NAEEMFAZAL

Growing up in Kuwait, I went to a Indian private school – I know, I’m Pakistani- But what’s truly unique is that I wasn’t the only one. In fact, Kuwait was a melting pot of foreign nationals (only 40% of the population are Kuwaiti) and so I grew up among different nationalities and I grew up with the concept of “Corporate responsibility.”

Let me explain. Whenever you have a diverse group of nationalities coming together, you represent not just yourself but also your entire nation.
If something bad or good would happen in Pakistan, I “hear” it. But we all did this; if a guy from the Philippines was in the news for a crime, then we would pick on our Pilipino friend – all in good fun though. Why did we do that? Well, because he represented all of the Philippines. This is what I mean by “corporate responsibility.” In certain environments and situations one individual represents his entire nation. And it gets worse; he or she is not judged solely by merit or talent but by who and what he/she “represents.” This is not necessarily is not a bad thing – it can be healthy.

Coming to the US, I discovered that Americans have little to no idea of “corporate responsibility.” The concept seems to only existed in the
business /corporate world. But it does exist elsewhere. The problem is that we only see the ugly side of it, when people talk about discrimination and racial profiling.

The good side of this is to understand that though we all desire to be judged by our own skills, talents and abilities, though we’d rather be measured by our own accomplishments, we have an opportunity be a part of something bigger. We get to present to the world not just ourselves but to represent our culture, history, people and faith.

So, if you are a follower of Jesus as I am, remember in everything you do …you represent me and I represent you.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Philippians 1:27