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PROGRAM D-6917
What should a Christian employee do when they find themselves working for a boss who seems impossible? Instead of running away, which is our first inclination, we should take the situation to God in much prayer, praying for wisdom and for our boss.
When I was dealing with my impossible boss, God pointed out to me that my whole attitude was self-centered and self-pitying. All my thoughts were “I can’t take this.” “This isn’t fair to me.” “I don’t have to endure this kind of treatment.”
Don’t be surprised to find you lack perspective when you’re in the midst of these kinds of situations. God knows we lack perspective, and we can so easily get caught up in the “me” part of it all. But we need to allow him to change our perspective.
God clearly showed me to change my thinking from “Poor me. What can be done to deliver me from this terrible spot?” to “How can God be glorified in this situation? What are his purposes for putting me in this place?” When I finally could look at it that way, much of the frustration left immediately.
The trouble often is that we’re so caught up in our self-pity that we really don’t want to give it up. Even though relinquishing that self-pity is our doorway to freedom, we’ve become so accustomed to being wrapped up in self-pity, that it is almost strangely comforting in a very warped sense.
Perhaps you’ve just become consumed, as I did, with what it is doing to you, and you need instead to put on some forever eyes, and ask God to show you his eternal plan in this situation for you.
I learned that God wasn’t going to move at all in my difficult boss situation until I first sought his will, gave him permission to keep me there if that was best for me, stopped trying to run away, and relinquished my rights to have the kind of job I wanted with the kind of boss I wanted.
You see, I thought I had a right to a nice boss; after all, I was a nice person, a good employee. I didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. But I had to say to God, “I am your servant. If there is some good you have in mind by keeping me here, you have my permission to do so.” In the Bible that’s called dying to yourself, and it’s a point we must come to before God can move on our behalf.