Latest / Prayer Before Work / Your Company Said Volunteering Was Optional. Your Review Disagrees. - Prayer Before Work
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- C0688: Your company said the Saturday volunteer days were completely optional. And then your annual review said you should show up more. hey, this is Sean, and welcome back to Prayer Before Work. So somebody shared this one with me, and I'll admit it it got under my skin a little bit because I've gone through similar situations. Their company started a monthly Saturday event where employees can volunteer at local charities. Unpaid, totally optional, they said over and over. Now this person works Monday through Friday and wants their weekends. so they've never participated. But then their review comes back and under company values it says they haven't been participating in community initiatives and should represent the company more outside of working hours. When they asked about it, the manager said nobody's being forced, but leadership. notices who shows up for the culture. So it's optional as long as you don't mind it being written down that you didn't go. Now if you're in that spot, your frustration makes a lot of sense. But here's what struck me. Jesus had something to say about generosity that's that's done just to be noticed. So in Matthew 61, he says, Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your father who is in heaven. And a few verses later, he says that when you give, do it so privately that your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing. So Jesus cared about the heart behind the good deed, not the photo op. Serving your community is a good thing. Turning it into a scorecard for performance reviews It takes something good and just bends it and twists it, I think. So so what do you do with that? Well, you can respond respond in a kind of a calm manner and maybe in writing, but something like I wanna make sure I understand. So since this event was presented as optional and unpaid, can you help me see how it's being weighed in my review? And that's not being you know, argumentative or combative, but it is asking for clarity. And it creates a record. And then guard your heart so this doesn't sour you on serving altogether. Cause if there's a cause you care about, maybe it's a food pantry, a youth league, something at your church, I mean, give your time there on your terms. You don't owe your company a report on it. That's the kind of giving Jesus was talking about. And protect your rest without guilt, a day off Isn't laziness. You're allowed to keep your weekend. So let's pray. Well, Lord, it's frustrating when something called optional turns out to carry a price. help us respond with honesty and calm instead of resentment. And keep our hearts, though, soft towards real service, even when it gets tangled up in company politics, and show us where you want us to give our time freely. And without needing anyone else to see it, and give us peace about the boundaries that we set. In Jesus' name, amen. Go make today count.