Friends with the Boss

No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.–John 15:15

Once upon a time, a jokester posted this sign at his workplace: “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”

Whether a leader is a small business owner overseeing a few workers or a president of a large corporation with hundreds of individuals on the payroll, a leader is responsible for motivating his or her employees to complete a goal. The manner in which a “boss” interacts with his or her staff determines the effectiveness of any organization, whether the workforce consists of volunteers or highly paid executives.

Physical “beatings” are not an appropriate means of inspiration, but, unfortunately, many supervisors intentionally intimidate their employees verbally, mentally, and emotionally. As a result, an organization is saturated with fear, mistrust, and resentment.
A leader must know the right way to motivate the right people at the right time in order to get the right results.

Conversely, exemplary and productive employees will complete the tasks they are assigned effectively. Jerry Clower once said, “The key to being a good employee is to find out who the boss is and, then, do what the boss says!”

During the time of Christ, slavery was common. Slaves or “servants” were treated as property and were not given any rights. A servant’s master or “lord” was in complete control. Harsh consequences were served to any servant who was not cooperative.

While at times Paul used the term “slave” to indicate his submission to Christ, he consistently trumpeted the joy of being a slave for Jesus in comparison with the emptiness of being enslaved in sin.

In John 15:15, Jesus underscored he did not view his followers as hired servants or slaves. Jesus said, “I have called you friends.” For Jesus, he considered his followers “friends,” because he had communicated with them on an intimate level. Jesus had shared His heart with them. Since he was the Son of God, he had actually shared the heart of God with them. They knew why he had been sent to earth. While they did not understand all of the far reaching implications, He had shared with his friends that he would have to die. Even more puzzling to his disciples, Jesus told them he was come back to life after he died.

After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were empowered with the Holy Spirit and this little band of men spread the Gospel throughout the world in relatively “warp speed.” Why? Well, their friend Jesus had told them what was going to happen. When they saw him post-crucifixion, post-death, they knew they had a true friend. Also, they were compelled to let people know that they could be a friend of God, too.

Consequently, God should not be seen as a boss just waiting to fire you in grand “Donald Trumpian” style. He certainly is the boss, but always remember he’s on your side. Jesus is your friend. He did not, and is not, hiding the truth from you. He loves you.

Where's George?

In the trenches of Christmas Shopping Combat, I received a One Dollar Bill from Target in Hattiesburg, MS. The next day, as I was surveying the damage to the cash in my wallet, I discovered a $1 bill with this message stamped on it: "Track this bill at Where's George.com." Since I have seen this message on bills in the past, I decided to give it a try.

After inputting the serial number into their database, the website reported "Ole George" was initially entered into their tracking system on April 19, 2007 in Holt, Michigan. Since I brought the bill to Leakesville, MS on December 21, 2007, the website calculated the greenback had traveled 824 miles in 246 days, covering, on average, 3.3 miles per day.

What society profits from such detailed information is not clear to me at the moment, but I was semi-entertained by discovering the distance the currency had traversed.

Furthermore, I was reminded of a joke I heard about the life of a $1 Bill. A version of the joke is on Comedy-Zone.net .

A one dollar bill met a twenty dollar bill and said, "Hey, where have you been? I haven't seen you around here much." The twenty answered, "I've been hanging out at the casinos, went on a cruise and did the rounds of the ship, back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of baseball games, to the mall, that kind of stuff. How about you?" The one dollar bill said, "You know, same old stuff... church, church, church."

Where will your money go this year?

God Doesn't Need a Hearing Aid

Once, two young brothers went to spend the night with their Grandparents during Thanksgiving. Before arriving, their parents admonished them not to barrage their grandmother with a litany of requests for Christmas presents.

One night as the boys were being tucked into bed by their grandmother, she reminded them to say their prayers before going to sleep. After the grandmother had left the room, the boys knelt beside the bed. First, Johnny prayed in a loud voice "I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE. I PRAY FOR A PLAYSTATION 2 Video Game. I PRAY FOR A NEW DVD Player..."

Eventually, his brother nudged him and asked, "Why are you praying so loud? God is not hard of hearing?" Johnny responded, "I Know, but Grandma is."

I am so glad God is not hard of hearing. In Nehemiah, the Levites were praising God for allowing the city of Jerusalem's Wall to be restored. They praised God and said, "You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, And heard their cry by the Red Sea (Neh. 9:9 NKJV)."

God heard the cry of his people for a deliverer, the Messiah. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be that Messiah. He wrote,

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6 NKJV).

God hears us.