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PROGRAM D-6919
If you’ve ever worked for a difficult boss, you know how frustrating it can be. As Christians in the working world, we need some biblical principles to guide us in these situations.
I’d like to talk about another attitude that we frequently experience when dealing with an impossible boss, and that is the problem of malice. Malice is the desire to see something bad happen to someone. Oh, how easy it is to fall into that trap when you’re working for a difficult manager. Since we cannot usually express our displeasure to them, we can find ourselves expressing malice to others. We can let our imagination run wild with all kinds of thoughts of bad things happening to them.
Now, be truthful. If you’re dealing with an impossible boss, are you guilty of bad-mouthing him or her quite often? As Christians we must be very careful not to do that. You may need to confront that person; you may even have to find another job in some cases. But if you allow your attitude to grow into malice and everybody knows you can’t stand your boss, can that be a good Christian witness? I don’t think so.
A Christian should be loyal to the person they work for. As long as you’re taking that paycheck on a regular basis, the least you owe your manager is loyalty. I didn’t say approval, but loyalty, and that means being careful not to bad-mouth the boss to others. It may be true that everyone else does, but it should not be true of you. Are you guilty of criticizing the boss and the company along with everyone else?
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 10:20: Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.
Solomon was indeed wise and he warns us that when you revile someone in authority, it always gets back to them. You may think it is confidential, but believe me, the boss usually knows. And that certainly cannot do you or your career any good. It just isn’t smart to talk about the boss behind his or her back—or anyone else for that matter.
Have you ever thought that God may have allowed that difficult boss into your life in order to get your attention and teach you some much needed lessons? That was true for me, and it may be for you as well. Don’t miss what he has for you in this experience.