Encouragement

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Hostile work environment


When I consider how hostile my place of employment can be, I stop to consider another person who had a tougher job. Jesus. He came voluntarily to do the job right and correct the mistakes made by his predecessors, the false prophets, scribes and Pharisees. He had no amenities while at work, no air-conditioning or computers, no way to keep track of his progress. For the first years he had two servants to care for him, Mary and Joseph, also volunteers, also victims of a hostile environment. Mary was nearly abandoned at the alter, and Joseph was questioned on the paternity of Mary's child. Their families rejected them and their choices. Their friends thought they lost their minds. They had to flee their home looking for a safe haven to protect their baby from kings out to destroy him. Yet they remained faithful as they fed, bathed and clothed Jesus.

When he matured his job was to travel and announce God's plans for the future. He wasn't paid for his work, he volunteered for the job. He wasn't provided with lodgings or regular meals, he wasn't handed the keys to a luxury vehicle, he didn't have a office to make appointments from, he had to find the people that needed his services by walking down dusty hot roads, over hillsides and valleys. When he found people interested in his speeches anger flared from his opposition. The opposition was actually the old establishment. They should have welcomed his help, after all he came with direct orders from God. They should have been a part of the inner circle but they felt threatened. They enjoyed the status quo. They could have been a tremendous benefit to him but they choose to reject him, to humiliate and belittle him. The old guard was familiar with their way of doing things. Just like today, people fight change, even when it's for the better. Give change a try, you might like it. How many women do you suppose resisted washing machines and dishwashers?

The opposition to Jesus was violent and harsh. They schemed against him. They actually plotted to kill him, using one of his closest companions! Here we just get fired. Do you suppose this caused him to suffer from paranoia? Do you think he started rethinking his choice to come to earth? Do you suppose he suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome? That's hard to say since he'd have had to suffer it after the crucification. Well, it is written he was tempted in all things such as us. I can only assume he battled with these emotions, yet without sin. He experienced the worst possible effects of a hostile work environment. Death.

Then there are his really devoted followers that carry his work on in third world, communist, or pagan countries. Unsanitary living conditions, unwelcome receptions, flights in the middle of the night for safety, miles from family or friendly faces, held hostage and tortured. These people go through identical problems as Jesus and they still preach to death, literally. That makes my little set backs at work, ulcers, headaches, paranoia and depression, seem trivial since I can just quit or take antacids, pain pills or antipsychotics!!!!

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