Time-Consuming

(This would have been my entry for FaithWriters last week had I not missed the deadline....)

“These staff meetings are a waste of time.  They’re all the same.  ‘Brenda, you’ve done such an ex-cell-ent job this week.  Brenda, you can do no wrong.  Oh, please can we bow down and kiss your feet?’” Carolyn’s bitter tone spoke volumes.

Having worked at Vi-Tech the longest, Carolyn struggled with a sense of entitlement.  Unfortunately, management did not recognize her longevity at weekly staff meetings.

“Brenda does a good job and she’s great with the customers.  She deserves the accolades.”

“Janet, don’t tell me you’ve fallen under the spell of Miss Goody Two-Shoes.”

“I’m not under anyone’s spell, I just think the company would benefit if all of us adopted her attitude.”

Carolyn looked closely at Janet.  “What did you do, go and get religion this weekend?”

“What?”

“Never mind.  The company doesn’t care about little peons like us.  Why should I work harder to make the head honcho richer?  He’s not going to share his profits with me.”

“Maybe he would if we all had Brenda’s work ethic.”

Flared nostrils and heavy breathing replaced a verbal response.  Carolyn turned away from Janet and walked into the conference room.  Waiting for Carolyn to be seated before entering the room, Janet chose the chair furthest from Carolyn’s.

Brenda’s achievements were highlighted during the brief staff meeting.  Her sales quota was higher than expected.  The sales managers sang her praises and lauded her customer service feedback.  Janet looked over and noticed Carolyn was seething.

Janet moved closer to Brenda and timidly asked, “Could I talk to you for a few minutes?”

After the last salesperson left the conference room, Janet shut the door.  “Brenda, I want to ask you about time management.”

“Me?  Time management?  Oh, I’m probably the last person you should be asking about that.  I’m always rushing because I haven’t budgeted my time well enough.”

“You never work on Sundays because you have church stuff in the morning and at night.  You never work past five on Wednesdays because you have more church stuff.  Your kids are always involved in things at church and a lot of nights you have to leave early to take them.  And every time I turn around, you’re bringing in food, because you have extra from baking for someone who’s had a death in the family or someone’s sick. Last year, you took your vacation time and went to Honduras with your family for a mission trip.  Your time is consumed with church activities.  How do you do all of that and still be top salesperson week after week?  There are people putting in a lot more hours and their numbers aren’t even close to yours.  And, Sunday is the best day for sales, I know you know that, but you’re the only one who doesn’t work on Sundays.”

Brenda smiled, “Janet, Vi-Tech employees me and they give me a check each week, but I don’t work for Vi-Tech.”

“What are you talking about?  We all work for Vi-Tech.”

“Are you familiar with Colossians 3:23?  That verse is my motto:  ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters . . . ‘”

“I’ve never heard that before.  Is that why you work so hard when you’re here?  You’re pretending you work for God?”

“I’m not pretending, Janet.  I answer to God.  He is my supervisor.  Each day, I ask myself if my actions have pleased God.  If the answer is ‘no’ I ask myself, ‘why?’ Then I vow to try harder the next day not to let Him down.”

“But all that stuff at your church is so time-consuming, how do you get everything done?”

“When you say ‘time-consuming’ it sounds negative.  Everything I do at my church and for my church is out of love.  I want to do those things and when you want to do something, you find a way to fit it into your schedule.”

“What about work?  It consumes at least a third of your week?”

“Again, that sounds negative.  I try to remind myself that I am fortunate to have a job and I know God had a hand in providing this job.  If I work hard to earn His approval, I know those in management will be happy with my performance.”

“You religious people sure see things differently.”

“Janet, do you attend church?”

“No, not since I was a little girl.  Why?”

I was wondering if you’d like to see things a little differently?”