Charity in the Workplace

Our readings for this week focused heavily on Christlike attributes, especially charity. I chose to interpret these attributes in the scope of my coming professional life as a software developer. With graduation and full-time employment just around the corner, now is the time for all of us to decide what kind of employee, co-worker, and leader we want to be throughout our careers. I appreciated the focus on charity in our readings. It is obviously a hugely important Christlike attribute for our life now and the eternities, and it is just as important in the scope of ethics in the workplace. We wouldn't discriminate against other co-workers if we felt charity towards them. We wouldn't misuse the powers of technology to exploit people or steal intellectual property. In all ways, our behavior should uplift and inspire those we work with. The code we write and the products we create should be appropriate and wholesome and designed to benefit people as much as possible.

Screen Dependencies (Vlog Post)

So, I'll be honest - I missed the bulk of the smartphone and tablet wave that swept through society 3 or 4 years ago. Before my mission, everyone had flip or slide phones; after it, everyone had smartphones and was crazy about games like Angry Birds. Now, I don't feel like "smart" devices are bad; however, they are very powerful devices. They have a lot of potential to suck us in and consume our time and attention if we aren't careful. But, in my opinion, even worse than the adults consumed by their screens are the children who are being raised by their parents' "smart" devices. I'm not just advocating less screen time for kids - though I do think that is a good idea. But it just saddens me to see parents who must resort to their tablet or phone to keep children quiet and behaved. What are we teaching children who must play Angry Birds in order to behave during church meetings? If we show our kids that they cannot be happy without a screen in front of them, we are setting them up to fail in life.