Grateful or angry?

Apr

13

2012

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Apr

13

2012

I was being interviewed by a New Orleans radio talk show host yesterday and he could not understand how I became successful and went on to develop a career after having lived the terrible life that I did. Like so many others he wanted to know what I did to get my career going.

I told him that when an employer did give me an opportunity, I REALLY appreciated it and I tried my utmost to do the best job I could. Even though it was arguably the worst job in the place, I very much appreciated the opportunity and I was the first one on the job and the last to leave and tried to save them money and improve their company every way that I could. I was glad to be employed and didn’t complain about anything.

Too many people don’t get it when it comes to their career. They view their employers as adversaries who are just trying to profit off the sweat from their backs and fail to ever realize that if it weren’t for them, they wouldn’t have a job at all.

Most companies don’t make it; in fact 11 out of 12 fail in the first five years. It takes working long, hard hours, taking tremendous risk, and enduring personal sacrifice to make it in business; (and luck has nothing to do with it). Owning a business is exceedingly difficult and wears on the owners.

I believe dealing with employees is the most difficult thing about owning a business. Some are an absolute delight and others are a big pain in the butt. Those delightful employees appreciate their position with a company and go through it with a cheerful, positive attitude and are even passionate about doing a great job. Some employees are miserable though, and they make you miserable too, and it gets almost to the point of desiring to just shut the doors and invest in the stock market, (now that’s getting fed up!)

I owned a company once and all of my employees had worked very hard during trying times of tremendous growth which required extra effort on most of their parts. I wanted to reward them, but didn’t have the available cash in the bank, so I borrowed $6000 in order to give every employee a $100 bonus.

A few days later one of my supervisor’s overheard two employees talking about my gesture and one of them said, “If that sorry S.O.B. had wanted to, he could have given us all $1000 each instead of a measly $100”.

What they got was: FIRED.

I’ve seen this scenario repeated countless times; it seems the more you do for some people, the more they want. When confronted with their selfishness, they snarl and argue and if given an opportunity, even destroy company property on their way out the door; never realizing that they just lost an excellent opportunity to have a great career with a great company.

Hmmm… God sees poor attitudes such as these displayed towards Him on a routine basis. He blesses us with so-o-o-o much and yet for some folks it’s never enough and they are totally unappreciative. Particularly in times of stress and trouble folks rail at Him and accuse Him of being unloving and distant.

It makes me angry to see an employee behave in such a manner and my fleshly reaction is counter to the Lord’s. After studying the Bible for over four decades now I’m convinced that God’s reaction is more one of sadness and I bet that it really grieves Him. He doesn’t want anyone to suffer in this life or the next, but we must be willing and that comes with attitude and faith in His goodness. Think about it. Selah!

Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!

Matt.23:37

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.”

 

 

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