Tuesday, September 15, 2020

What if jesus was a jerk


It's a constant battle for me to have a good attitude at work. It has nothing at all to do with the work though - I actually like that. It's the working with and for people.

You've probably heard it said that most people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses. There's probably some truth to that. Although, I know I can be equally difficult as a worker too.

Just this morning I arrived at work and found a piece of equipment out of order. It took all of three seconds for me to fix. My initial thought was, "There, I solved that, and also saved the company $100 bucks or so by not having to call a repairman." I felt pretty good about myself. Wouldn't you know it, though, but pretty soon my mind is telling me all sorts of nasties like: "But no one cares"... "No one appreciates me"... "Why do I even work here?"... and on and on.

In a matter of minutes I went from feeling good about my work to hating my job. And I was the only one involved in the process!

To be fair to myself, those thoughts I had came from experience. People are fickle, self-centered, and generally don't care. So I often discount that verse in the bible about doing our work "as for the Lord." Because the Lord isn't my boss in real life. But I got to thinking about that...

I was reminded of Matthew 25 where Jesus tells his followers:
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’"
You know, I KNOW people like that... The hungry, the stranger, the poor, sick, and in prison. Some of them are not exactly nice people. And Jesus says, "Yep, I can be like that."

I've never really thought about Jesus being a jerk. So should that change how we treat him? I don't think so. Because I'm not sure our attitude is as much about him as it is about US. Having a bad attitude at work doesn't harm anyone but... me! It really is to my benefit to have a good attitude - regardless of how anyone treats me. It will make the day go so much better. 

I don't know. This was all kind of a passing thought I had so I just sat down and wrote it out. It may make no sense at all later on. Still, I think I've generally always thought that Jesus has forever been this kind soul who would never hurt a flea. Maybe. But it's also possible he could show himself as a jerk sometimes - if for no other reason than to see how we respond. Hmm...

***
Colossians 3:23-24
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

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