Herman Miller Inc. (HMI) manufactures office furniture and is consistently recognized as one of the best managed companies in the U. S. What makes HMI a success? One thing: clearly stated values are supported and understood at every level.
Virtually everyone in the firm, from assemblers to executives, can articulate their company’s philosophy and goals—and an infrastructure has been allowed to develop that encourages open, honest communication, regardless of organizational rank or functional responsibility. What’s it like to work at a place where goals are high, communication is prized, and people really care about one another? HMI’s absentee rate is between 1 and 2 percent—well below the 6 percent industry standard. And the company’s turnover rate of 7 percent is less than half of the 15 to 20 percent average of other U.S. firms.
What do you think might happen in a marriage partnership where “key executives” set high goals for their union, cultivated communication, and agreed upon their mission? I think it might be as big an attention-getter in our culture as HMI is in the marketplace! Just like HMI executives give ownership away for the good of the enterprise, husbands and wives must realize that they do not “own” their marriage.
In fact, they do not even have the rights to themselves, do they? They have been bought and paid for with a price, and are called to glorify God with all they are and all they will ever be. Husbands, loving your wives glorifies God. Wives, being submissive to your husbands glorifies God. Your marriage is His enterprise, and it can be a glorious one!
MEMORY VERSE
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church (Ephesians 5:22,25).
