Stephen
Terry, Director
Planning
for Success
Commentary
for the February 25, 2023, Sabbath School Lesson
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working
for the Lord, not for human masters," Colossians 3:23, NIV
Many years ago, while attending
a Seventh-day Adventist college, I was one of those students who had to work
his way through. I worked on the paint crew, I read and graded papers for the
English Department, I was a medical assistant at the local Veteran's
Administration hospital, and in my senior year I worked at the college's
commercial laundry. Some of our accounts were for cleaning the linens and uniforms
for local hospitals. The laundry loads, even with help of large capacity
industrial washing machines, seemed never ending. I imagine some parents with
several small children can identify with that. Since the heaviest work was
loading and unloading those machines, male students were usually those doing that
task. Those who had been there before me, advised me to pace myself for two
reasons. First, they said I would soon exhaust myself if I didn't, and second,
they explained that if we went too fast, the manager would find other work for
us to do to fill in our time. Initially, I went along with their advice.
In the spring, Morris Venden came to the campus for a Week of Prayer series, and
they broadcast his sermons over the sound system in the laundry. He focused on
the Israelites and their deliverance from Egypt. Part of that story is how they
came to be in Egypt in the first place. Along with the story of Joseph and his
coat of many colors was his experience in Egypt were he was a faithful worker
who earned rewards for his faithfulness when trusted with a task. That made me
think about my work at the laundry. Along with our opening Bible verse from
Colossians, that challenged whether just doing the minimum necessary to get
through the workday is how God would expect me to represent him. I decided I would
do the laundry how Jesus would have done it. When I returned to work, I began
to load and unload the washing machines with more zeal than I had before. This
meant there were times while the machines were running that there was little to
do, and just like I was told, management sent me to another area to help
folding the sheets as they came from the dryer.
The ladies who normally did the
folding were surprised to see me, since the other washer attendants carefully
avoided being available for reassignment. They were glad to have the extra help,
and we all had a great time working together. Despite some sore muscles the
first few days, I continued to work as I felt Jesus would have done, so I ended
up folding clothes with the ladies many times until graduation. It was
enjoyable hearing their stories as they folded and talked.
When graduation approached, I was
called into the manager's office. I was not sure what to expect since usually
that only happened when someone did something really wrong.
Instead, I was told that the current manager wanted to retire, and they offered
me his position. I was floored. I did not expect that at all. However, I had already
accepted a pastoral position for a three-church district in the Midwest, so I
could not entertain the offer. I found out a few years later that the laundry
closed. I often wondered what life would have been like had I accepted that
position. Would it have made a difference regarding closing the laundry? If it
had closed anyway, what would that have meant for me and my young family? I
guess we all wonder about the choices we didn't make.
Since our lesson quarterly this
week focuses on the story of Joseph, this seems like my experience could be the
perfect illustration of what a faithful worker can expect in return for their
commitment to the task assigned them, doesn't it? It also sounds a bit like the
American Dream, work hard, and you will be recognized and rewarded for your
labor. That was an idea promoted by Horatio Alger in the mid-19th
century with several rags-to-riches stories extolling the idea that if you worked
hard and faithfully, some wealthy benefactor would take notice and reward you.
Many people bought those books, even though they were often poorly written, because
they wanted to believe in the myth. Alger, at least, became wealthy from the sale
of the books. He sold over twenty million copies during a time when the
population of the United States struggled to reach sixty million.
So, is it true? Does God always
reward the Josephs if they hang in there long enough and work hard enough? Will
someone with wealth and power always step in to reward those faithful
individuals? On a human level, no. First, it isn't logical to expect several
hard workers vying for one available promotional slot to all be promoted for
their efforts. But apart from that, there are many who hold positions of power not
because of faithfulness to God, but because their relatives held those positions
before them and by holding to the views those relatives held on similar issues,
they paved the way for nepotism to prevail in their favor over those who might
be better suited. This is not limited to ecclesiastical circles. Many universities
have special relationships to legacy students, those whose acceptance to matriculate
at those institutions is more likely than not, barring some scandal. Whether within
the church or without, these "fortunate sons" have learned how the game is
played and that no real effort is necessary to achieve an acceptable level of
success if you are related to the right people with the right amount of wealth
and power. They also know that if Joe Normal tries to take their opportunity
from them by hard work and faithfulness, it will never happen. They may become
Joe's boss, but Joe will never become theirs no matter how hard he works.
When I worked on the college
paint crew painting dormitory rooms, we had a person on the crew who came from
a wealthy, overseas family. He did not need to work his way through school like
the rest of us on the crew. His tuition had all been paid in advance. While we
painted, he would sit on an empty, overturned five gallon bucket and watch us
while listening to his radio. He told us he was not going to work, even though his
parents had given a large donation to the school, and they expected the school
to give him work experience in return. I
asked him if he was afraid of getting fired. He said, "No." Sure enough, when
the boss came by to check on us, he said nothing about him sitting on the
bucket and not working. I asked the boss about it later, and he said he couldn't
do anything about it. Several days later, the foreign student told me that he
had an executive position with his parents' company once he graduates, and it would
be the same whether he actually did any work or not, so I asked him, if that's
the case, why did he show up for work at all? Maybe I shouldn't have asked him that
because he agreed, and we didn't see him anymore. I'm not sure how the college
worked that out with his parents.
My point with all of this is that
we are not living in heaven. We should not expect heavenly results for
everything we do. Despite proper diet, exercise, and rest, some will still get
cancer, and some of those will die from it. Just as our works are not the guarantor
of our salvation, they do not guarantee a heavenly outcome in terms of wealth
and power in this life. Besides if we are working for that reward, we may find
that the golden carrot leading us on is made of fool's gold.
Rehoboam doubtless looked
forward to reigning as king once his father, Solomon, died. He was to be
crowned, not because he was the best choice for the job, but because his father
prepared the way for him. How much he relished the power of the position
without understanding its requirements can be seen in his response to the
people when they appealed to him for compassion. His ruthless response split
the kingdom, and the Bible tells us there was constant war between his followers
in Judah, and the rest of Israel under the rebel king, Jeroboam. Too many,
especially among those who occupy their positions of authority within the
church as a legacy from a relative who has done the same, would, like Rehoboam,
rather split the church than show empathy or compassion to those who seek it. Some
of what comes from our own General Conference is more like Rehoboam's scorpions'
tails than like a healing, soothing balm that would preserve the wholeness of
the denomination. They justify their lack of compassion by saying that some
were prophesied to fall away anyway.
The true route to success is not
the route of sparing no opportunity to cull the flock. It was modeled by Jesus.
Isaiah said of the Messiah prophetically, "A bruised reed he will not break, and
a smoldering wick he will not snuff out."[i] But
too many today want to "cry aloud and spare not."[ii]
They know that fear can be a powerful means to control the herd, and they use
it without hesitation to coerce compliance. They identify strongly with those
passages in the Old Testament that paint God with that same brush. At the same
time, they overlook Christ repeatedly warning that God desires mercy not
sacrifice,[iii]
lest we find the innocent guilty. Sadly, even though they feel they are the reincarnation
of Isaiah with their much crying aloud and not sparing, they overlook the context
of what Isaiah is commanded to preach. That passage is a message of love and compassion
for others, not a condemnation for sin so much as an appeal to love one
another. If we cannot cross that bridge, if we cannot find the love that
produces such compassion, and instead demand sacrificial obedience in its
place, we have little right to see ourselves as modern prophets, much less
personifying the savior whose name we put on as Christians while remaining indifferent
to the words he preached or the life he lived. That is how the Bible defines
success, and no one, no relative, no wealthy person, and no powerful, earthly leader
can give that kind of success to us, only Jesus.