Be the Snow

Most of the employed people I know hate their jobs. They don’t exactly hate what they do; many of them enjoy the field their in. But they hate their office environment and most of all, their bosses. And I’ll admit that I’ve been in their position a time or few. I started working at 15 and since then, I’ve only had one boss I would consider “good”. She was fair and level-headed. She knew how to motivate us to produce quality work without treating us like slaves. She was a rare gem.

For all the others, not so much. The interesting thing is how people respond to their difficult bosses. I know some Christians who are not shy about engaging in negative behavior concerning their bosses. Christians insult their boss’ intelligence, admit that they sometimes ignore instructions and pray that their bosses would be terminated. This is not your normal “I need to vent” stuff. This is Christians willfully being bad employees because of their personal feelings towards their bosses.

I believe that this kind of behavior grieves the heart of God. We don’t portray a good picture of God’s loving-kindness to the people who rule over us. But the bigger tragedy is that Christians don’t discern the needs of another fellow human being. They are so caught up in their negative feels about difficult bosses that no thought is given to their bosses feelings and needs. Bosses need love, too.

The worse bosses I’ve had were very unhappy people. They were often suffering from job stress and challenging home situations. I’m not saying this as an excuse for their behavior, but I say it to point out their pain and struggles. I had someone tell me about a horrible boss they had and later found out that the man had suffered deep trauma. This person almost missed an opportunity to be a blessing because the boss’ behavior. But once she found out about his pain, she was able for form a relationship with him and God opened up the door for her to talk to him through some of his pain. She became a blessing to her boss.

That statement may cause you to squirm, but it’s true. Good employees should strive to be a blessing to their bosses, no matter how infuriating they could be. Proverbs 25:13 gives us powerful words about messengers (employees) and their bosses. It reads, “Faithful messengers are as refreshing as snow in the heat of summer. They revive the spirit of their employer.”

When was the last time you refreshed the spirit of your employer with your faithfulness? Have you ever done that? If you haven’t, today is the day to do it. Put aside your dislike for your boss and be the snow in the heat of summer. Everyone needs refreshing from time to time and the pressures of managing employees can wear a person down. Refresh your boss’ spirit with your good work and faithfulness to God. Maybe they won’t be so horrible anymore.