Setting a pattern

Mark, my boss at work, has a laid back style.  Under great pressure, he remains cool.  Yet he is far from lackadaisical.  He works assiduously to provide the best computer experience to the staff.  This takes a lot of trouble and effort, and time and again he just buckles down and does it.  That this is a character trait is evidenced by how he also applies the same assiduousness to projects he undertakes outside of work.  He has accomplished many weekend projects that most others would call in a contractor for.  Yesterday he showed me a PowerPoint presentation he had developed at home for a Fantasy Football League that he heads.  He had gone to considerable effort to isolate and pull out a league logo from another image and tailored it to his particular league. The presentation will be displaying on his wide screen TV when the league gathers at his home this weekend.  It will be a simple way of introducing this year’s rule changes.  He also has created a computerized graphic chart for assigning draft picks, made arrangements for trophy presentations, and created a large presentation poster-sized check for the winner of last year’s league.  In short, he works for the league as if he were on stipend when in fact it is all done as a volunteer.  Mark’s efforts call to mind the following scripture: Matthew 25:23 (NIV) “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”  The master’s charge affirms the principle of character consistency—from a known pattern of actions future often unconnected acts are presumed.

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