If Your Boss Is Angry
A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
“I think my boss is going to fire me,” my visitor said. “Why?”
“Maybe because I can’t do the job.”
“But they hired you because they thought you could do the job.”
“Well, I can do it, but not in the time they want it done.”
“Why not?”
“Maybe because I sometimes talk to the people I work with about their relationship with God.”
“Do you do that on company time?”
“Well, yes, but you know how important it is for people to know about Jesus.”
“Yes. I do. It’s more important than anything else in the world. But you also made a contract with your company that you would give them forty honest hours a week. If you don’t do that, you’re breaking your contract with them. You are actually stealing money from them if you don’t give them a full day’s work.”
“That sounds harsh.”
“Maybe so, but it’s true.”
“But when can I talk to people about Jesus? Lots of times, they’re the ones who bring up their problems.”
“Great! When it comes up, why not suggest you meet for lunch, or maybe on your coffee break? You can be an encouragement to people and still keep your promise to your employer. God cares about people knowing Him even more than you, so He’ll help you. He promised that in Romans 14:4: ‘To his own master a servant stands or falls, and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.’ So yes, talk to people about Jesus, but be an honest employee, too.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “So I deserve to be fired?”
“There’s another possibility,” I said, reaching for my Bible. I turned to Ecclesiastes 10:4:
If your boss is angry with you, don’t quit!
A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes.
“So maybe you should have a quiet talk with your boss and apologize. Then set out to keep your contract. Give a full day’s work every day. And when the opportunity arises to talk about Jesus, be purposeful about it, but on your own time.”
“I see what you mean. I can do it,” she said, with hope.
And she did it, with joy!