Why Did You Write the Bible?
I looked at my notes but then looked off into the distance. While I was trying to focus on organization and business-based questions, I thought about my days in Sunday school and everything I learned about God. I thought about the many years I did not believe in him. Maybe it was because I did not believe in myself.
Then the question just popped out. “Lord, why did you write the Bible?”
The Lord blotted his fake sweat again with his Nike embossed towel and responded. “Everyone needs a guidebook. Remember the IKEA bookshelf you bought three years ago and how you got frustrated when putting it together? You wished you had better instructions. You needed a guide that you understood, written by authors who understood you and your needs—a personalized and customized instruction guide. Well, that’s the Bible. It’s my instruction book for humankind, using examples and stories I knew they could understand.”
“I love the Noah’s Ark story. Did that really happen,” I asked.
“Do you think it happened?”
“Before this interview, I did not even know if I believed in you,” I replied. I remembered my old Sunday school classroom with a drawing of Noah on the ark with all his animals.
“Noah was real, the Ark was real, the story is real. Now the water might not have covered all the world and maybe not everyone died, but the general story is true. The best way to really convey something that people will internalize is through stories. Even those who are not religiously inclined know about Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, and numerous other stories that have stuck with them. While these stories might not be the foundation of every religion, they are my foundation for how I wanted to teach the world. I wanted both feel-good stories and cautionary tales to help explain various concepts. I have a blast reading all the different opinions theologians and lay folks have espoused over the years trying to interpret my stories. Sometimes they are so focused on the minutia that they do not think about the bigger picture.”
“Can you give me some examples?”
The Lord looked down for a second—probably to make sure he would not trip, as he was running like a sprinter now. Then he started to raise some concepts that just blew me away.
“Son, what do you get out of the story of Adam and Eve?”
I knew this one.
“You told Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge. She ate and then gave Adam a bite as well. You punished them by kicking them out of the Garden of Eden. Oh, and there was a snake who got punished for convincing Eve to eat the apple.”
I threw in the bit about the snake at the last second just to bolster my Bible school pedigree. I assumed there was more to the story—I mean, the Lord was in front of me, and he personally knew its protagonists.
“Nice job summarizing the story, kid.” The Lord’s Apple watch indicated he completed his rings—though considering what I’d seen in just a few minutes, he probably completed all the rings for the month. An average person can close their Apple watch’s exercise ring by completing at least 30 minutes of activity at or above a brisk walk, and the Lord had been running nonstop. I was surprised that the treadmill didn’t explode from overuse. I wondered if he did this workout every day.
“I do Sam…and it’s because I love cannoli.”
He glided off the treadmill and moved closer to me. Still not a drop of sweat. I was awed. He motioned to his desk and a tray of cannoli appeared. He offered me one, which I declined. He took one from the tray and bit into it. The look of sheer joy on his face was so endearing. It was like the face of a child eating his or her favorite desert.
The Lord finished his cannoli and continued, “Sam, close but no cigar. That is not really the story. That is why you really need to dig into the facts and not rely on just the headlines. Sam, you are a business writer, so you know about open book management where managers need to be as transparent as possible to better manage. Think of the Bible as open book management where the facts are all there, one just needs to look carefully to find useful information. You can share some critical facts, but it is important to look beyond the obvious and then a new story emerges. If you read the story carefully, you’ll see that I told Adam not to eat from the tree of knowledge. I never spoke to Eve. How did she know that she shouldn’t eat the fruit? She heard it from Adam and then from the snake.
“That’s an example of how communication can get all screwy in an organization. That is not the only example. Another is how I told Abraham about my promise of a great nation coming from him. He never conveyed that message to Sarah. That’s why Sarah offered her handmaid (Hagar) to him. If she had been told a great nation would come from her offspring, I am sure she would not have given Hagar to Abraham. If two people have trouble getting on the same page, imagine what it is like for a company with thousands of employees.”
I thought about the trusted post office game of Broken Telephone—or whatever the game is called—where a message gets messed up after everyone around the room has supposedly heard the message.
“So why was Eve punished if it was Adam’s fault for not telling her?”
“Wonderful question. I love it. Do you think she shouldn’t have been punished?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Lord, I am not trying to second guess you.”
“Just answer the question, Sam. I will not feel hurt.”
“Well, it seems like if the message was not conveyed to her correctly, how could she have been punished? I mean…. maybe she should have been punished a little, but not the pain of childbirth. I have not given birth before, but I know the pain my wife felt, and I probably would not have survived that ordeal.”
“So maybe I was too harsh, but I was trying to send a very important message. I was trying to send several messages. First, we are all responsible for each other and need to watch each other’s back. Who had Eve’s back? The snake had his own agenda. He was trying to throw humans under the proverbial bus. Adam was not focused on protecting others. He quickly gave instructions and then went on his merry way. Even Eve was not thinking about protecting herself. The first key for the story is the need to protect others to avoid harm.”
The Lord held up two fingers before continuing.
“Second, Sam, managers must go beyond the blame game to solve a problem. There was plenty of blame to go around. The snake, well, he was just like all the backstabbers out there: not concerned about others and only looking out for himself, regardless of the carnage he left behind. Adam, well, he should have clearly conveyed the message he received. Plus, he knew what he was doing when he ate from the tree of knowledge. He had no guts and waited to see what happened to Eve after she bit into the fruit before he took a bite. At no time did Adam take a proactive step to fence off the tree, put up a barrier, or even remove the fruit to avoid any temptation. By not eliminating an obstacle, the snake was able to take advantage of the situation and the lack of guardrails to entrap Eve. One law in my Bible is to not put a stumbling block in front of the blind…that is what happened in the story.”
The Lord lifted three fingers now.
“Third, well Eve, she had the least amount of blame in the matter, but she missed a very important point: ask questions when you do not know. She should have asked for clarification or for additional information. Just think if you get pulled over by a police officer and your excuse is you did not see the speed limit sign. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, right? Well, the same thing in the workplace. Everyone needs to know the rules, they have to know what is right and wrong, and need to ask if they think something might be amiss. In every workplace there are workers out to give bad information to help sabotage people’s careers. Eve had the opportunity at the last minute to ask, but she did not. She in fact expanded what I told Adam by saying that she cannot eat, nor could she touch the tree of knowledge (Genesis 3:3). I never told Adam he could not touch the tree. She either added to the directive or misunderstood Adam’s directive. She could have stopped her actions and asked for clarification, but she went forward with eating the fruit and then she shared it with Adam. At that point, she knew the difference between right and wrong. Yet she threw Adam under the bus. She was of superior intellect from eating from the fruit and yet she gave the fruit to Adam knowing at that point what the fruit could do. That is why I punished her the way I did.”
“Remember context. There were not that many moving parts in the story. There was Adam, Eve, the snake, the tree, and me. If things could go so wrong on the very first day in the Garden, then imagine all the problems that could arise in large businesses with thousands of moving parts.”
Wow. I had known the story, but not from that angle.
“What other stories do you think my readers would possible misconstrue?”
“The entire Bible is filled with great stories. It’s almost impossible to choose just one other story that might resonate with your readers. Let me give you another example so that you’ll understand.”
The Lord started walking towards the windows. He had a great view of the skyline. I think that is what prompted his next story.
“The Tower of Babel is a great story. It provides a great example of the planning element of management. The builders had a very specific goal. Their goal was to build a tower to make a name for themselves (Genesis 11:4), but more importantly, the people wanted to unify under a common goal. That is admirable. They said that they wanted to come together to build bricks and then to come together to build a city and a tower.”
The Lord pulled up a picture of an edifice I assumed was the Tower of Babel on one of his screens. The Lord continued, “Many great architects have attempted to build large buildings piercing the sky and I don’t have a problem with that. They are building these huge edifices for glory and prestige. That can be an appropriate goal for mortals. However, if it is the wrong goal then it could end up destroying the organization. If the people in Babel wanted to build a city to protect each other…fine. That would have been a great corporate goal. It would be like Xerox saying they want to build the best photocopier. Instead, their goal was more nefarious. It would be akin to Xerox saying they just want to destroy Hewlett Packard. That is not a positive nor productive goal, but a goal that creates a toxic environment. Such goals normally lead to failure.”
Next on the screen popped up video of an epic battle.
“What movie is that from Lord?”
“Movie? That is not a movie, Sam. That is the Battle of Marathon, which took place during the first Persian invasion of Greece by King Darius’ Persian army.”
“I have seen this ‘wrong goal attitude’ with so many armies over the years. Yes, they were able to vanquish their enemies in the short run, but that victory was normally short-lived. The Babylonians, Romans, Greek, Persians—all the ‘great’ empires no longer stand. But my people are still around. The Israelite’s goal was never to conquer all. These empires felt they needed to keep conquering to survive. Thus, the wrong goal.”
The Lord continued, “In the Bible, Nimrod was a mighty hunter and thought he was great. He convinced everyone that, with a common goal, they could succeed. He was the first true leader in the Bible. He had strength, wisdom, and fame…he was the whole package. Instead of using his skills for good, he decided that he was going to try and replace me. His free will was focused on trying to dominate everything and everyone. As a great hunter, he was able to show dominion over animals. As a mighty warrior, he was able to show dominion over people. But that was not enough. He wanted ultimate control over the world. He is like so many evil leaders in the past who thought that if they were in control, everything would work out well since they had all the answers.”
The screens flickered on. Thousands of faces. Some I could distinguish, such as Mao, Stalin, and Hitler, but most were unfamiliar.
“Yes, Sam, there are way too many people who have done evil, and I punish them. Oh boy, do they get punished in Hell for all their crimes. I have a special place for these folks. However, one does not need to be evil to thousands or even millions. Punishment can be meted out to those who do evil to only one other person. But going back to Nimrod: he convinced his followers that he had the right path if only others would follow him. Others did follow him and followed his goal. They even took that goal as their own. The story represents the first attempt at large-scale planning of this magnitude, and it was actually a huge success—everyone was on board. It might be the first and only example where everyone was following the game plan…. but it was the wrong game plan, with wrong goals, and it led to a disastrous outcome.”
I thought for a moment about the posters in my Sunday school classroom with all the Tower of Babel workers fighting. They seemed so intent in the picture on completing the tower. On the screens popped up an image of workers on the Tower. I was watching a time lapse image of construction process. At first the workers were all happy. Over time they lost the joy in their eyes. Then they started getting upset with each other. They started yelling at each other in different languages. Then they started throwing tools and bricks at each other. In the span of several minutes, I was able to watch how the story unfolded and the true-life result of not having an appropriate goal. Then I thought about all the examples of businesses that started out with a great goal. They might have wanted to change the world; they had an invention or a new cure for a disease. How many of these companies spiraled down when they lost their focus and pursued the wrong cause?
The Lord blurted out, “What was Enron?” It was as if he had just correctly answered a question on Jeopardy.
I thought for a moment and then asked: “But the Bible is not just about stories, right?”
“There are stories, Sam, and then there are rules. Lots of rules. In fact, I gave the Israelites 613 positive and negative commandments. I used the stories to help make the rules clear.”
“Holy cow, how could anyone follow so many rules?”
“Well, Sam, it is tough. Since the destruction of my temple in Jerusalem, the Israelites don’t need to follow as many rules, but they have several hundred that they’re supposed to follow to this day.”
“Do they need to follow those rules to get to Heaven?” I asked without thinking that there might not be a heaven or hell.
“Yes, there is a Heaven and a Hell.” The Lord smiled.
“Maybe Heaven and Hell aren’t as most people envision them, but they exist. I want everyone to go to Heaven and I only set seven laws for those who are not Jewish to get into Heaven. It is actually very easy to get into heaven for those who want to pursue that path. I want as many people to make it here—I mean there—as possible and prefer not to have people go to Hell. That’s one reason I allow someone on their deathbed to make a sincere confession and apology, and why the act of confession can absolve all their sins.”
Up on the screens was an image of what I assumed were clouds. Maybe this was Heaven?
“No Sam, it is not heaven…just a bunch of beautiful clouds. I like the image of clouds as part of Heaven because it seems, like clouds, to be just a little out of reach. Sam, Heaven and Hell are pretty close to one another. It can be a state of mind besides a final destination for the soul. The story I like the most that distinguishes between the two is the person who walks into Hell and sees a beautiful banquet hall with the greatest possible meal. I mean, this meal was incredible. Steaks, wine, a wonderful salad, and deserts like you would not believe…it was great. The people were all sitting around looking frustrated. Their elbows bent the opposite way, so they were never able to feed themselves. Thus, even with all the wonderful food, the people were starving.”
Up on the screen was a video of a large banquet where everyone was shouting because they could not eat any of the food.
“Sam, the person then visited Heaven. He saw the same scene with a wonderful banquet table filled with the same great food. In contrast to Hell, in Heaven, everyone was smiling. The visitor asked me why there was a difference. I asked him to look closely, and that is when he noticed that while the people at the table had their elbows bending the opposite way, they were not upset. They were not upset because they were feeding the people on either side. Through feeding the people on each side they were also being fed.”
Up on the screen was the same video but everyone was happy. I wish I had the ability to create instant videos. What better way to prove my point in any argument? In our TikTok society, imagine if the Lord was able to produce several videos every day. The number of religious people would skyrocket.
“Sam, Heaven is giving to others and experiencing the joy from that activity. I love that analogy and sometimes I do a test to see if people notice the difference. It is a sneaky test for those folks sitting on the fence to see if they can appreciate the value of giving to others as that is what they need to do in Heaven.”
I liked the analogy as well. I was still thinking about the 613 laws and how difficult it must be to be Jewish when as a Christian I only had to follow seven laws. “What are the laws I have to follow, Lord?”
“The seven Noahide laws were given after the time of Noah, and include requirements such as not killing, not robbing, appointing judges, not eating parts of a living animal, avoiding illicit sexual relations, not blaspheming the Lord, and not denying the Lord. I do not think that is too difficult for anyone today to follow, but it is a challenge for many.”
“Hey, I cannot set up a court system, but I follow all the other rules. Is that good. Can I make it to Heaven?”
“Sam, one of the hardest ones to follow is to not steal or rob, because so many people steal without knowing it. Let’s say you reduce your taxes by not declaring all income…that is stealing. Or let’s just say that you have someone waiting for a meeting an extra hour after the meeting was scheduled. That is stealing their time.”
“Lord, would that mean it would be impossible to even follow the seven laws? I mean, come on, who hasn’t started slowly at a traffic light that just turned green? That would probably cost someone a second here or there.”
“Context, Sam. I would not go crazy over every little violation. Otherwise, I would be spending all day looking at these screens and dinging every human being. I look for patterns or egregious conduct. I try not to nitpick, but I’ve seen all too often situations in which someone starts with small violations and then slide down the rabbit hole.”
“If a person does not need to follow all your rules, why do you have so many rules, especially in the Old Testament where you gave the Israelites numerous rules and regulations? I mean, all those kosher rules are hard to understand.”
“You make it seem like that I am a bureaucracy, Sam? Some of my rules have meaning and reason behind them. Others are just concepts I developed to see if the people can obey my command. I’m not trying to be mean by imposing rules on my people but trying to help develop self-control. Think of me as the original self-help guru or An Idiot’s Guide to a Good Life book.”
“So, keeping kosher is not healthier? I always thought it was healthier.”
“Yes, it can be healthier, but have you ever had chocolate babka? Oh, it is so sweet—and it cannot be healthy for you. But if you really like it, isn’t it great to exercise self-control when you pass on eating that second piece of babka because you know it will not be good for you?”
“So are all rules there for self-control?” I asked.
“I thought that rules would be great to help guide people, and still do. The first communication I had with mankind was to give Adam a rule and look at what he did! I give rules and hope that people will follow them, because it will benefit them in the long run. That is how there are speed limits, and very few people follow them. Even I slow down when I see a police officer while driving my Prius, even though I am normally following the speed limit. I was the inspiration for The Little Old Lady from Pasadena.”
I was trying to imagine the Lord drag racing down the strip…and then thought that would be an unfair advantage.
The Lord sat back and continued. “I think most managers also like rules as it gives them a foundation upon which they can manage. It gives the employees an idea of what they must do and gives managers a resource or reference to use with workers if they violate the rules. However, people often run afoul due to the freewill of mankind. Remember my command to Adam, ‘Don’t eat from the tree of knowledge?’ I ask you, son if you heard that from me what would you do?”
“Of course, I would listen to you.” I knew I nailed it on that one.
“That is what you say right now, but if you were not in my office and you saw that wonderfully-looking fruit, you might eat it, and I would not fault you. I gave humans free will, and they love to exercise it. That is one reason why I created the opportunity for repentance. If a person violates a rule, then shows true remorse, and internalizes not to violate the rule again, maybe it is worthwhile to forgive them. If you look at all the screens I have, there are countless examples of people who have followed this exact formula. I have an algorithm built into my monitoring system to record such instances.”
I wondered who wrote the Lord’s software program to do all this work. “I was the programmer. I took some basic programming classes years ago. It has made me so efficient.”
The Lord looked very proud. Up on a screen popped up a certificate for basic programming. I would not have been able to learn everything he had learned to develop a program to help run the world.
“Getting back to what we were talking about, Sam: I gave Adam and Eve a second chance after they violated a rule that should have resulted in death. Sometimes you need some flexibility. Think about it like how you warn your children if they violate a rule you set for them. Thus, rules are critical, and the Bible contains rules that can help serve as guideposts for many people. I would say to managers that they should develop clear and necessary rules, enforce them uniformly, and be judicious in how employees are punished. A warning and some leniency in punishment can often go a long way. I have witnessed numerous instances where employees have messed up for millions of reasons.”
Up on the screen popped up images. Some looked like the blooper reel of a reality show, but others showed people in tough situations because they had made an unfortunate mistake.
“Sam, should some of these folks be terminated immediately? Yes. Some acts are so bad that they need immediate termination to protect people or the organization. Other times, an employee might have just made a small mistake or some indiscretion. Should they be forgiven? It all depends on the context. There have been so many people who violated a rule, were given an opportunity to make amends, and what did they do? Not all, but many used that revelation and opportunity to turn themselves around. Look how often I forgave the Israelites for violating my rules repeatedly. Think of the Bible as an employee manual–but with a soft side.”
I thought about one of my prior administrative assistants. He had been a great worker but had hit hard times when his father died.
“Phil started showing up late and his behavior became more erratic. It was a violation of workplace rules, though not a major violation. For example, he kept stealing some office supplies. We were torn about what to do with him. While there is no mention of taking Post-it notes in the employee handbook, it was still considered a violation of workplace rules because it was stealing. Ultimately, I decided to confront him in a non-hostile manner. By talking and getting to know his issues and concerns, we were able to work together to solve his issues. It turned out that he had promised his father that he would finish his college degree and he had not yet done so. Thus, he was upset that, in his opinion, he had failed his father and that was leading him down a depression spiral. Once I knew the root of the problem, we were able to work out a plan for him to complete his degree. Communication and developing a plan highlighted the difference between what is the rule of law and how sometimes being flexible and pushing the boundaries of rules can lead to real change.”
“Great story, Sam, it is all about the context. Sometimes we must follow the book and other times we need to use our godly intuition.”
The Lord continued, “You know, Phil—your old assistant— he really thanks you from the bottom of his heart. In fact, he told his wife and me that he owes his current success, a wonderful family, and a fulfilled life to you.”
How could I respond to such a compliment? I was ashamed I had lost touch with Phil. I wrote a note to call him ASAP.
