How many of you remember the fantastic ensemble singing the song, We are the World? Where did Lionel Ritchie and Michael Jackson come up with that idea? They got it from their values. As do we all get all our ideas. From our values.
Our values form the foundations of our lives. They direct us along the paths our lives take by influencing our decisions about how we use our lives’ precious resources to do what is best in the present circumstances for the optimal balance of the highest priority and the largest number of those people, places, and things with whom and which we have relationships and to whom and which and for whom and which our values make us responsible.
This, of course, begs the question, “To whom and what do our values make us responsible.” In Part 4 of this series of posts on prioritizing your relationships, we’ve discussed we have a hierarchy of relationships in our part of this world comprised of God, self, parents, spouse, children, family, true friends, investors, employers, employees, customers, community, and a mission driven by a vision and values. In this part of the series, we will discuss why we are each responsible for our part of the world in which we live.
From what values do we get this responsibility? Personally, I draw my responsibility values from the written and oral Torah given to Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai, which have been explained and handed down in what I believe is a direct and faithful chain of transmission through the sages and rabbis of Jewish history ending with those sages and rabbis who have personally impacted me by teaching them to me in my life.
Your values may vary. You may have other sources. Your values may have different specifics than mine. And that is all fine. As long as you truly know the source of your values and the specifics of them. Nonetheless, this is my blog and I can only discuss the essence of my values, because I am not an expert in yours. So, here goes.
Why are we each responsible for our part of the world in which we live?
The Torah informs us God created the world with ten utterances; not one but ten. Why did God not just create everything all at once?
God used ten utterances instead of one in order to teach us we are each but a part of the whole of creation. In order to teach each of us that each of us is designed to interact with and work in harmony with all the other parts of the world, all of which parts God arranged to work together as one unit. In order to teach us, when one of the parts breaks or otherwise separates itself to be apart from the world instead of a part of the world, the entire arrangement is destroyed; and, likewise, if all the items arranged in the world are sustained, then the entire arrangement of the world is sustained. In order to teach us we are all responsible for the world and we will be rewarded well for serving all of the world with which we connect and relate and punished badly for not serving any part of the world with which we connect and relate.
When we connect with, relate with, and serve all of the parts of the world with which we connect, relate, and serve, we are able to satisfy that essential “cha-ching” in our lives that makes us feel valued by God, our selves, and the rest of hierarchy of relationships in our world.
So, as you GOTTABGATT!, go out there today and be Great! Al the time!, think about your part of the world and your responsibility to the rest of it and enjoy listening to Lionel, Michael, and the rest of the ensemble sing it to you. We are the World.