Who's the boss?

“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.” Colossians 3:23-24 NIV

Back in the day I worked in the public Recreation program in our city. I had several full-time staff members and they, in turn supervised a couple hundred part-time staff, game officials and supervisors. One of the worst things about that time was conducting evaluations. I did it every year and they had to hate it. It always boiled down to a meeting to go over some points for discussion and I can say in nearly all of those conversations I probably said something that came out negative even though I meant it as informative. Always.

I am glad that I do not have to do that anymore. However, I am not done evaluating. I am self-employed and if I do not look at myself critically, no one will be. I know it sounds weird. What I found this year is that I have let some bad habits creep in.

I literally just sat at my desk and looked at it. I saw the most room and, to be honest, the most clutter, right in the center – taking up the most space. Unfortunately, it all belonged to a part-time role in my life. My primary job had been pushed to the side on really the smallest amount of space. My personal life – husband, father and grandpa had no designated space.

I just cleaned it all off and put it back the way it should be. My desk is neater and more organized but the space allocated is now more reflective of what my priorities need to be. Now all I have to do is a better job keeping the proper alignment of my roles in life. It is easy to let things that are merely urgent get in the way of things that are truly important.

I realize that not everyone has a job that can be re-aligned. Some jobs do not include freedom. Even when freedom exists, some things just have to be done. However, I think the bigger challenge is not whether or not you can rearrange your day, it is whether or not you realign who you work for.

At one time I worked an assembly line job doing the same repetitive task over and over. I hated the job, but it motivated me to get back to school. At the time I was not thinking about the fact that God could use me – even there. I left that job to come to Hays for school thinking that I was making decisions. That move occurred with literally no planning. Around 12 hours after a friend and I decided we should – we did. No enrollment. No place to live. Zero plan.

In hindsight I know God used that move to introduce me to my wife, most of my current friends and pretty well everything I love, but I was not yet looking to Him. Now I look back on two changes in profession and a completely different style of job and I am thankful, but I can still be too busy working to look to Him. It is possible, no matter what you are doing, to honor God.

Do you look at your to do list with the Master in mind?

If you want to make changes, start small. Your profession can remain the same, but you can realign the authority in your life.

Challenge: Readjusting. Properly motivated, but a few degrees off can feel correct, but can lead you a long way off course over time. Ask yourself, or someone you trust, are you working for the right master?

Rick Claiborn