Journey mercies

There was an internal department get together today and the special get together was held in a karaoke... center (my lack of confidence in finding the right word to describe it should tell you I am an infrequent visitor of such places)?

I intensely dislike singing karaoke as I am uncomfortable singing in public. Ask me to lead worship in church even in front of a crowd of over hundred I am fine, because I am doing it for God. Ask me to sing for fun... mehh!

Needless to say, in such occasions, alcohol consumption is a given. By the time some of us were ready to depart, I was already shattered, even if it was just the early evening (we started in the afternoon). Not from excess of alcohol consumption but from being a mother hen worrying over the heavier drinkers who had already passed their thresholds.

I felt weary like a seasoned veteran of such business-social obligations. They say as a sales person I need to learn to drink to close deals, but as "seasoned" as I feel, I'm glad I've never have had to compromise heavily on my limits for the sake of work before.

It helps to learn lessons at an earlier age and in safer conditions. It also helps to inherit your father's genes of high intolerance to alcohol.

What you cannot achieve through intoxication such as higher levels of rapport with people you depend on for work purposes, you just have to achieve through GREAT levels of coordinated effort of tricks, wiles, flattery, movements, acting and a huge dose of genuine sincerity and niceness. As long as you create and leave people a feel-good factor, no one truly cares about the method.

It helps that this time round, I actually have a manager more pious than me and makes me feel like I should watch my conduct even more tightly. He had been criticized in the past for not drinking, not smoking and doesn't play golf. He doesn't entertain clients of questionable conduct, but his results has always spoken for him.

Even my Group Managing Director holds to strict principles over the way a business is conducted and just this morning telling me stories from his past experience.

You cannot believe how extremely thankful I am for God's favor over my current work stint, in this great convergence of people of principles and values. While the devil tries to convince people righteousness is over valued and it is naivety that cannot gain any advantage, I cannot agree in any way with that. However, you CAN step on anyone you want and you CAN gain billions of dollars for your effort.

But at end of the day, you're going to die and you're going to face the Judge for an account of your life. Seriously, by that time you're really going to care how much you earned and how comfortable you were with your life? Come on.

And hang on, if you think as long as your good outweighs your bad you should be able to justify yourself before God, stop being a dimwit. That's self-righteousness and that's ugly as hell in itself.