"You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under the measure, but upon the lamp-stand, so as to give light to all in the house. Even so let your light shine before men, in order that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." –Matthew 5:14-16
"I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus."
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. –Luke 6:43-45
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. –1 Peter 2:9-12
Passion, in fact, is probably the single prerequisite to cultural change, for those inclined to attempt it. If you’re not passionate about it, don’t even bother. Every decision we make, we now see, is an opportunity to support or to undermine the culture we want. Happily, culture is on a lot of people’s minds here and now. We’ve made it an issue and a part of people’s jobs, we measure it carefully and celebrate it constantly. As a result, we all enjoy the benefits of greater honesty, ownership, trust… commitment, fun, innovation, risk-taking… and teamwork. It’s working today. And we believe if we face tough times at some point in the future, our culture will carry us through.
–Bernick, Carol Levin. When Your Culture
Needs a Makeover. Harvard Business Review. Reprint R0106B, June 2001.