Latest / Prayer Before Work / Why Nobody Lasts Long Sitting Next to Her - Prayer Before Work
Transcript
- Sean Graver: You know that feeling when you walk into a room and the temperature drops? Well, here's what a listener said. That's what it's like some mornings when a certain coworker is already at her desk. And she apparently she's been there for years. She's sharp, she's fast, and and she has a reputation, but not the good kind. Listener says, I've heard the stories about people who used to sit where I'm sitting now. And how they don't sit there anymore. And lately her comments have started landing on me. Little jabs, eye rolls when I have a question. I went to my supervisor about it, and not because I wanted her fired, but just because I wanted it to stop. And now I'm left wondering, how do I fix a problem when it's clearly one person, not the whole job? So King Solomon deals with this exact kind of moment in Proverbs 15, 1. And he writes, A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. And notice what he doesn't say there. He doesn't say, A gentle answer fixes the person. He doesn't promise that she'll change. He just tells us what a gentle answer does, it turns away wrath. It keeps us from adding fuel to something that's already burning. So here's what this looks like in the office. It's choosing not to match her tone. It's answering the sharp comment with something more calm and steady instead of something sharp right back. And and it's not because you're weak and not because you're pretending that it doesn't hurt or cause you frustration, but because you're You already did the right thing. You raised it, you didn't go around anyone, you didn't build a case against her in the break room or criticize her to other peers. You handled it the way you would want someone to handle it if the roles were reversed. Now you can't control whether she changes, but you can control whether you become the eighth name on that list in your seat, or the person who found a way to do good work. next to a hard person. And that's not a weakness. And that it's actually a strength that most people really never get the chance to practice. Well let's pray over this. God, thank you for giving us the courage to speak up instead of saying silent. We can't control what she says in this situation or how she treats others, but we can ask you to help us answer with something calm and peaceful instead of something sharp. Soften her heart and soften ours too if it needs it. Give us the kind of strength that doesn't need to win the argument to know that it did the right thing. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Now go make today count.