Tag Archives: Kevin Kline

day 2869: From A Distance

“And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

As I listen to and consult with business leaders, I can hear the concerns and challenges of leading and managing a distanced workforce. It’s not the productivity side that is the most worrisome, it’s the engagement of the “spirit” of the person that they are grappling with most.  How do we connect or stay connected with those who are at a distance.  I always loved the line in the movie “The Big Chill” that Kevin Kline’s character delivers as he talks about college friendships; “”Neither time nor distance can break the bonds that we feel”  It’s a great movie line because it is only true about the same amount of times that it happens in a movie.  Time and distance can keep us apart, even tear us apart if we are not very careful and attentive.  Yes, we are going to have to work a lot harder to overcome and thwart distance and it will take many creative efforts, extra energy and time we’d like to spend elsewhere, but it’s going to be a must do, not a nice to  do for all of us.

The Prophet Isaiah saw it coming.  The Lord told him that if we are distanced in our heart from the Lord, that no matter what comes from their mouths, that we are not the Lord’s as He desires us to be.  I know, sometimes it can feel that we are here, God is out there and in between us and Him is all of the stuff of the world that we must deal with.  But, that is not His design nor way.  His is that He is here, in our hearts with us and then outside of us is the world.  It’s why we are called to stay close, today and every day.  And yes, it takes the same extra efforts and energy to do so, but when we do, His love, peace and guidance will feel near.

Reference: Isaiah 29:13 (New Living Translation)