Would Jesus Buy an iPhone?

Chloe: Jesus, I’ve been thinking about buying an iPhone. What do you think…would you buy an iPhone?

Jesus: Why do you want an iPhone?

Chloe: Well…I can’t get email on my phone…can’t browse the web…

Jesus: There are other options…

Chloe: …yeah…

Jesus: Sounds like you’re not really interested…so why an iPhone? What are the pros and cons as you see them?

Chloe: Well, one big con and one big pro…

Jesus: Tell me.

Chloe: Jesus, I’ve been thinking about buying an iPhone. What do you think…would you buy an iPhone?

Jesus: Why do you want an iPhone?

Chloe: Well…I can’t get email on my phone…can’t browse the web…

Jesus: There are other options…

Chloe: …yeah…

Jesus: Sounds like you’re not really interested…so why an iPhone? What are the pros and cons as you see them?

Chloe: Well, one big con and one big pro…

Jesus: Tell me.

Chloe: OK. The big con…I feel conflicted about knowing that the very high standards that make an iPhone such an excellent product come with a high cost in quality of life for so many people.

Jesus: I’m concerned too. What in particular bothers you…

Chloe: Well, I have a friend who used to work for Apple. Of course, he’s entirely disaffected and left the company, and I haven’t talked to anyone who has stayed with it and loves it, but Sam says that it’s a corporate culture absolutely driven by fear and greed. People who sacrifice so much to work there are so scared. Scared of personal failure…

Jesus: What do you mean?

Chloe: Fear of lack of acceptance, fear of physical ability, declining appearance, lack of ‘things,’ keeping up with the Joneses. Also they’re driven by fear of professional failure…fear of losing their edge, of their inability to achieve the next deal, the next promotion, the next raise. Sam says that the more fear drives them to secure nicer things, better circumstances, more cash, better relationships the more greed seems to take over. The focus moves on to power, position, leveraged risk, and the idea of more, more, more…

He saw people around him shift from being concerned about “how others perceive me” to “I’m in it for me and d—“ sorry, “hang the rest of the world.” It’s as if his colleagues discovered greed in the process of overcoming their fear. And with all the corporate car wash, hair stylists, laundry, subsidized cafeterias, the sales and corporate events…the net result is that you see people s-l-o-w-l-y adopting Apple as their mentor, father/mother, spiritual advisor, guidance counselor, whatever.

Jesus: It’s a powerful motivator. I’ve seen so many driven, from their own internalized vision, to the point of exhaustion, sacrificing all for Apple. They know they are exhausted, they intuitively know that something is out of whack, but steadfastly refuse to figure it out and, instead, decide that the reason they haven’t ‘succeeded’ is because they haven’t given enough. So they double down, thinking that this is what is needed to overcome their fears or achieve their goals. A very sad situation.

And even sadder is when it becomes less about fear and even greed…and more about control. When some, not all, but too many feel that control is their birthright. Control becomes a sort of religion. Control leads to the personal relief of “revival” and ultimately to a feeling of salvation—mastery of their Universe…or even mine. Their portfolios full of Apple’s soaring stock become their barometer of control. The bigger it grows the more it feels like salvation in the eyes of others and themselves.

Sometimes I allow serious disruptions in their lives to jolt them into seeing what has happened.

Chloe: Does it work? Do the disruptions work?

Jesus: Sometimes, especially with the loss of relationships and people they love, they realize how far they have drifted from the motivation of love. Fear and greed consume energy, time, resources, and relationship—so destructive. Love creates energy, time, resources and relationship—it is constructive. Fear and greed discourage, confine and kill. Love encourages, frees and gives life. Fear and greed sum up the lost world. Love represents my world—the one that truly delivers redemption. No leverage in love, just faith. And loss of control. It is the drama that is being played out in business every day.

That said, you should know that I have many people in Apple who haven’t bowed the knee. Who invest what I have given them and serve with excellence to my glory more than Apple’s. And they produce things that can add great value to people’s lives, especially by strengthening relationships with better communication. But, as for Sam’s perspective on things at Apple, surely, Chloe, you realize that all this is true of many corporate cultures…

Chloe: Yes, but it seems so extreme at Apple. Or at least maybe we hear about it more in the media. I don’t like reading in the New York Times that those beautiful machines are made at a factory in China where over 400,000 workers enter and exit under the watch of guards with guns. Where workers complain of military-style drills, verbal abuse by superiors and “self-criticisms” they are forced to read aloud. The Times reported that to prepare for the launch of the new ipad many were pressured to work as many 13 consecutive days, even sleeping on the factory floor. One worker died after a 34-hour shift. Some workers are as young as 13, and because of all the repetition in their work, their hands often become deformed and useless within a decade. They can’t work another job. Over a hundred have been poisoned in the production of the glass screens. Tens of thousands quit after a few weeks or months; and I read that so many have committed suicide, jumping off the top of the buildings, that the factory has installed giant nets to prevent it.”

Jesus: The decisions you make to buy your iPhone or, to be honest, many other products, especially electronics, do have consequences half a world away. It’s worth thinking about. If your concern springs from a motivation of love for those who are suffering in its production then it would be good to take action. Of course the reasons for that suffering are complex. Apple bears responsibility. So do the government and factories in China…and the workers choosing to work there for higher wages than in the provinces. You may not be able to do much to influence China, but you can express your concern to Apple. It does make a difference. You may already have heard how Apple, realizing it is under journalistic scrutiny, has brought pressure to bear on China, and the Chinese factory has almost doubled its pay this past summer.

What else, Chloe, what is your big pro of buying an iPhone?

Chloe: Well…there is…the “cool” factor…

Jesus: Yes, there is. But tell me, what do you mean by “cool” and why is it important?

(To be continued. Thanks to my former Apple friend for his insights.)