Why We Are Commanded to Honor Our Employer

Servants, obey your boss.
Respect him with all your heart and try to please him as you would Christ.
Obey not only when he is looking at you, as if you were pleasing a man.
But obey as the servants of Christ, and do with all your heart
what God wants you to do.
Work gladly as if you were working for the Lord and not for men.” (Eph 4-6)

This week, thus far, has been…I’m not certain how to describe it. Perhaps a rollercoaster ride is appropriate. I hope work finally slows down a bit because my ability to multi-task and juggle stressors has greatly diminished. It is not a complaint. It is what it is, especially when I have no control over what I am doing, simply doing what I am asked. It is sort of like obedience to Adonai. One just learns to roll with it. The only difference is He doesn’t impose deadlines. In times like these, anyone working for a living must keep in mind why we are commanded to honor our employer! 

Over the years I have been employed by many types of corporations, large to very small, and the company I am presently with is by far the best. They have held employees for many decades and while things are not perfect (anywhere) they are good. My immediate teammates consist of people in my office and an extended team across 5 other locations. I write a lot of proposals, alongside a myriad of other tasks. At times, when all of these tasks fall upon my shoulders at once it wreaks havoc on my entire system, and this week that has been the case. 

I had written back-to-back proposals over the past month. This particular proposal required a very quick turnaround and gathering information from subcontractors, and doing so ended up being a cog in the wheel of forward motion which had me working on the proposal until 5:30 PM the night before it was due. It also required my direct boss, also our company’s CEO, to stay late right along with me as he had to give it his thumbs up before I could bind it up and seal the envelopes. This particular proposal was for a municipality near where I used to live in East Tennessee and not a city I particularly enjoy driving through. But, it had to be done. I had it ready to go by 9:15 AM on the due date. 

It is always nice to get out of the office but this drive proved to come with challenges. 

I decided to travel the less trafficked highways and byways. About 30 minutes after I left the office, I began to feel ill. The further I drove the worse I felt and most of the drive had me in the middle of nowhere, unable to pull over when needed. I eventually found a place to stop to deal with my body’s urgency but had to keep moving since there was a succinct deadline looming. As I drove one stretch of road, a large red hawk ascended from the ditch beside me, prey in tow. It either didn’t see me or didn’t care. I slowed down trying to avoid him. We were a few inches from colliding before he finally lifted himself higher. To say my heart was racing is putting it lightly. Hitting that hawk would probably have been my tipping point! 

Despite the way I physically felt, I was grateful to be out and able to enjoy some new scenery on a sunny day. The mountains always take my breath away. It was also cool to finally see something I’d known was in the area but had yet to cross: the Bush’s Baked Beans manufacturing facility. There is an entire bend in the road dedicated to the product (although no golden retrievers were running amok). I reached my destination, dropped off the documents, and sent my boss a text letting him know, and that I was not feeling well. He immediately replied that I could take the rest of the day off if I needed to.

What a blessing! 

My physical state grew worse as I tackled the nearly 2-hour trek back to the office. I had no choice at one point to stop on the side of the road. As I continued on my way, I thought back to the more recent corporate employers I’ve had and how anytime I would be ill it would be a fight to take a day off. And if I did take a day off, they would bug me all day making it impossible to rest and recover. I have said before: I know this job is of the LORD and this is just one of many examples of why I believe it:

I feel valued and covered. 

This is so foreign to me, after never truly having this in any aspect of my life, save a couple of my female sisters in Christ. Not my parents or immediate family; not in any type of intimate relationship (marriage). And, at this place in time with all of the changes I’m experiencing and challenges I am up against, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt Abba is using this employment in more ways than I can fathom.  

While I have moments of still wanting my freedom – to do my own thing and be on my own as a creative entrepreneur – I do not believe it is presently His plan for me. So, to honor it and Him, I shut those thoughts down enough to stay grateful, to show up and be present; to perform the duties of the role to the best of my ability. All the while asking Abba to continue to use me, to show me ways to utilize my gifts and talents for Him. Even recently, when feeling as though I am not giving Him enough; not contributing enough to the kingdom, nor helping others, I approached the throne and spilled my guts. The result is what has been transpiring in this space over the past month – a flurry of wisdom. Yes, other aspirations have been placed on my heart, however, I must be still and wait upon Adonai to provide the physical time and means for them to be accomplished. 

For now, I marvel at how He reminds me why we are commanded to honor our employer – both on earth and in heaven.