1 Typical Ways for Handling Change
- 1. Predict what is likely to happen
- Usually, it is an extension of the past. This is fine if there are no fundamental changes. But we know that Black Swam events like COVID-19, and the Fukushima tsunami height exceed engineers' safety height by 5.2m, etc.
- A better way is Scenario Planning - We try to foresee the likely scenarios and work out our plans.
- 2. Make Contingency Plans for the Worst Case Scenario:
- This is a prudent action. But as in above, the change may exceed our expectations and our contingency is not adequate.
- 3. Watch and Adapt
- Be alert, and watch out for the early signs of potential changes, and get ready to handle it when the change magnitude increases. iChing hexagram #2 坤 first stage line says 初六 履霜，堅冰至。 Stepping on frost, solid ice arrives.
- 4 Keep Our Options open:
- Preparing for every eventuality may be too costly and impractical. So it may be better to keep our options open in our decision-making.
- 5. From what is happening now, figure out the future implications:
- With the aging population, it is easy to figure out increasing needs for healthcare, entertainment for the aged since they have time and money, and so forth. With the prevalence of mobile phones, all business transactions should be done through them - no need for physical cash, credit cards, or other physical artifacts.
- Using the Unchanging to Handle the Ever-Changing
- The Chinese have a saying "以不变治万变“ - "using the unchanging to manage the ever-changing".
- This is best illustrated by Jeff Bezos of Amazon. He said that instead of trying to figure out what customers may want, one should ask what customers want that never change. The answer seems quite obvious: cheapest, most choices, and immediate delivery. So he built Amazon to deliver those customers' values and he never had to change his strategies.
- As believers, we have the unchanging eternal God and His Words for us to rely on to meet whatever changes we may face.
3 The Unchanging is God
Lessons:- Hebrews 13:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
/ Jesus' love for us never changes. It does not depend on us but on him the faithful one. 2 Tim 2:13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.
- James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
/ External changes do not change the good and perfect gift from God.
- Numbers 23:19: "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"
/ God's promise is sure.
- Isaiah 40:8: "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever."
/ We are all so familiar with the changing of seasons, the growth and death of all living things, that we are unable to believe in the unchanging yet we secretly long for the eternal. God is the One who will satisfy our longing.
- Psalm 102:25-27: "Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end."
/ Another reassurance of God's unchanging power and love for us.
- Psalm 33:11: "But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."
/ The plan of God is to bless you and your descendants. Don't worry about who will care for your children.
- Revelation 1:8 (ESV): "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
/ God surpasses time and is not restricted by time like us. He is ever present and the origin of lives and time.
- Matthew 5:17-20. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
/ All the laws and promises of God are to be fulfilled. We are to live according to God's standards of right and wrong. The sin of Adam and Eve is that they rejected God's Words and standards and wanted to judge right and wrong according to their wishes.
- The best way to handle change is to use the unchanging to meet every change. Rest and trust in our eternal God whose promises to us will not change but be fulfilled. His Words and His Laws are never changing too. We must follow God's values and laws(how things will work, causes and effects given in the Bible) in all we do.
- We give thanks to God who is unchanging, who gives us Laws and Promises to bless and guide us. We shall follow His standards and Laws in our lives and trust Him, in times of challenges, that He will enable us to overcome them. May we live in confidence, peace, and joy because our God is unchanging and keep His promises always. Hallelujah!
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治变的秘方
1 处理变化的典型方式
- 预测可能发生的情况：
通常，这是过去的延续。如果没有根本性的变化，这是可以的。但是我们知道像COVID-19这样的黑天鹅事件，以及福岛海啸使得海啸高度超出工程师的安全高度5.2米等情况。 更好的方式是情景规划 - 我们尝试预见可能的情景并制定我们的计划。 - 为最坏情况制定应急计划： 这是一种谨慎的做法。但如上所述，变革可能超出我们的预期，我们的应急计划可能不足够。
- 观察并适应：
保持警惕，留意潜在变化的早期迹象，并在变化的幅度增加时做好准备应对。易经卦辞第二卦坤的初六爻说：“踏霜堅冰至”。踏上霜冻，坚冰到来。 - 保持选择的开放性： 为每一种可能性做准备可能过于昂贵和不切实际。因此，在决策中保持选择的开放性可能更好。
- 从当前发生的事情中找出未来的影响： 随着人口的老龄化，很容易想象出对医疗保健的需求增加，因为老年人有时间和金钱，等等。随着手机的普及，所有的商业交易都应该通过手机进行 - 不需要实体现金、信用卡或其他实体物品。
- 用不变的东西应对不断变化 中国有句谚语：“以不变治万变” - “用不变的来管理不断变化的”。 这最好由亚马逊的杰夫·贝佐斯来说明。他说，与其试图弄清顾客可能想要什么，不如问顾客永远不会改变的是什么。答案似乎非常明显：最便宜、最多选择和即时交付。因此，他建立了亚马逊来传递这些顾客的价值观，他从未改变过自己的策略。 作为信徒，我们有永恒不变的上帝和祂的话语，可以依靠来应对我们可能面临的一切变化。
- 希伯来书13:8：“耶稣基督，昨日今日一直到永远，是一样的。” / 耶稣对我们的爱永不改变。这不取决于我们，而取决于祂这位忠信的主。提摩太后书2:13：“我们若失信，他仍是可信的，因为他不能背乎自己。”
- 雅各书1:17：“各样美善的恩赐和各样完全的赏赐都是从上头来的，从众光之父那里降下来的，在他并没有改变，也没有转动的影儿。” / 外部的变化不会改变上帝赐予的美好和完美的恩赐。
- 民数记23:19：“神非人，必不致说谎；也非人子，必不致后悔。他说话岂不照着行呢？他发言岂不要成就呢？” / 上帝的应许是确实的。
- 以赛亚书40:8：“草必枯干，花必凋残，惟有我们神的话必永远立定。” / 我们都对季节的更迭、一切生物的生长与死亡如此熟悉，以至于无法相信永恒的不变，但我们内心深处渴望永恒。上帝是满足我们渴望的那一位。
- 诗篇102:25-27：“你古时立了地的根基，诸天也是你手所造的。天地都要灭没，你却要长存；天地都要像衣服渐渐旧了，你要将天地如裘皮般更换，天地就都改变了；惟有你永不改变，你的年数没有穷尽。” / 这是关于上帝不变的能力和对我们的爱的再次保证。
- 诗篇33:11：“耶和华的谋算永远立定，他心中的思念万代常存。” / 上帝的计划是祝福你和你的后代。不要担心谁会照顾你的孩子。
- 启示录1:8（ESV）：“主神说：‘我是阿拉法，我是俄梅戛，是昔在今在以后永在的全能者。’” / 上帝超越时间，不受我们这样受时间限制。祂永在，是生命和时间的源头。
- 马太福音5:17-20：“你们不要想我来要废掉律法和先知；我来不是要废掉，乃是要成全。我实在告诉你们，就是到天地都废去了，律法的一点一画也不能废去，都要成全。” / 上帝的所有律法和应许都将会实现。我们要按照上帝关于对错的标准来生活。亚当和夏娃的罪在于他们拒绝了上帝的话语和标准，希望根据自己的意愿判断对错。
教训：
处理变革的最佳方式是用不变的来应对每一次变化。在我们的永恒上帝那里安息和信靠，祂对我们的应许不会改变，而是会实现。祂的话语和律法也永远不会改变。我们必须在所做的一切中遵循上帝的价值观和律法（圣经中给出的事物如何运作、因果关系）。
祷告：
我们感谢那不变的上帝，祂给了我们律法和应许来祝福和引导我们。我们要在生活中遵循祂的标准和律法，并在挑战时信靠祂，相信祂会使我们克服困难。愿我们因为上帝不变并始终信守祂的应许，而充满信心、平安和喜乐。哈利路亚！
Lim Liat (c) 29-8-23
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