Soft Skills
Jun 11th, 2009 by ljkim
You’ve probably seen this video. Part of what makes it disturbing is that the police say that the officer was following protocol: He repeatedly warns her and tells her what to do, and she disobeys. If this were a 300 lb muscle builder guy doing the exact same thing, we’d be on the officer’s side. Right? But this wasn’t a big burly guy, it was a tiny feisty elderly woman who obviously posed no danger officer. The officer may have been following protocol – but if that’s the case then in this instance the protocol sucks. There has to be a better way…
Here’s what I propose: If you want to follow Jesus, you can no longer say “I was just doing my job. This was company protocol.”
At work, you are not just responsible to your employer, but to God. And it’s very difficult to imagine a situation in which tasering and dehumanizing an elderly woman on the side of the road would be pleasing to God… Now you may have never tasered an elderly woman, but there have been moments in which you’ve dehumanized people in the name of “that’s not my problem – I’m just doing my job.” There are too many obnoxious and dehumanizing things said and done this way. Jesus says no more!! Look higher! Repent. We all have to repent of this, because we’ve all gotten away with obnoxious things telling ourselves “I was just doing my job.”
Following Jesus in this world requires “soft skills.” Not just what you do, but how you do it, not just what you say but how you say it…and in what context. The Bible word for this is “grace.”
It’s possible that a kind word from the officer might have made it easier for this woman to accept her ticket. “I’m so sorry maam, but I have to give you this ticket. Please drive more carefully in the future.” Maybe he already did that, we don’t know. The point is, it’s not that all the rules and protocols need to be changed, it’s that our hearts and attitudes need to be changed. The sin in our hearts can twist even the best of rule books and use it to dominate others rather than love them…
And when all else fails, sometimes, the rules need to be changed… The Cross was a game-changer for us. In our daily lives and work, someone needs to stand up for love and sanity and a better way.
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