What do you see in this picture? Do you just see a drowsy
orange cat? Is he just a background decoration to you? If you were to place
your ear on his fluffy belly, would you hear breathing, snoring, or purring?
How well do you know him? Does he mean anything to you?
My desire in writing this post is definitely NOT to smear
anyone's character or destroy anyone's good name. I simply wish to be honest,
happy, and cleansed cathartically. I'm obsessed with God to the point where
almost anything I see, hear, or experience reminds me of Him. I think He's
pretty much ruined me that way for life. So, I hope what I've seen, heard, or
experienced while working at a certain company will help you see, hear, and
experience God also. Here's the deal: While working at a certain company, I've
learned a lot about what God is NOT like.
1) At a certain
job, I felt treated like a number instead of like a human being. I was given a quota, and if I
didn't meet it, I was reprimanded. Even if I missed the quota by a hair, I was
rebuked. Even if I had taken a day off one week, I was asked why I didn't meet
the quota for the week. This would make me think my boss lacked common sense.
My boss wouldn't really make any effort to get to know me as a human being. My
boss would only interact with me to conduct business. My boss would only be
happy with me when I would meet the quota, even if my boss didn't notice that I
was cutting corners (as honestly as I could) to meet them. My boss would really
only consider me to be a money-making machine.
But God isn't like that.
God designed me to be in His image. He wants me to be like
Him. And He understands that I need His help to become more like Him. He
understands this so much that He sent His own Son to die for me -- about 2,000
years before I was even born. Jesus is the Firstborn of all creation who
successfully lived the only sinless life ever, and now He walks beside me and shows
me how to live it. All I really have to do is follow Him and believe. I'm not a
number to God. I'm a person. He wants to know me. And He wants me to know Him.
I can't really find any biblical quotas that He would want me to fill. I think
He just wants me to walk with Him, and let Him carry me, and run away with Him.
It's probably common sense: He's the Original Romantic.
2) At a certain
job, I felt stuffed into a category by people who couldn't care less about me. When the CEO would visit, he
would say something like, "Oh, you're [insert category here] people,"
and he would deliver his CEO speech accordingly. He wouldn't really make any
effort to get to know our names, but he would be cordial and tell us to get a
job somewhere else if we weren't comfortable working in his company's
environment.
My boss would ask me if I would need anything, and I would
answer honestly at first, but if the opposite of my suggestions were carried out, I didn't feel listened to. I would try to explain
what my strengths and weaknesses were, but I would be instructed to ignore my
strength and focus on improving my weakness. Of course, this was like coercing
me into writing with my left hand. (I'm right-handed.) So, my weakness would
improve a tiny bit due to practice, but my strength would ache because it wasn't
being used. And my coworkers around me who were stronger and more adept than I
was would grow stronger and more adept, and they would get promoted while I
would get rebuked for not meeting the blasted quota. This would make me feel
like a loser. This would make me feel like I sucked at everything I touched.
This would make me feel like crap, and I would dream about getting a job
somewhere else.
But God isn't like that.
God designed me with a certain purpose. He wants me to find
out what it is. And He wants me to celebrate what it is. Here's the bottom
line: God isn't foolish. He's smarter than any other being in the universe. The
Bible puts certain people in certain categories -- e.g., pastors, prophets, and
evangelists -- and God does that on purpose. It would be extremely foolish of
me to tell one of my cats, "Hey, next time someone tries to break in, bark
at them and rip their face off." I would be extremely disappointed (and in
trouble). What I would need to do is find a dog, because it would be better suited
to my desired purpose. It would be extremely foolish of me to look at a dog and
say, "Hey, next time you see a mouse, exterminate it for me." I would
be disappointed. What I would need to do is find a cat, because a cat would
exterminate a mouse for me before I would even get a chance to develop a rodent
problem.
God makes certain people a certain way -- with certain
giftings, talents, proficiencies, and passions -- on purpose. When each person
discovers how God made him or her and goes for it, life suddenly becomes more
efficient. Life makes more sense. We become better suited for our life's
environment.
3) At a certain
job, I learned that lip service will protect my paycheck. I could think whatever I wanted,
but as long as I wouldn't speak what I'd be thinking, no one (except God) would
know what I'd be thinking. I could have whatever attitude I wanted in my heart,
but because I'd be viewed as a mere machine that would only exist to perform a
certain job, I would rarely be checked on. More than likely, my boss would not
hear my frustrated sighs or see my hidden tears or detect my silent groans. As
long as I would meet the quota and show up at the appointed meetings, all was
well.
It was during one of these meetings when I had a silent
revelation with God: "Oh, my gosh, I suddenly understand You." I
wouldn't lie to my boss, but if I would only tell my boss what they wanted to
hear, I could be left alone. My boss would probably not suspect that I would be
seeking employment elsewhere while I would be smiling during the meetings.
But God isn't like that. And I used to treat Him like that.
"These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and
honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." (Matthew 15:8)
If your employer is sitting across from you and only asking
you questions about your quota, you will only talk about your quota, because
that is all they want to know about. They probably won't want to know about
your motives, your dreams, or your pain. They probably couldn't care less about
what makes you tick or what floats your boat. They just want to know that you
will make money for them. So, you will tell them whatever they want to hear.
Many years ago, I used to show up to church meetings and do
what needed to be done. I would sing what needed to be sung. I was shiny,
slick, and whitewashed. And I would spend my emotions on other people and other
things besides Him. Church was a boring checklist. The rest of my life was
dramatic and exciting. But something changed after I realized that I needed to
love God.
God isn't a heartless dictator who micromanages my life for
the sake of meeting a stupid quota. He's a Father, a Bridegroom, a Counselor
who wants intimacy with me. (It's rated-G intimacy.) If He sits across from me
at a table during a meeting, I won't be able to get away with mere lip service.
He'll look straight into my soul, into my heart, into my gut, and ask me how
I'm doing, because He'll care. He'll listen to me. If I have a concern, He'll
jump on it. He'll probably throw the meeting agenda out the window and invite
me out for dinner and a movie instead, because He wants to be my Friend. He
wants to be the Lover of my soul. He wants to be my Father.
Lip service doesn't work with God. He doesn't want detached
words. He wants heartfelt intimacy. If you think you can get away with simply
showing up and reporting your deeds to Him without expressing your heart or
devotion to Him, you'll probably want to worship somebody else instead. I know
I did.
To answer the series of almost-rhetorical questions I put at
the beginning of this post, yes, this is my drowsy orange cat. But there's so
much more to him than meets the eye. His previous owner suspected that he
composes symphonies while he naps. If I place my ear on his fluffy belly, I
usually hear purring. I've known him for almost 14 years. He is a deeply loving, ferociously devoted animal.
He is clingy, and he hides when strangers are near. He demands affection, and
he likes to be held and coddled. And yet, he is an expert exterminator. He is
completely in his element when insect intruders are near. I do not have a
rodent or pest problem of any kind, thanks to him (and my other cat). Once, I
saw a mouse tail dangle out of his mouth like a shoelace. Another time, I saw
him eat a gecko as if it were a gummi bear. And another time, one of the people
I lived with informed me that she spotted a scorpion in the house and to
beware. The next morning, I saw two halves of a scorpion lying lifeless near my
cats' food bowls. Yes, to the naked eye, he is a drowsy orange cat. But to his
owner who has known him for most of his life, he is Macho the superhero tiger.
You'll probably never know what kind of treasures are buried
silently inside a person unless you dig deeply and search diligently for them.
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