JULY 2000
"Serving the Boss"
July 30, 2000
"Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone."
- Proverbs 25:15 (NIV)
Last week, we talked about how to "fit in" at work with the non-believers. This week, let's take a look at serving the non-believing boss at work.
Whether it is your captain, your chief or the President of the country, we are placed in a position to serve under someone who might not be a believer. Often times, we see our leaders, our bosses, doing and saying things that can hurt us. When these things occur, it is difficult for even the strongest believer to want to continue on. Why bother? Why put up with it? Why am I subjected to this?
The answer is not a simple one, but it is straightforward. The instruction book for life, our Bible, tells us that "there is no authority except that which God has established."
Now, if you are a believer, you might be asking, "why would God put "so-and-so" in a position of power? That person has done nothing but show me that he is a non-believer." I don't know... but, I DO know this: your boss is there under the authority of God. I also know that our verse this week instructs us to have patience with dealing with the difficult boss. The instruction here, it seems, is to persistently talk with the boss to "persuade" him or her. "Persuade" them to do what? To do the will of our REAL CHIEF, that's what!
Reacting explosively when a boss comes down on you would negate the words "a gentle tongue" - in other words, a quiet, persistent testimony should be coming from you.
I used to have a plaque on my desk to remind me who my REAL boss is. Perhaps we all need this reminder:
"MY REAL BOSS WAS A JEWISH CARPENTER."
Of course, in our vernacular, we should be saying:
"MY REAL CHIEF IS THE
ULTIMATE, ETERNAL FIREFIGHTER."
On HIS Shift,
"One of the Gang"
July 23, 2000
"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
- 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV)
Twice this past week I have received email from readers asking to address the issue of working with so many unbelievers. Working with unbelievers occurs on every job there is, I think. Working around people who think profanity is the only means to communicate can certainly be a cause of stress to those who follow our Real Chief.
Most civilians will go to work for 8 hours per day. They may be confronted with some foul language, but that is about it. Work places demand a "professional" atmosphere.
Alas, there is our profession. We are teamed up with non-believers for 24 hour shifts. We are subjected to the profanity, it seems, on an endless basis. Believe it or not, there are times that I think some people go out of their way to use bad language in front of me. Others, will "slip" and will apologize to me when they catch themselves. So, believer, what should we do?
Our verse this week instructs us not to hang around with the non-believer. What this means is to not actually fellowship with them. That's fairly easy to do; just say "no" when you are asked to one of their events away from the job. On the job is different. While we are with the non-believers, we are commanded to be the light and the salt. We can do this by politely asking the offenders to tone down the language. Do NOT blow up at them. If you are non-confrontational, separate yourself from the discussion... go to a dayroom and read from your Bible or some other Christian literature.
You can also "involve" them by telling them about upcoming events... a barbecue at church, vacation Bible school, etc. and inviting them and their family to come with you to the event. Tell them about something good that has happened to you or a member of your family as a result of being a believer.
All of us struggle with the desire to "belong"... to be "one of the crew." Our Real Chief says that you are to be one of HIS crew. Don't give in to the desire to tell a dirty joke or to drink a beer just so you can "fit in." THAT would be yoking yourself to the non-believer. And remember, a yoke attached two oxen together and when one turned left, the other HAD to follow suit. Don't let the non-believer put out your light or take away your salt.
On HIS Shift,
"Everything at Once"
July 16, 2000
"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name."
- Psalms 91:14 (NIV)
Have you ever noticed that on any given Saturday night at around midnight or so everything comes at once? This unit headed to a MVA, this one going to an overdose, another to a shooting, one to an abandoned car on fire... it seems endless sometimes, doesn't it?
Last week we talked about death calls hitting all at once. This week, I had a mixture of calls. But, it seems they came all at once. Again.
First, Cindy and I received word that her father had collapsed and was in ICU. Then, we learned that our brother-in-law went in to CHF (congestive heart failure) and later in the day went into cardiac arrest. Both relatives were in different hospitals in the same city (out of state for us). We decided to head up to visit them Thursday morning. As we were pulling out of town, I received a call that the little child of one of the fire chief's in our county had died tragically.
What would you do?
I prayed.
Then, our Real Chief, I believe, guided me; my family had to come first. For two reasons. First, I know the chief who lost his little joy. I know that he is a believer... that he follows our Real Chief. Second, I felt that neither my father or brother-in-law knew THE CHIEF, as Cindy and I had tried to talk to both of them about HIS love in the past.
Here's what happened: we prayed with Cindy's father and watched as he cried while reaching up for God. Our brother-in-law is mentally impaired as a result of his ordeal and we were unable to sit and talk with him about eternity.
We got back home late last night. I called the local chief this morning and spoke with him about what he was going through. He was handing things pretty well... considering.
There is a beautiful thread tying all of this together: God's Peace. Without it, Cindy and I would have been wrecks. Without it, the local chief would be hopelessly shattered. Without the loving hand of God, none of us would be able to handle it when everything is thrown at us at once.
Ask our Real Chief, Jesus Christ, to be the manager of your life. You may hurt, but you know you have a rescuer who will help you through it all.
"Give HIM The Hard Stuff"
July 8, 2000
"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
- 1Peter 5:7 (NIV)
You and I are almost constantly bombarded with the "hard stuff" of life: dealing with death. I don't care if you are a first-shift rookie or a seen-it-all (and NO, you haven't... hehehehe) veteran, at some point in your career you will come across "one of those" calls where the circumstances will hit you right between the eyes.
Certainly, the death of a child will get to all of us... and rightfully so. It is at stressful times like those that we need to learn to stop and give the situation to our Real Chief.... He even asks for us to do this!
THREE times this week I have been called upon to deal with death. The first was a callout to a scene of a "natural death." The thing with this one was that the deceased had died a l-o-n-g time ago and was in a confined space with no air conditioning. Get the picture? To make it worse, the reason I was called is because the man's great nephew was one of the first responders. Fortunately, the nephew is serving our Real Chief. He already knew that this was a situation to turn over to Christ.
The second call was to listen to a young firefighter talk about his first experience with a fatality crash-and-burn. He too, is on HIS shift and was able to turn to HIM to help him make it through another stage in his career.
The third call was to speak the husband of a woman who was killed in a car crash... a crash where he was driving. To make this situation worse, his daughter has also been killed in a car crash. But, again, this man was a believer and so were his wife and daughter. He KNEW he would see them again...
All three situations were obviously stressful. But, think how much MORE stressful they might have been without knowing the strength and comfort of our REAL CHIEF!
Don't you want to be able to hand your anxieties over to the Creator of all things? You can! Just ask Jesus Christ to become the REAL CHIEF in your life. Ask to join with HIM and you, too, can be...
...On HIS Shift,
"One Nation, under God?"
July 1, 2000
"And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?"
- Deuteronomy 4:7 (NIV)
In this week's verse, the laws being set before the nation of Israel was, of course, the Ten Commandments.
As we start the long holiday weekend to celebrate our Independence Day, let us try to keep this in mind:
Our forefathers founded this nation as ONE NATION, UNDER GOD. It is said that many of the signers of our Declaration of Independence could quote the whole Bible. Our nation was founded with a very important freedom: freedom of religion, the right to worship.
This past week, our Supreme Court has dealt a big blow to that right: they voted against prayer by students prior to the start of a football game. Now, this is just my opinion, mind you, but I think they just limited a Christian's right of free speech... the very amendment they felt they were trying to uphold in making this decision.
Okay, down off the ole' soap box. Nope... I am climbing right back up there. We still are, I believe, ONE NATION UNDER GOD. The Hebrew nation was also one nation under God. Now, they, like us, didn't always act like it. And right now, neither are we.
It is time for the God-fearing MAJORITY of this nation to quit burying its' proverbial head in the sand and STAND UP and demand our freedoms promised under the Constitution. How can we do this?
QUIT TURNING THE OTHER WAY WHEN OUR RIGHTS ARE BEING TAKEN FROM US!
VOTE!
Let your politicians know how you feel. Let them KNOW that we still want ONE NATION UNDER GOD.
With that said, let me remind you of the words to a song:
GOD BLESS AMERICA
God Bless America, land that I love...
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night, with a light from above.
On HIS Shift,