Exciting Job Opportunities

Today, a friend of mine is upgrading the sound system at our church. That's good news, but here's something even more remarkable: his employer is paying him to do it! Turns out his employer supports volunteering ... and they put their money where their mouth is. All employees are paid one full day's salary to volunteer in the community. It's a great idea, and not because our church got free labour.

When I walked into the church today, I noticed a poster on our bulletin board: "Exciting Job Opportunities". The poster is advertising exactly what people want: opportunity. They want more than a salary and benefit package. They want a chance to make a difference ... or maybe even make a different world. (BTW, the poster isn't false advertising: the organization that distributed the poster really does give people an incredible opportunity to make the world a better place.)

But it was the poster's unintended double entendre that really caught my eye. What if we put a long "o" on the word "job"? Then, "job" as in work becomes "Job" as in Bible character. This year, my life has been more like exciting Job opportunities than exciting job opportunities. Job had everything. Then he lost it all. For me, it's been bad ministry plans ($5000 loss), bad stock trades ($8000 loss), and -- just today -- my wife lost her $21.00/hr job as a chaplain (too scary to put a price on that one). Exciting Job opportunities indeed.

I won't philosophize on the blessings of suffering. We live in a broken world. Things go wrong. People suffer. I've been lucky compared to most. I will say this: change is tumultuous. When our world destabilizes, we lose our bearings. Confusion, disorientation, and panic set in. Then something strange occurs. The process reverses. At some point we discover the loss of many/all things has focused our field of vision and we see Jesus more clearly. A new sense of direction emerges. Hope returns. Confidence builds.

Suffering feels like God is punishing us. That notion is off by two letters. Drop the "ni". Suffering is God's way of pushing us forward ... into new and better things. Most of us resist change. Exciting Job opportunities set us free to find our future.