Lately, I've been thinking about the verses quoted below and the things we tend to take credit for as businesspersons. Professionally speaking, I develop software, I design websites, and I take photographs - though the last only part-time. People pay me to capture a moment and photographers pay me to improve their business. Even if I provide those services beyond a client's expectations (which is my aim), am I really changing their life? Am I really creating freedom for someone? To say I am is quite a bold claim.
A great photograph may be cherished for years, even generations. It may invoke feelings of joy, nostalgia, and love. But has a photograph really changed anyone? Has it made someone a better person? A better wife? A better father? Has it made anyone more honest, more patient, or more forgiving?
A great website may improve your business. It can increase your bookings and make your more money. Good software may shave hours off your workflow. But has this really created any freedom in the form of liberty? Or has it just changed your external situation.
Too often I think we confuse temporary feelings with lasting change; or we mistake free time and purchasing power with freedom. Corrupt people have memories too; likewise, a wealthy person is just as likely to be in bondage as a poor person.
I love what I do and I strive for excellence when I do it. But for me to think I can change someone's life or create a state of liberty for them - well, that would make me either extremely arrogant or extremely ignorant.
