Latest / Prayer Before Work / A Customer Blamed You for a Mistake You Didn't Make. Now What? - Prayer Before Work
Transcript
- Sean Graver: Well, a customer just told your boss that you made a mistake. And you know for a fact you didn't. But now it's out there sitting in an email thread, and you're the one who has to somehow prove a negative. Well, hey, this is Sean, and welcome back to Prayer Before Work. and then this this is not the kind of accusation that ends careers. It's it's the smaller, more common kind, a a customer misremembering what was said or looking for someone to blame for their own error, or just genuinely mistaken about what actually happened. But it's specific enough and it landed high enough that your boss now has a decision to make about how seriously to take it, and you have to sit there knowing the truth while somebody else gets to decide whether they believe you. Well Peter writes to people Who were regularly being falsely accused for simply doing their jobs and living with integrity. And his advice isn't what you'd expect. In 1 Peter 3 16, he says, having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. Now, notice the strategy there. He doesn't say to argue harder or Prove them wrong, right? Or, you know, he just says, you don't have to make sure that everyone knows the truth right away, but he does point to something that it's a little quieter and slower. He says a good conscience, a track record of good behavior that eventually speaks for itself, even when a single accusation temporarily is making noise. So if your conscience is actually clear. Well, that's clarity. That clarity, it's it's worth something. Even in the moment when it doesn't feel like it's protecting you from anything. So practically that doesn't mean staying silent. I mean, lay out what actually happened clearly and calmly in writing if that helps, without getting defensive or attacking the customer's character and the process. Let the facts do the talking rather than your emotions. But once you've said your piece honestly. You can't force your boss or the customer to believe you immediately. And trying to control that outcome will just do nothing but make you anxious. What you can control is whether you told the truth clearly and whether your actual pattern of work backs up what you're saying. If you know you did nothing wrong, that's worth holding on to, even while other people are still figuring out what actually happened. So let's pray. God, it's frustrating to be blamed for something we know we didn't do, especially when we can't fully control how it gets resolved. But give us the calm to explain ourselves clearly instead of reacting out of frustration. And let our actual pattern of work speak for itself over time, even when one moment makes that a little harder to see. And where we can't control the outcome, which give us peace instead of anxiety. While we wait for it to settle. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now go make today count.