Why Are Your Co-Workers Unhappy?

Neal Pollard

Have you noticed that your co-workers are unhappy?  Maybe there is the guy (or gal) whose lips are loose and who lets you and everyone else know why.  Yet, statistics indicate that a great many workers are unhappy, staying in their current position only because of economic uncertainty and high unemployment rates.

Matthew Wong of Inc.com reports that site's findings about the source of dissatisfaction.  It is not their co-workers, boss, or amount of vacation time.  It is, in order, "on-the-job stress," "health benefits," and "salary."  The study goes on to say men most want more money and a promotion, while women want reduced and flexible hours. Gen X-ers want a higher job title, but millennials ask for more training.  Asked about what perks they want in addition to basic benefits, they said, "free beverages," "a tablet or smartphone for personal use," and "free massages."  Author and Harvard professor, Teresa Amabile, says, however, that one thing matters to many people more than either benefits and perks, and that is "real job satisfaction" (via infographic on ragan.com).

There is quite a bit to mull over in that release.  Instead of bemoaning the obvious spoiled attitude, materialism, and greed reflected in these answers, consider what at least one expert (and many others besides her) believe make us happier.  That is job satisfaction.

That is more than being thankful for employment.  It means doing something you feel like is making a viable contribution, that is as fulfilling as it is enjoyable. All of us want to feel like we have made a difference in the world during our time in it.

But, whether you are a street sweeper or CEO, a sacker of groceries or supervisor, you can find profound purpose in your "real" profession.  The King James Version refers to the Christian life as a "profession" four times (1 Tim. 6:12; Heb. 3:1; 4:14; 10:23). In each instance, the word used is some form of the Greek word meaning to "say the same thing as another." But, as used in each verse, the idea is of recognizing ourselves and showing others than Jesus reigns in our lives.  That is a lifelong process, something we carry with us wherever we go--including our job.  We see our occupation as a means to an end.  Our true profession is Christianity.  The perks, promotions, and profit are yet to be realized, but they will be!  Let us ever be faithful in His employ! 

A Great Lesson From Little Jack Hoffman

Neal Pollard

It was ESPN’s number one among its Top Ten plays for over the weekend.  I saw it yesterday morning and was frankly moved to tears.  Jack Hoffman, a 7-year-old battling brain cancer, was given the handoff in Saturday’s Nebraska Spring football game.  He ran 60 yards for a touchdown (see it here).  Everyone, the offense, the defense, and those on the bench ran behind him and congregated in the end zone in celebration of the boy’s accomplishment.  60,000 fans at Memorial Stadium stood up and cheered.

Jack is on a break from 60 weeks of chemotherapy, and he has undergone two surgeries since doctors discovered the cancer two years ago.  While the tumor has shrunk, time will tell how this ends for this courageous little boy.  Meanwhile, he and his family have a memory for a lifetime.  To me, the most touching part was how the entire Cornhusker team rallied around this sick little boy (details from washingtonpost.com).

The church of our Lord is the most important institution on earth.  To be a part of it is to be in the place where all spiritual blessings flow (Eph. 1:3), to be in Christ (Gal. 3:27), and to be part of God’s household (1 Tim. 3:15).  Of the myriad of blessings, Christians are part of a family.  When one of our family members is sick, hurting, suffering, spiritually struggling, has fallen from Christ but returned to Him, or in any other way finds himself or herself in a battle bigger than themselves, God designed the church to rally around that one and support them.  Paul urged supporting the weak (Acts 20:35). The writer of Hebrews urges us to “strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” (Heb. 12:12).  Long ago, the prophet said, “Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble” (Isa. 35:3).

Nothing is more moving to see than the church family rallying around a fellow-Christian in need of help.  I know I am not alone in feeling this way!  May we always feel comfortable enough to invite others into our lives to help us as we struggle to overcome and make heaven our home!

You’re Nothing But A Legalist!

If you’re anything like me, it gets confusing when people start throwing out “ism” and “ist” terms (i.e. realism, dispensationalist, existentialism, pragmatism, etc).  Sometimes one of these confusing words is “Legalist.”  Typically this word is used as an insult when one person thinks the other is being overly stern and unfair with the commands in the Bible.  They use this insult to say that one is making laws where the Bible hasn’t.  They may not realize it, but they are misusing and misunderstanding the word “legalist.”

To put it simply, a legalist is one who closely follows the law.  In regards to the Bible, a legalist would be someone who closely, even strictly, follows the commands in the Bible (The Free Dictionary).  So, this definition would make men like Paul, Peter, Moses, and even Christ legalists!  These were all men who tried hard in their lives to follow and enforce the commands from God.  Sometimes they even did so in a strict and firm fashion (Matthew 21:12).

We are living in a time when both culture and religion are becoming excessively relaxed and liberal with laws and morals.  Think of it this way, a hungry and ferocious lion is chained up with an unbreakable leash.  The leash represents our “laws and morals” and the lion represents the consequences of bad decisions.  Strangely, what is happening in our society, and in congregations, is not only an attempt to lengthen the lion’s leash, but to get rid of the restraints altogether!  The problem is, the more we let out the leash, the more the lion will attack.  In other words, the more prevalent crimes, sins, and immoral activities will become.  1 Peter 5:8 talks about Satan being like a “roaring lion seeking someone to devour.”  The way we are told to resist him is to “stand firm in our faith” (vs. 9).  In a similar fashion, Ephesians 6:10-18 says to equip ourselves with the armor of God.  One piece of this armor is “the shield of faith.”  Having faith and being faithful requires one to be morally upstanding and a follower of God’s commands.

In 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Paul made some statements that would probably be very unpopular today.   He says, “But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

Culture and religion are trying to let out the lion’s leash on some of the exact things God condemns in this Scripture.  One of the causes of this leniency is a fear of being too strict or being a “legalist.”  Even though legalism has gotten a bad reputation, what we desperately need today are more morally upright and law abiding people.  We need people who are going to stand for what is biblically right, even in the midst of name-calling and disapproving glares.  Let’s make the decision to be law-abiding, morally upstanding, and Bible obeying Christians--just like Christ.

Hand Stuck in a Vase

A little boy put his hand into an expensive Chinese vase and quickly discovered he was stuck.  He tugged and jerked but his hand wouldn’t budge.  He cried out and soon his parents were doing all they could to get the boy’s hand out.  After exhausting all ideas, they decided they had to break the vase.  They carefully chipped the vase away and immediately realized why the boy’s hand was stuck in the first place.  The boy’s hand had been open when he put it into the vase, but now it was in a fist which tightly clutched a penny.  In childish ignorance, he didn’t want to let the penny go to free his hand (SermonIllustrations.com).

Many aspects of our world are appealing and draw us in.  The problem is that many try to live a life dedicated to God and a life of sin at the same time.  Like the boy clutching the penny, we simply cannot live a righteous life for God until we let go of our sinful lifestyles.  Christ put it simply, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24).

The lesson for us is very simple and clear.  We must chose whether we are going to dedicate ourselves to God and serve Him, or to live in sin and selfishness.  If we choose to live for ourselves and in sin, the reward will be equivalent to a shinny penny.  If we choose to live for the Lord, the glory and riches will be well beyond what we can comprehend.  We can’t have both ways; we can only choose one.  When we make the choice, hopefully our words will echo Joshua 24:15, “…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

An Animal That Can’t Feel the Burn

At one time or another we have all experienced some type of burning feeling.  Maybe it was when we touched a hot stove, sipped a scalding drink, stayed out in the sun too long, or played with fire.  Sometimes we even feel burning sensations when we eat spicy food.  Whatever the cause, the burning feeling is no fun at all.  For this reason, scientists were especially curious when they discovered an animal that doesn’t feel certain burning sensations.  This animal is the naked mole rat.

Several years ago, researchers accidentally discovered naked mole rats didn’t have something called “substance P.”  To put it simply, substance P is a compound that sends signals of burning pain in our nerves.  Since naked mole rats don’t have substance P, they don’t feel pain from burns but will from other injuries.  For example, they feel pain from pinching, prodding, and other physical injuries, but can’t feel pain from acid or the burning sensation from chili peppers (BioEdOnline.org).

What makes this ability especially interesting is the fact that naked mole rats live in underground boroughs with high levels of carbon dioxide.  Living in places with high levels of carbon dioxide (as high as 10%) causes acid to build up inside the body tissue and is painful for most animals.  If the air we breathed comprised of just 5% carbon dioxide, we would feel a “sharp, burning, stinging sensation in our eyes and nose” (LiveScience.com, “Immune”).  In other words, the naked mole rat is designed specifically to live in places with high carbon dioxide without feeling any pain. 

Not only are there high levels of carbon dioxide inside the boroughs, but often very low levels of oxygen as well.  If we breathed the same oxygen levels as the naked mole rat we would quickly sustain brain damage (LiveScience.com, “Oxygen”).  The reason they are able to live in such terrible air conditions is because they breathe less frequently and use about a third less oxygen than other small animals like mice.  This gives the naked mole rat the ability to function more than six times longer with low levels of oxygen than mice and other animals (ibid).

Even though they aren’t much to look at, naked mole rats are some of the most incredible animals on earth.  It’s clear that these little rodents were perfectly made to survive in some of the worst air conditions.  With so many complex and unique characteristics, we have to ask how they could have evolved these abilities?  Evolution simply does not offer specific answers and clear facts.  Naked mole rats, like many other animals on the earth, prove that God planned, designed, molded, and created everything.

Not only do the words of Nehemiah 9:5-6 speak the truth about creation, but they also tell us what our response should be: “Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever!  O may Your glorious name be blessed
 and exalted above all blessing and praise!  You alone are the Lord.  You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.  You give life to all of them 
and the heavenly host bows down before You.”

May we always praise and glorify God, the Designer and Lord of all creation!