Latest / Prayer Before Work / The Boss Who Won't Let Go - Prayer Before Work
Transcript
- Sean Graver: Your boss seems to love rewriting or revising almost everything you prepare, and you wonder if he thinks you're just not capable. Well, hey, this is Sean, and welcome back to Prayer Before Work. Now maybe your version doesn't look exactly like that. Maybe it's the boss who asks for a status update every hour, or stands behind your desk while you finish a task that you've done a thousand times. You know, whatever the exact shape of it is. The message underneath feels the same. I don't trust you to do this without me watching. And that can get under your skin in a way that's kind of hard to explain to someone who hasn't lived through that. I mean, it's not that the work is hard, it's that you're being treated like you can't be trusted with it. So the Apostle Paul writes about this kind of thing in First Corinthians chapter four, though he's he's talking about something. Little bigger than office politics, but he writes, This is how one should regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. Now he says they're required to be found trustworthy. So that's on you, not on your boss. Your job is to be. The kind of person whose work holds up, whether anyone's watching closely or not at all. But here's what that means on a Tuesday when your boss is hovering over your shoulder again. It means your effort and your attitude cannot be tied to how much room you're being given. If you only do your best work when nobody's checking, well that tells you something to it. It it might mean the oversight. isn't really the problem. And if if it genuinely is excessive, if this is a boss who cannot let go of anything, you're still allowed to address that directly. You know what I mean? Ask for a specific check-in structure instead of the constant hovering. Or ask what would need to happen for him to trust you with more. I mean that's a fair conversation to have. But what doesn't help is letting resentment pile up while you wait for him or her to change first. Be trustworthy, regardless of how it's received. Sometimes that's what actually earns you the room you're asking for. Well, let's pray. God, it's hard to feel small at work, like our judgment doesn't count for much. Lord, give us the patience with the people over us, even when their way of managing wears on us. Help us focus on being faithful with. what's in front of us instead of waiting for someone else to hand us more trust. And if we need to speak up about how we're being managed, would you give us the right words and the right moment to do it well? In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And go make today count.