Yesterday I was passing on address and contact information to a contractor. In the tradition of doing business, I had a business card that I gave to him. There was no business listed.
“So what do you do.” The contractor was most interested in what I did and not just the personal information on the card.
I was taken up short. Something I have sensed over the years was staring me in the face. We relate best to people in relation to their productivity.
OK, a business card is a “business” card. You can expect that someone looking at one would expect a business to be listed.
I’m retired. I never thought of listing that as my business.
I’m not expecting to be “productive”. I am expecting to be a person of integrity, wisdom, perseverance, love, compassion, justice, mercy and many other characteristics. In the midst of that, I may be working for the better of others and to help people to see God through what I do.
I remember the story of a group of high school boys from an upper class school. They were on a “trip” during the school year – wandering around some countries in the Middle East. At one point they all pulled out their business cards – signs of their expectation for the future. One young fellow was from the Middle East. There was no listing of a business. Just a list of his father and other relatives.
“We are known by who we are and not what we do.”
Maybe I should write that on my business card!