and other companies, started to advertise in the local black newspapers, which was, again, bringing in revenue to the community. They also began to bank with the two financial institutions that were black-owned financial institutions. It was in a premium downtown location, and they realized they could build $40 million of new housing in a choice location. This building project employed black architects, attorneys, workmen, and many other people in different trades and different expertise. They also created jobs and brought in money to the local community. where we have no voice and no respect. In today’s time, money still talks. Individually, we may not have enough to make a difference. However, collectively, we can make a difference. We can raise our voices in such a way that we point out and show the injustices and that we will boycott the places that do not stand for what is right.
Keep the Faith
Dr. King went on to really remind people to continue their faith in mass nonviolent action and actions at the ballot box. The right to vote recently been awarded, although not uniformly applied at that point. And he really believed that it was nonviolent action and using the tools of voting that really would make a difference. He issued a warning about some recent riots that were taking place at the time. And he called them painfully sad. He said people were fighting hopelessly and aimlessly against impossible odds. It’s suicidal with no concrete gains except a little money that you might get from some frightened legislators. However, that’s not enough to be sustainable. That is not going to be what ultimately changes lives and moves the needle on poverty.
He went on to say that it’s organized protest, demonstrations, boycotts that are more effective. In a violent racial situation, the government can call on the local police, state troopers, National Guard, and the military to quell any violent uprising. And he said there will be no sympathy or support from the white population, so don’t hold any romantic illusions about this. He says no internal revolution succeeds with violence unless it first loses the support and control of the armed forces. And he did not foresee those kinds of outcomes in the United States.
Dr. King said it was important to avoid some things. He said, avoid solutions that don’t solve, avoid answers that don’t answer, avoid explanations that don’t explain. Go for justice, brotherhood, and truth, not violence. He went on to say, you cannot murder, murder with murder. It reminded me of a Bible verse where Jesus is speaking to one of his disciples who cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant in the garden of Gethsemane, when they came to capture him inappropriately, he said, no, put the sword away. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. Jesus healed the servant’s ear and put an end to that violence. We cannot, Dr. King says, establish truth with violence. Love is the only answer to man’s problems.
As we hear these words of Dr. King today, and we hear his message about the combination of love and power, the importance of renewing your mind, the importance of uniting together to deal with poverty and economic opportunity issues, we also want to pay attention to nonviolent social change and to keep that in front of us because even in our society, some have forgotten and they have begun to invoke violence and destruction instead of what is more powerful.
Questions for Executive Leaders
As I want to issue some questions for you who are in the corporations of this world, those of you who are corporate leaders, these are the questions I want you to think about:
- What are your services?
- How do your services keep you in business?
- What are you doing to create mutual benefit?
- How are people better off because you are in the community?
- What more can you do both inside the corporation with employees and outside the corporation in the community to be an even better corporate citizen?
Those are questions to think about as we close today with a powerful reading that Dr. King actually personalized. I won’t use the personalized version, but this is 1st Corinthians, the 13th chapter, starting with verse 1. The Bible says, though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love. I have become sounding brass or a clanging symbol. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love. I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned but have not love it profits me nothing love suffers long and is kind love does not envy love does not parade itself and is not puffed up does not behave rudely does not seek its own is not provoked thinks no evil does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in and through your week, remember these words of exhortation about how love never fails. And love is the powerful answer, and it’s love combined with power and agency that makes a difference.
Part 2: Love and Power: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Recipe for Success
Dr. Karen:
Today I’m continuing with part two of the message, love and power, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s recipe for success. And if you did not hear Part 1, please go back and listen to Part 1.
We talk about a lot of important aspects there. The call for the community to really be better together is what we’re going to get into today. Last time we talked about the importance of love and power together. We talked about the importance of renewing your mind. We talked about the importance of remembering that there really is power and change and nonviolent social change. We talked about the warning against violence. Listen and pay attention to the collective efforts also that are necessary for eradicating poverty and creating economic opportunity for all.
When we talk today about the call for community, the bottom line is that we will all be better off together than alone and by ourselves. Dr. King said the upside of black nationalism and black power was a yes to amassing political power and economic strength. That was the upside. However, there are also some downsides. He says the problem with black nationalism and black power was the issue that they rejected interracial coalitions. Dr. King felt that interracial coalitions were necessary and important. He also had an issue with black separatism and saw that as immoral and self-defeating.
There is a problem of structured segregation in this country.
What I would say is that separate is certainly not equal. When we think about the Native American reservations all the way to the Jim Crow indignities of separate bathrooms, water fountains, and the like, we see that it is not equal. Dr. King went on to say that the plantation and the ghetto, they were created to perpetuate powerlessness. The ghetto is a domestic colony that is drained and not replenished. We are robbed every day and yet you say, pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. He says the problem at that time was white contractors coming in as monopolies and really preventing small black businesses to even get an opportunity at all. He says the black man still lives in the basement of a great society. There is no bottom at which to start and no room at the top. We are impoverished aliens in an affluent society. The nation grew over and submerged the black man.
You see wrought iron fences and gratings and all kinds of stone masonry and other work that’s been done and continues to last through all these years and also black people are continuing to contribute to this country.
Dr. Martin Luther King also said that black people have only half of the good things of whites, yet two times the bad things of whites. We have half the income of whites, double the infant mortality, two times the deaths in the war in Vietnam. At that time, he said, we were one to three years behind in schools in comparison to whites. And even in my own personal history, I can attest to that. There was a time that I was in a black Separate was not equal. Separate was not equal.
Dr. King also said that blacks are 75% of those who are employed in the menial jobs that are out there. And even today, I say there are great disparities in health, great disparities so far as longevity of life and economic prosperity, safe housing and neighborhoods, and access to quality education, and the best. diversity.
A Proponent of Integration
One of the things I love about Dr. Martin Luther King is that he was a proponent of integration and of diverse people walking, talking, and holding hands together collectively as God’s children. He did not advocate for the black band to the exclusion of the white man or any other man. He never preached hate or do unto others as they have done to you. He called individuals and our nation to our higher ideals and aspirations and to a departure from our baser nature. He believed in the institutions of our country and chose to work to get them to respond to legitimate concerns and grievances.
Internal integration, he said, was necessary before external integration. In part, what he was talking about again was the renewal of the mind, getting your mind straight. And then I would also say internal is within the group that you’re in, particularly if it’s a disenfranchised group, a group of African Americans, a group of Latin Americans, or whatever the group may be Asian Americans, whatever it is, if there’s disenfranchisement that’s been going on, you may need to meet first within your group because others may not understand that collective experience in history or the ongoing issues. However, you don’t stay within your group. There is a period of boundary spanning, boundary spanning that was talked about in leadership and popularized by Chris Ernst in the Center for Creative Leadership. And before you can get together with other people, you have to get together with your own people. That’s an important part of boundary spanning. But then you do get to the place where you do span the boundaries and work together.
God Created Our Diversity
We have to recognize that God is the one who has created our diversity. And what God created, he said, was good. So we can unite for common purposes of good and go farther and faster together or all be weighed down by the weights of injustice that ultimately disenfranchise all parties, even if it’s not initially obvious concerning the wealthier and more privileged. You cannot oppress others without ultimately doing harm to yourself both in this life and the life to come. I know I have covered in previous podcasts on times I’ve been talking about Dr. Martin Luther King and slavery and various other issues, that those who practice slavery, those who practice oppression of other people become monstrous themselves, whether they can see it or not. So you cannot get away with treating people poorly and not having some repercussions.
As with the body of Christ and the church, God has placed us all here with The rich man in the Bible and the illustration that Jesus used was not resting in Abraham’s bosom. His wealth could not save him. Our call is to be rich in love, compassion, and good deeds towards our fellow man. In the spirit of what was said in 1 Timothy 6, 17 through 19, where the rich of this world were warned to share and to really consider where their treasure really needs to be stored. We have here on this earth one sunrise and one sunset in our lives. After that, we must each give an account for the deeds done in this body, whether they were good or bad, as is stated in 2nd Corinthians 5 and 10.
Today, I have questions about opportunities to succeed. Here are some questions to ask as you are putting those programs together and making them work effectively:
- What measures do you have in place to ensure the diverse talents and contributions of all of your team members are utilized?
- What structures exist for homogeneous groups to meet, to outline their unique concerns?
- How do you communicate the importance of diversity in your organization?
- In what ways are diversity initiatives part of the expectations of line leaders?
- What can you do to ensure more seats at the decision-making table for diverse people.
- How else can you ensure that your company participates in the beauty of diversity and being better together?
Remember, separate is not equal.
We can do a lot and go much farther together with our collective gifts and talents. And I want to close today with a reading from 1 John, the fourth chapter, verses 7 through 10. Again, a reminder about love. And this is especially important for you who are marketplace ministry leaders. God has you in your workplace for his kingdom purposes, that his will will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven. So 1, John, manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. That’s God’s standard.
Live in love today and always.
