Who Died and Made You Boss?

This old saying seems to be taking on even more significance in our postmodern world. The Id, so long spoken of in psychology courses, has risen to god-like importance. You hear it all the time: you don't respect me, I deserve such-n-such, I won't do that, you can't tell me what to do, that's not fair (a relativistic assessment), I just want to be me, and the list goes on and on. Listen to the Occupy Wall Street crowd. They weren't really saying the system was wrong, they were just saying they deserve greater consideration by the system.

It is a problem eating at our society. I deserve, I want, but, I shouldn't have to pay my dues. It is owed me. REALLY? When did society begin to owe anyone anything? What happened to the thought process that told people to work hard and achieve? How do you achieve before you pay your dues in hard work, learning the requirements of the job, building trust and respect? When did an entry level job ever pay a "livable" wage? In my first three jobs I worked part-time along with going to school and I lived at home. What did I make? Minimum wage, of course! Could I have lived on it alone - no. What it did was teach me responsibility, accountability, reliability, honesty, truthfulness, consistency, teamwork, timeliness and, humility. I learned all this and even got paid for it!

Not so today - no, employers are now expected to give to that new employee with no expectations. No matter that productivity goes down while another employee takes time away from their responsibilities to train the newbie. It is of no consequence that the new employee is not capable yet to contribute to the bottom line. It's all okay, however, because the employer is making an exorbitant profit. Because it is deemed excessive, it should be shared with the new employee, right? Wrong on so many levels.

Anyone who has actually worked in the management of a business knows the profit margin is almost always much lower than the general public suspects. The raw numbers may give the appearance, but their are corporate taxes, insurance, and payroll taxes. There are advertising costs, overhead burden and facilities and utility expenses. This list can go on and on depending on the industry. Then there is the cost associated with keeping competition down. A curse of a profitable industry is that if the margin is reasonably high, there is constant entry by smaller, leaner competitors. The higher the margin, the more competitors. Established companies are forced to reinvest earlier than usual to maintain a competitive edge, find technological advantages, invest in training strategies and even cut profits. To the uninformed, these considerations have no meaning.

Oh, and do NOT expect the same level of employee loyalty and behavior that was prevalent before we entered the postmodern age. No, this is an "I do my job" and nothing else mentality. That is, if the job is getting done at all. A supervisor approaching a lackluster performer will be quite blessed to hear, Who died and made you boss?  or,  You're not the boss of me. More than likely, the employee uses profanity end route to the Equal Opportunity director claiming hostile work environment. See, if anyone dies, the employee thinks he/she should be the one to be promoted. Who died and made you boss?

Scripture seems to at least partly support this, especially 1 Timothy 5:18. For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." Okay, so by not muzzling the ox, it is being allowed to consume freely from the farmer’s crops - or profits and this ties in directly to the worth of the hireling. 

So, is this the overall idea of Scripture? The answer is a resounding NO. The preponderance of occurrences paint a portrait that supports hard work, condemns grumbling, laziness and questioning. These provide noteworthy examples.

☛Proverbs 13:4: The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the 

          diligent is richly supplied

☛Philippians 2:14-15:  Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be 

          blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked 

          and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

☛Proverbs 12:24: The hand of the diligent will rule, while the slothful will be put to 

          forced labor

☛Ecclesiastes 9:10: Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is 

          no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

So, the answer to the lead-off question to this blog is this: the Lord God, the Lord God Almighty is not dead. He has not abrogated His throne. He has not delegated His divine sovereignty to any other. He is the One Who inspired the Scriptures above, which give answer to “Who died and made you boss?” That answer is no one. We are to work as if for the Lord of heaven and not for men, so His rules apply. Next time you hear someone tell you what they deserve in a work situation, keep this in mind. God is not dead, nor does He sleep. What He says remains in effect. It is past time we man up, grow up, shut up and let our work speak to our relationship with Him and those around us.