Word → Handling the Boss
Yesterday a friend asked for a motivational verse. I wasn’t feeling overly encouraging at the time, so I haphazardly threw out the passage of the Bible I had read that day.
5Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
Normally when you tell someone an encouraging verse you’d pick something that says God is on your side, have faith, don’t fear, and so on. But the verse on slaves and masters affects everything we do. Everything I do.
Bosses are always a touchy issue. In the words of an old coworker of mine, “Having a boss that likes and supports you is the difference between being happy and being miserable.” It’s sad, but in many cases, true. We’ve all had managers with different styles, different levels of competency, and different ethics. These things cause strife, stress and oftentimes some degree of fallout. So what is the Biblical method for dealing with a tough boss? Well, according to this text it’s to work hard, as if you were working for Christ. That can be a tough pill to swallow, especially when your boss is the very person making your life difficult. This reminds me of Jacob’s complaint against his boss.
6 You know that I’ve worked for your father with all my strength, 7 yet your father has cheated me by changing my wages ten times. However, God has not allowed him to harm me.
In this case Jacob’s boss and uncle was attempting to take advantage of him multiple times. Eventually he left, but not until he had fulfilled his commitment to his uncle. He bore up under the duress of a dishonest boss and continued to struggle. Illustrative of Jacob’s character are the words of God himself.
“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”
The example of Jacob and admonitions of Ephesians provide a roadmap for handling challenging work situations. Essentially, bear up under the stress. Prayerfully stick it out.
Dealing with tough bosses or work situations is in fact, tough. It’s important to go to God in prayer when faced with challenges. It’s especially important to read the relevant Bible passages that provide instructions as to how Christians should respond. Most importantly, accept God’s grace for yourself if you don’t handle things as well as you might hope. It’s hard to turn the other cheek, and to love your enemies. Especially when that enemy so closely affects your emotional and financial well being.
Now if I could only follow this advice!
