Vengeance and Vigilantes
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itto the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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Tonight I watch a really intense movie called The Brave One. It is about a woman who goes about as a vigilante after being beaten within an inch of her life, and losing her fiance in a violent attack. It was interesting to see the reactions of the people of the city, with many coming out in support of someone they believed to be cleaning up the streets. When wrong is done upon us, or those whom we care for or can empathise with, it would seem to feel natural to want to take vengeance. God had to specifically give a command not to, to stop the cycles of violence and revenge.
It takes a great act of faith to trust that God will indeed be the ultimate bringer of vengeance, usually we would prefer to do it ourselves.
Hollywood, the “Media”, news agencies; they all love stories like these, where there are good people and bad people, and the bad people lose to the good people. It is so black and white. This film greyed it a bit, and tried to make the point that acting as a vigilante is not the way to go, however since the heroine gets away with murder, the message may have gotten a little lost.
What is always missing from all of this, is the story of the perpetrators of crime. So many things led up to the terrible act that took this woman’s lover away from her, it wasn’t just an isolated cruel act from some evil people. No, while the men, and everyone else who perpetrates violence, are responsible for their actions, there must have been so many things that twisted them into the men that they became.
How did society fail them, allow them to lead a life where they had no choice but to join a gang, to steal and assault and murder to survive, to have them live in slums as 2nd, 3rd … class citizens, socially oppressed descendents of migrants, living a story that fits for them, what other stories do they have? They lead a life where they have been violated, and continue to perpetuate violence on others. They didn’t just wake up some day and start doing evil deeds.
No, every society, we are collectively responsible for the state of that we live in. The film talked about the city being an organism that adapts it’s DNA, how can we shape ours to be something better than what we have now, where love, mercy and justice are perpetuated?
Locking people up, or running around alleyways shooting them, is not a sustainable solution to this situation. We need generations to commit to change in order to bring about a just and equitable society.
Buyers guide for websites
I’m part way through creating a buyers guide for website services. I would love to know your thoughts on what you believe are the most important things people should know before they engage any web services company.
Please comment below, or email me connect at cameronthompson.com.au
Who owns good?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tasteful_tn/1807791274/
Recently we had a great group from Hillsong come around to the youth centre to volunteer for an afternoon. They did well, and we had some interesting conversations.
It was interesting to note some of the volunteer’s reactions when discussing all of the services and programs that we, a secular youth centre, run for the community. They almost seemed surprised to find that there were people other than themselves “doing good” in the world.
I might just be reading my own experience into this, but I remember the first time I experienced this. Growing up in a strongly moralistic Christian home, and being heavily involved in the church, I was thoroughly convinced that good only comes from God, and therefore through Christian people. I was shocked when I experienced good actions and charity coming from people who seemed to be “immoral” or “godless”. I had thought that the only motivation for doing good things was to please God.
As it turns out, our creator has placed his image on everyone. Even though the world has become a twisted place, the best things of humanity, derived from a good God still shine through.
A great philosophical friend recently remarked, that mankind’s propensity for evil, is matched by its propensity for good.
* note: I used to be equally shocked when I saw “good” Christians doing bad things.
Fatherhood at Easter
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wellington_grey/ / CC BY 2.0
This Easter Sunday was the first in my life when I didn’t attend a church service. I stayed home to look after the baby and have a sleep in instead 
.
It was really wonderful to be able to reflect on the Father/Son dynamic that took place on the cross being a new dad. We always talk about the sacrifice that Jesus made, but I think that we neglect to consider the whole picture (unless you are Jurgen Moltmann of course).
I can’t forsee a situation where I would be able to put my son through such a situation. To knowingly send my child into a situation with no way out, to have him beg to let him out of it, but continue. To see him suffer for something that is completely not his fault. I cannot imagine it.
You see, it wasn’t just the sins of the world which Jesus was taking on. In that moment of forsakenness, where the Son was separated from the Father for the first time, that he took on our separateness, our brokenness, the complete violation of spiritual relationship that had taken place.
I am so thankful that this took place on our behalf, and I pray that I never have to go through it with my own children.
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I had the opportunity to have a very interesting conversation with an experienced member of the police force today, and discuss my experiences of dealings with the police in regards to my social work with young people.
It was interesting to hear the presumption of guilt, the frustration with the courts and justice system, the tiredness of offenders getting away with things and police having their hands tied. There was a longing for the “good ‘ol days” when police could use more brutal methods of interrogation, when criminals were scum and allowed to be treated as such. Obviously there are quite different viewpoints when you are on the other side of the uniform.
In talking about this, I was reminded of Luke 11:24-26, which talks about someone being delivered from an unclean spirit, and how, they can end up worse than they were in the beginning if there isn’t something better to replace it. Its not enough just to clean a place up, if you don’t deal with the factors that caused it to become unclean. You need to be filled up with good, so that there is no more place for evil.
The big takeaway for me was the realisation that law enforcement and social work/social justice can be two sides of the same coin, although they would at times seem to be in opposition to one another. The victims of crime, and society, deserve and demand justice to be meted out to those who commit acts that violate our society. The rule of law is an essential and basic element for a society to feel a sense of safety. Law enforcement is like taking medicine to cure an illness. Of course you must stop the immediate pain and damage, or the person will perish. But this will not prevent the illness reoccuring. For that you may need a change in lifestyle, in diet, whatever, in order to bring about healthy conditions for the person.
In social work, we often focus on the circumstances that led, for example, a young person to commit a certain act. We want to address those things, and we hold grave concerns for that young person’s future should they get stuck in the “corrections” system, as often happens. There are long term interventions that need to take place, and conditions and beliefs that need to be addressed in order to prevent that young person from reoffending. We are aware of the futulity of the current corrections system in accomplishing this.
However, victims and society, need to see justice done. Where law enforcement seems to go wrong, is that they believe that harsher, longer penalties will deter people from criminal acts. Often I have heard people reference non-western countries where the rule of law seems to be stronger, where capital punishment is enacting, and they speak in loving terms about these systems. Try being critical of the government, or advocating for change, or justice in such places, and you might suffer a similar fate to a “criminal”.
We need long term social interventions, we need to address the causes of social problems and crime, and as a society, we need to know that we are safe, and that justice will be done. Both sets of interventions are absolutely essential in a just and safe society.
Thoughts on Sales
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Selling, science or art?
Either way, it is something which most definitely can be learned. When I started out in business I was terrible at sales; discounting, not able to close, uncomfortable talking about money, unable to demonstrate value, bad at follow up, just to name a few of my issues. The majority of people whom I managed to convince to buy were friends or family and wanted to support me.
I thought that I would have to become a shark to survive, selling with pressure and good lines and pitches and manipulation. This is the opposite of my personality, and I didn’t really want to become like that. It turns out, all of that was a misconception of what sales is meant to be about.
There are so many skills and personal attributes that come into play during the selling process. I believe that a huge part of a person’s ability to sell comes from inside – who they are, how much they value themselves, what they believe etc. It reminds me of advice about dogs, people say “don’t let them smell your fear”. Well, people are perceptive of non-verbal communication as well. We know when someone is not confident, or doesn’t believe in what they are doing, when their motives are not pure, and oftentimes, we know when people are lying or when they are just plain afraid. When these non-verbal messages are communicated, people don’t want to buy.
Then there are the skills. The number one skill in selling for me is demonstrating value. If you can quantify the benefit that will be received by the client from your product or service, then no convincing is required. If you can make it obvious, that by buying from you, the benefit will be far greater than the cost of buying, then you have won, and the client will feel great about it in the process.
The next most important skill I believe, is the “where to from here?”. If you have led someone through a consultative process, and solved their problems, then you shouldn’t really need to “close”, but rather move to the next most natural and obvious stage in the relationship where they engage and pay for your services. At some point, someone needs to clarify the status of the relationship, and don’t count on waiting around all day for the client to do it.
Now, I’m not into the sneaky “alternative close”, i.e. “would you like option a or option b today?” (umm, how about option c, keeping my money), but alternatively you can simply explain what happens next if they want to move forward. “If you would like to go ahead, we will need a 50% deposit, and will have the project delivered within a week, would you like me to send you the service agreement?” If you have done your job right, and qualified the client right (another important skill), you should be able to get an answer here and now. If not, you will probably face some objection or stalling from the client.
The other really core skill in my understanding, is qualifying prospects. Asking the questions early on in the relationship, that will tell you if its going to be a good match, and then being willing to let people go if its not. This will save so much stress, pain and heartache that you wouldn’t believe.
You cannot never blame the client for being too stupid to take up your great offer. If they are not wanting to go ahead, then you have probably done something wrong in the education process. It is up to you to take responsibility and make it right, demonstrate value, or qualify the client once again.
Again – core of sales skills – value, process, qualifying – order of importance, not order of process.
Often people take things for granted which come for free. I have given out too much free advice to clients in the past, who would come back to me one or two months afterwards with “expert x says that this is a good idea, we should do that”. Sometimes I let it slide, and sometimes I say, “well, I told you that two months ago.”
Why didn’t they listen to me at the time, or take my advice seriously?
I believe that much of the reason is that I didn’t charge for it. The clients were not valuing it because they never had to pay for it, it never cost them anything.
So, in such a scenario, what is the point of the whole exchange? None. I give up my time to give free advice, thinking that I am providing value, for which I get nothing. The client proceeds to ignore the advice, because they didn’t pay for it, they get no value out of my free time, because they don’t do anything with the advice, do not benefit, and do not make any money. No one wins, everyone’s time is wasted.
If I had charged for the time, they may have been more likely to act on it, gained value from it, and been appreciative of it. I would have made money in exchange for my time. Everyone wins, no one’s time is wasted.
That is why you must charge for you time, and charge enough that your advice be taken seriously, and people perceive to receive value from what you do.
Otherwise, what’s the point?
Lessons Learned in 2009
At the start of the year, I was reflecting on the year gone past and thinking about what I had learnt. Turns out, there was quite a bit, so here goes:
- Take opportunities as they come, embrace them, try new things, meet new people; you don’t know when you might have another opportunity.
- The things you fear to do are usually never as bad as you imagine, just get started.
- Momentum is important, it can be like magic when you have it, everything seems easier. The opposite is also true. Once momentum is gained, it is really useful to keep it going.
- Life is empty without true friendshi, real friends bring so much energy and happiness into your life, don’t try to get through without them.
- Trying to save money by being cheap may cause you to waste it and time in other ways. Spent a little upfront, save a whole lot more.
- People don’t make decisions based on facts, usually their emotions instead.
- Talk less, do more.
- Learning to be assertive can be painful for everyone involved, but it is worth the effort in the end.
- Don’t neglect rest or pay the price.
There were many more things, but I will keep the rest to myself.
Have a fantastic 2010.
Before this blog
This blog is new, but I’m not new to blogging.
I found it difficult to write on just a limited range of topics, sometimes, I would write just for the sake of getting something up, rather than because I was inspired to do so. I believe that I have more to say, on a range of subjects, so that is what I will be sharing here, the place where a diversity of disciplines and philosophies meet at an intersection.
If you are interested, you can find previous thoughts about online marketing and website development can be found at www.4yourownsafety.com
Photography work lives at bayvisions.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by. I will be sharing my thoughts and insights on business, marketing, develoment, sustainability, theology and life, because I think that they are all connected.
Look forward to beginning the conversation with you.
Cameron Thompson
