Silo Mentality

Today's post is a reflection on the pervasive approach to finances that most organizations fall into as they grow. They adopt an institutional process of "silo-ing" money. The money goes into line items or into departmental accounts and then is carefully guarded against all comers. It doesn't matter that all are working for the same organization or the same basic purpose, everybody needs their own piece of the pie - and God forbid that one is asked to share any of it! I've seen the same mentality in faith communities - especially larger ones with more resources. If the faith community develops a habit of "ear marking" funds for special projects or is not transparent in its handling of the money given to God, then the silo mentality can develop. A lack of relationship and trust is at the crux of the problem. When the people in charge of the funds forget who their working for (i.e., God) and for what purpose the money is given (to further the works of God here on Earth), then the human tendancy toward pettiness and fear sets in. Fear of the future, especially in troubling financial times, can derail the best intents of well meaning people. Did you ever wonder why the men who created the United States Treasury decided to inscribe each coin with the statement "In God We Trust"? Certainly, they heeded the scripture which told them that placing their trust in humans was apt to be problematic. They certainly had no idea what the future held, and therefore had to rely on their faith to give them the vision to move such a monumental task (creating a new country) forward. Was the moniker placed on every coin a subtle reminder to them (and to us) that we are operating for something larger than ourselves? For a God that wants our love, but also wants us to love each other more than we love ourselves. There is so little that we can actually control in our lives that at some point we must come to the conclusion that working only for our interest doesn't ever work. The only way to break out of the silo mentality both in budgets and in practice is to get to know one another to the point that we can build a level of trust. Trust build slowly and can be destroyed in an instant - but without it, nothing happens. You only need to look at the behaviors in the House and Senate (and other governmental leadership) to see a case study of this. Without right relationship and trust, we all suffer needlessly, and seemingly endlessly. Who do you trust in your life? So this week, get to know someone better. Seek to develop a right relatinoship that will foster trust and the ability to see the world through each other's eyes. Remove the silo mentality and replace it with a mentality of love and mutual respect. Peace for the journey, Dan