Rifts with Employers

In every job there are times when our ideas are in opposition to administration. For many people, the conflict between those in authority and those in service produces a continual undercurrent of resentment.

The author of Ecclesiastes gives very sound advice. “If the spirit of a ruler rises against you, do not leave your post; for conciliation pacifies great offenses (Ecc 10:4).

In other words, as you continue to remain faithful in your job you have the potential for healing the strained relationship. In cases where your faithfulness does not make a difference, you can begin to seek other employment.

A Depressing Book

We may wonder why the book of Ecclesiastes is included in the Cannon of Scriptures since it is so depressing. But the overall purpose of the book is to remind us of the vanity and emptiness of serving things rather than God. When the author laments that being wise, strong, and rich is useless and all of life is a matter of chance, he is speaking from an unbelieving heart. (Ecc 10:11-12). Without God his words are true, but with God there is purpose and an eternal glorious outcome designed and controlled by God

Working with Confidence

“ For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all; that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God” (Ecc 9:1).

What a wonderful promise this is. God has prepared ahead of time good things for us to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10) and he anoints our labors. He not only calls us to do certain tasks but he promises to accomplish them through us (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

Today, work with confidence. See what a difference it makes both in your work and in how you feel.

Sometimes the Righteous Suffer

There was a youth pastor in his early thirties who exhibited a level of genius in his study and his working with youth. He and his young wife took a few days off to relax. Diving into the water he miscalculated and was knocked unconscious when he hit his head on the bottom of the pool. Life guards dove in and rescued him, but there was permanent damage to his brain. He now has the mental capacity of a child.

There was a young man who experimented with drugs and alcohol. His life was filled with carousing, cheating and self worship. One day, driving a motorcycle under the influence of alcohol he hit a tree crushing his leg. The doctors warned him that he would most likely loose the limb during the operation. God intervened and the leg was miraculously restored to normal. The young man turned toward God for nearly six months, but soon fell back into old habits, rejecting God altogether.

The writer of Ecclesiastes puts it this way, “There is vanity which occurs on earth, that there are just men to whom it happens according to the work of the wicked: again, there are wicked men to whom it happen according to the work of the righteous.” Ecc 8:14

These stories disturb our faith. but we are wise to remember God’s words to us found in Isaiah, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God has his purpose and the eternal outcome possess the greatest importance.