I find it amazing that events spring to mind randomly. Such an occasion occurred recently as I listened to Graham Kendrick’s The Servant King. I was taken back to the time when I was working in an office when a new manager was appointed. He was the person whom many staff dreaded, and it didn’t take me long to find out why. Too often, he would ask me to undertake a job urgently, and when I presented him with the paperwork, he would put it in his desk drawer, and it would sit there for some time.
On another occasion, I was in his office with his deputy, and I was presenting a proposal that should have been his to undertake, as it was above my pay grade. His constant comments led me to consider resigning. As I was about to speak, the phone rang, and when he engaged in a lengthy conversation with a customer, the deputy indicated that we should leave. He immediately asked if I was about to resign, and when I confirmed that, he advised me to wait a few days.
The following week, when the manager was on holiday, he encouraged me to obtain an interview with a senior director and a few days later, I was sitting in the director’s office and in the course of our conversation, I was asked if I wanted a transfer to another office. I was amazed at the thoughts that flashed through my mind. Initially, I thought what would happen if I said yes and then the same manager was later transferred in. But suddenly a phrase from that hymn came to mind, “It is Christ we are serving”, and so I declined the option.
Walking back to the office, I recalled a Bible verse that I later found in Colossians 3:23. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. My “light bulb” moment was a reminder that I had overlooked an important Bible principle, and the amazing result was that my relationship with and attitude toward the manager improved considerably. This was not because the manager had changed, but God had changed me.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the variety of ways in which you teach and train us. May we always be ready to respond to your leading and guiding. AMEN