The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to assess your vision. Vision is the requisite perspective that facilitates guidance and direction in life. Fulfilling your vision provides purpose and meaning in life.
One scriptural example of the importance of vision is the following text:
Where [there is] no vision, the people perish. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)
The Hebrew word translated vision implies a divine vision or revelation.1 This suggests that the lack of divine vision will lead to death. Death can be understood both literally and metaphorically. Literally, barring the return of Christ during a person’s life, that person will physically die. But arguably in this text, the word perish is to be understood metaphorically. Lack of vision during our temporal existence suggests a lack of meaning and purpose in life, which is tantamount to death. Consequently, divine vision is a requisite predicate to living a meaningful and fulfilled life.
Secular views of vision compete with divine vision. A common secular view is expressed in the American Dream, which can be stated as follows:
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.2
In my travels, I have discovered that the American Dream is not unique to America; rather, it appears to be a widely embraced vision. The focus of this vision is prosperity defined by temporal wealth. Temporal wealth includes money plus tangible or intangible assets that can be monetized. The belief is that temporal wealth enables a person to execute his or her vision, which then leads to success.
This view, however, fails to consider the limitations of temporal wealth. The apostle Paul stated that temporal wealth has value only in this existence. Note his words:
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. - (1 Timothy 6:6–7 ESV)
The apostle made an empirical argument; he noted that humans do not come out of the womb with temporal wealth nor do they take temporal wealth with them when they die. But there is wealth that is not temporal, it is godliness. Godliness is a measure of human character traits that are congruent with the nature of God.
Divine vision is an expression of the will of God and godliness is an expression of the ways of God. Given mankind’s fallen condition, without godliness it will be difficult for any person to discern and obey God’s vision for his or her life. Furthermore, if alignment with God is success, then godliness is a predicate to success.
Consequently, the foundation for success is godliness that empowers the development and execution of divine vision. Godliness is spiritual transformation that enables a person to progressively think and act more like Christ. Accordingly, progressively thinking and acting like Christ will also progressively enable a person to develop divine vision.
Impediments to developing divine vision are secular visions, such as, the American Dream. The American Dream is an ubiquitously embraced humanistic vision of life that stands opposed to divinely defined vision because the focus of humanly defined vision is always temporal wealth. The pedestrian view is that temporal wealth empowers a person to do his or her will and therefore temporal wealth is the barometer of success, security, and significance. When humans are so guided, they are misguided.
The redoubtable Peter Drucker recognized the deception of temporal wealth. In The Essential Drucker, a compendium of his greatest writings, his view of temporal wealth as a tool to develop vision is expressed in the following quote regarding the purpose of business:
Asked what a business is, the typical businessman is likely to answer, “An organization to make a profit.” The typical economist is likely to give the same answer. This answer is not only false, it is irrelevant.3
Drucker’s disdain for viewing temporal wealth as the guiding light for developing vision is poignant. Though he recognized that organizations must produce a profit, he understood that the right vision was more important than profit. The accumulation of temporal wealth, therefore, cannot be the right vision; temporal wealth is simply a tool to execute the vision. Therefore, vision statements focused on money, such as maximizing profit, are not licit vision statements.
My thesis is vision must come from God—the Creator of all. Such vision produces life. Vision bifurcated from the Creator will lead to death. Therefore, only divinely defined vision will be truly profound. On some level, I think Drucker saw this truth.
Individually, vision can be gleaned by studying God’s design for each person. If God, the Creator of each person, is sovereign, intentional, and strategic, then each person’s design is congruent with each person’s divinely ordained purpose. In other words, divine design is a clue to divine intent. Therefore, by studying a person’s design (personality, aptitudes, learning style, thinking processes, background, etc.), vision can be developed congruent with God’s call for that person. And if the person develops godly character, then the person will be empowered to fulfill God’s vision.
Organizationally, divine vision should be gleaned by the senior leaders. If God, the Creator of all, is sovereign, intentional, and strategic, then he alone provides the legitimate vision for each organization. It is the responsibility of the senior leaders to discern an organization’s specific purpose. Consequently, when God authorizes the formation of an organization, the founder(s) should faithfully seek the Lord to discern his vision.
Business pundits recognize the importance of vision as the guiding light of organizations. In Built to Last, empirical researchers sought to understand key principles that facilitated multigenerational organizations. One of these principles was vision, which they called enduring or core purpose.4 The researchers listed numerous examples of organizations with vision. In reviewing these examples, it was interesting to note that vision was never focused on temporal wealth; rather, temporal wealth was simply a by-product of alignment with the vision.
For individuals and organizations to discern divine vision, the predicate is the formation of godly character. The degree to which individuals and organizations develop godliness is the degree to which they can discern and fulfill divine vision.
Given a created universe, licit vision—divinely defined vision—is requisite to produce healthy individuals and organizations. Temporal wealth can never provide a licit vision. Temporal wealth can only support a licit vision. This means true requisite wealth that undergirds divine vision is first godliness and second temporal wealth.
Divinely defined vision is rooted in God’s intent and purpose for each person and organization. As we enter this new year, may we focus on developing godliness that empowers us to discern and align with God’s vision and may we have the grace to lay aside our vision and embrace God’s vision. This is the way to have a meaningful, successful life. May God give us grace for this process of maturity in Christ and empowerment to align with his will.
Happy New Year!
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https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2377&t=KJV.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream.
Drucker, Peter F. The Essential Drucker: The Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management (Collins Business Essentials), 18. HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Collins, Jim; Porras, Jerry I. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Harper Business Essentials), Kindle Location 4882.
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