Losing Your Job but Not Your Life

Article about Sowing Seeds of Faith and Internet Ministry

“Losing Your Job... But Not Your Life!"

My future looked exciting. I was promoted to a manager’s position at a local restaurant near my college. It was a proud moment for me because students were not usually offered leadership positions. Since this restaurant belonged to a nationwide chain, the future looked bright.

One of my new duties as manager was to turn off the lights at closing time by flipping a series of circuit breakers. Instructions were given for which switches to flip but in my first-night nervousness, I couldn’t remember. So I did some educated guessing figuring to have someone check before leaving. In all the rush, I went home forgetting all about the circuit breakers.

Early the next morning, the phone rang and the angry voice on the other end told me to come to work immediately. At the restaurant, people were running in and out of the building carrying boxes of meat into a refrigerated truck. The owner angrily informed me that I had turned off the power to their walk-in freezer. Most of the food, which amounted to several thousand dollars, would have to be thrown out. I made a major mistake. No excuses would be accepted or tolerated! It was my responsibility!

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I was told to resign as manager but offered an opportunity to remain as an employee. Unfortunately, my fierce pride took over my common sense. I angrily refused their offer and quit. Foolish, very foolish!

At this point you could focus on my mistakes (there were many) and justifiably say that I deserved my fate. “Stop whining Larry and learn from your blunders.” Or, you could righteously proclaim that I was an innocent victim of poor management procedures (also true) and allowed no margin for error. “They should have put a chart on the fuse box. They should have checked behind you more carefully.”

Both views had an element of truth but neither one meant a hill of beans to me. I was hurting and needed encouragement and compassion. Having never lost a job, I believed life was over. After all, what else was I good for? How would I ever recover? My job was my identity. What would I do now?

Have you ever felt that way? Today, our economy is in a recession. Many are newly jobless and wondering if they will recover. A job often represents much of your self-identity and your self-worth.

So, whether you’ve lost a job or struggling with another problem, Paul’s letter to the Romans is for you as well as me. Paul also suffered and understood what it meant to be discarded; yet he still managed to write these stirring words of encouragement:

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

Romans 5:3-5

Ø Problems and trials are a normal part of growth. They can even be good for us.

Ø Our endurance through those trials develops character. We become stronger.

Ø Character teaches us to wait upon God. Our relationship with God improves.

Ø We trust in God’s love to see us through. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts with His love.

Looking back, I realize that losing my job was difficult, but not the end of the world. There were valuable lessons from being fired that would improve my later performance as an employee and a leader. I learned the importance of being better organized, listening carefully and asking good questions. God uses even our failures as learning tools to help us grow stronger in our faith.

This particular scripture is also a reminder of how very much God loves you, even if you do get fired. Ultimately everyone stumbles but the successful folks are the ones who learn to get up again and again, if necessary, dust themselves off and continue on their God-chosen path with their faith steadily growing stronger. Losing your job is an obstacle, a setback… not your life. For that, “We can rejoice…”

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Last modified October 18, 2001.

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