BBD 04.08.09 Twisting Off
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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The Burning Bush Devotional
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04.08.09
Twisting Off
Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the
flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not
with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the
will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and
not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same
from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you, masters, do the same
things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is
in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. - Ephesians 6:5-9.
Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also
have a Master in heaven. - Colossians 4:1.
During these difficult economic times there has been a wave of
"bossnappings" in France. There is a previous history of bossnapping in
France dating back to 1968 and into the 1970s. A bossnapping usually
involves desperate workers being laid off, holding the boss hostage,
demanding better terms. The bossnappers usually want guarantees of jobs, no
sudden lay offs, and reasonable pay.
Long before the current economic problems there have been problems between
employees and their supervisors. Thankfully (and hopefully), there are no
longer bondservants or slaves in most modernized countries. Problems often
arise in employee supervisor relationships when the employee is viewed as an
object, a tool, or even as a slave by the supervisor. Often the employee
feels trapped and because of their financial situation is unable to simply
quit and walk away from their job which results in increasingly adverse
workplace conditions.
While I was working in the oilfield there was a term for those who suddenly
quit or walked off from their employment usually because of poor working
conditions and the relationship with their supervisor. The term used for
that kind of behavior was for someone to "twist off." The term came from
when a string of drill pipe was lost in a hole when the pipe "twisted off."
I once twisted off after being cussed out in front of my crew for nothing
that I had done or that my crew had done. Two of my crewmembers after I had
left then participated in a bossbeating. That is what happens in the real
world when people are treated like slaves. People can be pushed to a point
where it does not matter what the financial or other consequences may be,
they simply will not take that kind of treatment any longer and there will
be a rebellion. You could think of a group of people going out on strike as
a more formalized form of this kind of behavior and in France, they have
bossnappings. So far, I have not heard of any bossbeatings but that may be
coming if things do not improve.
Having supervised large groups of men during sometimes very difficult
conditions in the oilfield I know that the best way to keep operations
running smoothly is to treat your employees as you would want to be treated
yourself. I never asked anyone to do anything that I would not have been
willing to do myself. The Golden Rule as stated by Jesus in Matthew 7:12
should be the Golden Rule not just in life but also for employees,
employers, and supervisors. Jesus says, ".whatever you want men to do to
you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Here is an additional reason for employers and supervisors to observe the
Golden Rule in their relationships with their employees: ".you also have a
Master in heaven."
Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
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