Yesterday was Christmas Eve and I was watching Tim Russert’s Meet the Press with "Faith in America" that had Rick Warren of the "The Purpose Driven Life" and Jon Meacham the Editor of Newsweek.
"The Purpose Driven Life" is the all time best selling hardcover book in America according to MSNBC and is featured at no. 6 at Amazon.com. I had browsed the book earlier but had never actually seen a picture of Rick Warren. Frankly, I was completely taken aback by the man’s disarming and down to earth approach.
The text of the interview is here and several points simply jump out. The first is that 95% Americans profess "faith" and according to Rick outside Manhattan there is really no sizable "secular" group! Second, the important thing is to "do good" rather than be concerned about what religion or motive is driving the do-er. The third point was the one that gave me something new to think about- Warren emphasized the importance of freedom of religion as a major underpinning of of "balance and check" on pure greed of the individual. American capitalism is successful because of Judeo-Christian beliefs according to Warren, that caution the Businessperson to look after stakeholder interests without "legally" being required to do so. Since all religions promote good ethics – religion and its freedom in a supplier country can be a potential predictor of long term global supplier performance.
Late at night we watched It’s a wonderful life and Rick Warren’s point came through beautifully..
Here is wishing Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to readers of this blog in 350 languages….