Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity^®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities.  You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)

INTEGRITY IDEA: Plant a “Tree” in 2025

“Plant a Tree in 2025” is about a faithful leader committing to make one change or take one initiative in their organization that “adds to the beauty” of the world.

Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization.  We believe some are critical (and necessary) steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process.  Others are just ideas to be considered if they feel like a good fit based on what leaders prayerfully discern is best for stewarding the organization toward its WHY.

“Plant a Tree in 2025” is different from other Integrity Ideas, because it not about a specific action.  It is about committing to do something.  As much as we hate the idea of New Year’s resolutions, you can think of it as a New Year’s resolution to begin moving the heart of your organization in the direction of beauty rather than ugliness–moving in the direction of business a better way rather than business as usual–moving in the direction of Biblical flourishing rather than Profit as Purpose.

The Misquoted Inspiration

This post was inspired by a quote frequently attributed to Martin Luther (and sometimes to Martin Luther King, Jr.):

If I knew the world was ending tomorrow, I would plant a tree today. 

It appeared in “The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Express Version, 2024” in the YouVersion Bible app.  Searching the internet for its source revealed that it surfaces in different variations and probably wasn’t a quote of Martin Luther (or Martin Luther King, Jr.).  It is also a quote interpreted in a myriad of ways.

Despite its uncertain origin, variable form, and debatable meaning, it served as inspiration.  We also particularly liked the context in which it was used by Nicky Gumbel.  He was explaining Revelation 21:1-27:

This passage has within it a paradox concerning the new creation. There will be ‘a new heaven and a new earth’, but Christ says, ‘I make all things new’ (v.5, NKJV) – not, ‘I make all new things’. This is an indication of the continuity with this creation. That is why Martin Luther said, ‘If I knew the world was ending tomorrow, I would plant a tree today.’

Refresher: Part Four of the Four-Part Gospel

The nature of “a new heaven and a new earth” and what happens to us and our world when Jesus returns may be theologically controversial topics, but they are also important ones. They are important because our understanding of “where we are going someday” profoundly affects “how we act today”.

There are basically two Biblical views of heaven and what happens to earth (we don’t need to get into theological debates regarding: whether there is a hell; if there a hell, who goes there and who goes to heaven; and if there is a hell, whether it is eternal):

Rapture. People going to heaven are whisked off to an ethereal heaven and the earth burns up.

Restoration. Heaven is here on earth in a restored Kingdom that unites God’s dimension with our earthly dimension.

We highly recommend N.T. Wright’s book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church for a discussion of the two views of heaven, their genesis, as well as an explanation of what we actually learn from the Bible.  Here are a few excerpts:

Traditionally, of course, we suppose that Christianity teaches about a heaven above, to which the saved or blessed go, and a hell below, for the wicked and impenitent.

It comes as something of a shock, in fact, when people are told what is in fact the case: that there is very little in the Bible about “going to heaven when you die” and not a lot about a postmortem hell either. The medieval pictures of heaven and hell, boosted though not created by Dante’s classic work, have exercised a huge influence on Western Christian imagination.

But the language of heaven in the New Testament doesn’t work that way. “God’s kingdom” in the preaching of Jesus refers not to postmortem destiny, not to our escape from this world into another one, but to God’s sovereign rule coming “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Heaven, in the Bible, is not a future destiny but the other, hidden, dimension of our ordinary life—God’s dimension, if you like. God made heaven and earth; at the last he will remake both and join them together forever.

Now, let’s consider how these two views of heaven impact how we act today:

Rapture. If people going to heaven are whisked off to an ethereal heaven and the earth burns up, what we do on earth doesn’t matter much in the long run (assuming you believe in salvation by faith rather than by works)–it is all going away and, ultimately, our efforts to improve the world are in vain.  What we do on earth mainly matters to the extent it encourages (or discourages) people to turn toward God or reflects God’s compassion for the underserved (which hopefully also encourages them to turn toward God).  “Planting a Tree in 2025” does not have lasting significance.

Restoration. If heaven is here on earth in a restored Kingdom that unites God’s dimension with our earthly dimension, then things get exciting because what we do here may last into eternity.  1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  “Plant a Tree in 2025” is not in vain.

For a beautiful picture of what the Restoration view means, let us again turn to N.T. Wright, who describes the implications of the Restoration option as follows:

What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether. They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom

“Planting trees” matters.  We have the opportunity to beautify the world through the way in which we work and the way in which we conduct business and lead organizations. Every decision has the potential to move God’s Kingdom a little closer to God’s perfect Restoration.

Planting a Tree is Choosing Beauty

Everything we do–particularly every human interaction–can only do one of two things: (1) make the world at least a tiny bit more beautiful, or (2) make the world at least a tiny bit uglier.  (Neutrality is a possibility, but missing an opportunity to beautify isn’t beautiful).

“Beautiful” was clearly God’s design when he created everything and declared it “very good”:

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:31)

As you read the description of the New Jerusalem that is coming–God’s Kingdom on earth–in Revelation 21:10-11, “beautiful” is the word that comes to mind:

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

In between the beauty of a garden and the beauty of a gleaming city, God blessed us and left us with a command–the “Creation Mandate”:

Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Genesis 1:28)

God made us in God’s creative, productive and relational image (Imago Dei), gave us a perfectly imperfect world, and then told us to take care of it and make it flourish–make it even more beautiful!  We believe it is a call to create with beauty.  “Plant a Tree in 2025” is a call to take a step in the direction of beauty.  It is a call captured by a quote we love from Barbara Bush:

And as you go, find a way to make this world more beautiful.

By its very nature, business can add to the beauty of the world by creating solutions to challenges of human life, economic prosperity that makes those solutions affordable and accessible, and jobs that allow people to fulfill their humanity and purpose by using their God-given creativity and productivity to serve others.

With profit as its “end”, business as usual often brings the inherent “beauty-potential” of business (solutions, prosperity and jobs) with an ugly cost to God’s creation, particularly people.

Business a better way is focused on glorifying God by maximizing flourishing of God’s creation–putting creation, particularly people, as the end and profit in its proper place as a means.  It is answering the call to create with beauty by stewarding the gift of a business in obedience to the Creation Mandate and the two great commandments and in furtherance of the ultimate purpose of all creation—glorifying God.

CONTINUUM: Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People

The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums.  There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture.  The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.

Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.

“Plant a Tree in 2025” could be on any Continuum. It is about committing to do something on one of them.

COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert to Highly Overt

The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.

Most Integrity Ideas will have one place on the scale.  Some can vary depending on how they are implemented.   “Plant a Tree in 2025” could be anywhere along the Continuums from  Highly Covert (An action that would be taken by a secular company) to Highly Overt (an overtly faith-based action involving community, website, sales/marketing materials).

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom

When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.

“Plant a Tree in 2025” might serve any one or more of the stakeholders.

IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation of Integrity Ideas is often the longest section of a post.  This time, it is the shortest.  Just do something that moves your organization in the direction of beauty–in the direction of operating with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing.  A fruit of pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing is to partner with God in his restoration project for His Kingdom.

We believe God’s restoration project is a beautification project, and by pursuing Biblical priorities of relationship, community, human dignity and the flourishing of people and communities, an organization and the collection of people it represents can “add to the beauty” of the world–bringing it a bit closer to God’s design and plan.

If you have not undertaken the first step of Integriosity^®, perhaps your “tree” can be going through a RENEW process.

If the RENEW step is complete, then choose any of the 66 Integrity Ideas we have offered (you can find links to the first 65 in post #251: The Path To Here–250 Markers).  Some are overt, some are covert, and many can be either.  Some require meaningful work and investment while others are fairly simple and inexpensive.

Pick one and plant the tree in 2025.  We believe that first tree will inspire you to plant a forest–a forest that Humanizes People, Beautifies the World and Glorifies God.

Wishing you a more beautiful 2025.

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM):  Researching the Martin Luther quote revealed (once again) the unreliability and variability of information on the internet and the frequent  inaccuracy of AI.  The Martin Luther quote is everywhere in various forms and with wildly different theological interpretations.  When I asked an AI engine who said it, I was told Martin Luther.  When I pointed out that some people argue Luther never said it, the AI engine told me “You’re right.”

It seems there are several quotes commonly attributed to Martin Luther that are of questionable origin–“The 7 Most Famous Things Luther Never Actually Said“.

ESSENCE:  Integrity Ideas are specific practical actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.

INTEGRITY IDEA: Plant a Tree in 2025

“Plant a Tree in 2025” is not about literally planting a tree.  It is inspired by a quote frequently (and apparently inaccurately) attributed to Martin Luther.  It is about a faithful leader committing to make one change or take one initiative in their organization that “adds to the beauty” of the world.  One of the bigger WHY’s of an organization aligned with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities is Beautifying the World. A fruit of pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing is to partner with God in his restoration project for His Kingdom.  We believe God’s restoration project is a beautification project, and by pursuing Biblical priorities of relationship, community, human dignity and the flourishing of people and communities, an organization and the collection of people it represents can “add to the beauty” of the world–bringing it a bit closer to God’s design and plan.  

COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People

COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert to Highly Overt

STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community, Kingdom

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Photo credit: Original image Clark Tibbs on Unsplash (photo cropped and modified with “X” and “Beautiful”)