Issue 392
Have you ever been treated unfairly by your employer? Perhaps you have been bullied, abused or cheated; it could be that you suffered at the hands of a previous employer.
For many of you, bullying by a colleague, co-worker or manager will have entered your experience; for others, it is not enough attention or neglect that has caused the struggle.
It is extremely rare, in any career path, for there to be no such experience. Everyone, at some point, has been treated unfairly or unjustly. There are times when this is due, not to malice, but incompetence or poor practice; the result is the same. You have, in your memory, a court of injustice, a place where the archive footage lies or the court records remain. Current incidents can open the door, replay the film or re-open the record so that the memory and its associated feelings of injustice surface, and in so doing, rob you of the present moment.
The sense of injustice at the hands of a previous employer or on a previous day can invade your mind and ruin your ability to achieve; it plunders your wealth of talent and devalues your stock; it runs away with your confidence and smashes your sense of self-worth. Replacing hope with regret, it leaves you with a legacy of bitterness, lethargy and negativity. Remembering workplace justice is one of the most powerful mechanisms by which present effectiveness can be undermined; it releases the robbers into your day.
The eighteen hours between the arrest and death of Jesus of Nazareth are packed full of injustice; in fact, it’s so systematic, concentrated and all-embracing, that it is hard to catalogue. Betrayed by his finance officer, deserted by his team, framed by the police, politicians and lawyers, physically assaulted by the military and tortured to death for a manufactured crime, it contains in one act what many never experience in the whole drama of their lives.
WORKTALK is based on how he handled these hours, especially the six on the cross, so perhaps we could just look at it from the angle of handling injustice. Here are a few tips:
Firstly, he always saw past the injustice. He saw the dark force behind Judas; he saw the power delegated by God to Pilate; he saw the Baptist-killer in Herod and the human hubris in Peter. He saw past the tears of the women to the future consequences of civic corruption; he saw his Father as they were killing him and he was dying.
In short, Jesus looked past the injustice to find meaning, purpose, power, love and mission; he did not ignore it, nor enjoy it; he could see the bigger picture. It takes great vision to be able to say ‘what you purposed for evil, God purposed for good’ – especially in the face of a petty abuser – and there were plenty of those in Jerusalem that day.
Secondly, he refused revenge: “Put your swords away”, he told Peter; he refused to call on massive air power, described as 72 thousand angels; he refused to fight that battle. Instead he fought the unseen battle, which would result in real victory.
Make no mistake, spiritual battles are played out on the fields of work. Workplaces, marketplaces, businesses, commerce and education are not sideshows; they are the places where the world is shaped; there is no more significant frontline. It is held by taking up a cross, not a sword.
Thirdly, he never lost sight of the long term; the joy set before him was his motivation;so he pointed the thief to paradise. When the thief of injustice attempts to invade your space, consider what it means to point it to paradise: there is love; there is justice; there is fairness. Keep that paradise in you. You know that Jesus was not weak, irrelevant, nor unrealistic; that’s why we follow him. That’s where the justice lies.
John 19:10-11
10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
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Work well
Geoff Shattock
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