“When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;”
“We are going to change the world!” “I want to change the world!” “Together, we can change the world.”
These are the types of rallying cries that are said at new product launches, company creations, or announcements of inventions. Few ever become a reality and truly change the world, but there’s no harm or foul in thinking and aspiring to do so. To truly change the world, we have to come up with something that not only is additive but also disruptive. Any great innovation ends up extincting something that was there before, creating yes, a bit of a win-lose. So, with world-changing progress there will be lawsuits, PR attacks, threats, accusations, deep discounting, vendor conflicts, patent challenges, etc. Net, the world does not change easily nor quietly. There’s always a story plot as to why the world shouldn’t change and forces to fight against progress. We have to be on the lookout for those forces within our companies and sometimes the enemy is “us”. Innovation, experimentation and change too many times is killed before it starts because internally we really don’t want our world, as we know it, to change. Think about innovation within your organization. Is it free and flowing or are there speed bumps and resistance points to change? The world cannot be changed without being all in to do so.
What a great compliment that Jason received when he was accused of “upsetting the world”! Here’s what we need to remember as we go to work each day and try to bring glory to God as our purpose; by virtue of working, acting and speaking in the likeness of Christ we are “upsetting the world”. We all know that our workplaces can be the worst of places for the fruits of the spirit to be evident and at every turn there is a catalyst to take us to the dark side. But, if we stand strong, stand forward to the wind in our face, and remain steadfast in our faith then we become an upsetting force and yes, even a world-changer.
Acts 17:6 (New American Standard)