I became a pastor when I was 44. I had worked in the corporate world as a computer programmer for decades before that time. I worked in several companies and made the rounds of startups during the dot.com era. In every company there were divisions. I do not mean the normal type of divisions like between Human Resources and Engineering. I mean personal divisions between co-workers.
There would always be one or more employee that was not trusted or that could not be counted on. I knew a man in one company that would come in during the middle of the night and do work that destroyed or deleted other people’s work. For months people thought that it was computer glitches or another division using the same server. Then it became clear that a rogue employee was to blame. The difficulty was that the management liked what he was doing. They saw him as a “go getter” so he simply became untrustworthy in the engineering group. No one told him anything, accounts were not open to him, people did not invite him out to lunch with the group. Eventually his rogue work stopped because he had no information or access and he transferred to another section of the company.
I have always tried to do good work and get along with people. Many years ago, my manger did not like me, for some reason. I tried to transfer out of his group, but he spread rumors about me being a bad employee. This made it difficult for me to transfer because the receiving manager believed the rumors. Finally, I called a meeting with HR, my current manager and the receiving manager and I got the rumors out in the open. It was admitted that my current manager just wanted me to quit. When this was all out in the open, HR worked a transfer for me to a third manager.
People are egotistical, selfish, arrogant, self-centered and proud. When these attitudes come out in the work place, personal conflict occurs and divisions among workers happen.
These types of divisions cal also happen in a church and can be deadly. When people bring personal likes and dislikes for certain people into a church, ministry suffers and a churches can split. “Self” is crucified and Christ lives in the life of a believer and this must be plainly evident in a church. Paul in Galatians 5 lists works of the flesh and divisions is right there among sorcery, idolatry, sexual immorality and orgies. God hates divisions among his people. We are all saved the same way to the same level. It is all Christ, our ego and pride have no place in it.
There would always be one or more employee that was not trusted or that could not be counted on. I knew a man in one company that would come in during the middle of the night and do work that destroyed or deleted other people’s work. For months people thought that it was computer glitches or another division using the same server. Then it became clear that a rogue employee was to blame. The difficulty was that the management liked what he was doing. They saw him as a “go getter” so he simply became untrustworthy in the engineering group. No one told him anything, accounts were not open to him, people did not invite him out to lunch with the group. Eventually his rogue work stopped because he had no information or access and he transferred to another section of the company. I have always tried to do good work and get along with people. Many years ago, my manger did not like me, for some reason. I tried to transfer out of his group, but he spread rumors about me being a bad employee. This made it difficult for me to transfer because the receiving manager believed the rumors. Finally, I called a meeting with HR, my current manager and the receiving manager and I got the rumors out in the open. It was admitted that my current manager just wanted me to quit. When this was all out in the open, HR worked a transfer for me to a third manager.
People are egotistical, selfish, arrogant, self-centered and proud. When these attitudes come out in the work place, personal conflict occurs and divisions among workers happen.
These types of divisions cal also happen in a church and can be deadly. When people bring personal likes and dislikes for certain people into a church, ministry suffers and a churches can split. “Self” is crucified and Christ lives in the life of a believer and this must be plainly evident in a church. Paul in Galatians 5 lists works of the flesh and divisions is right there among sorcery, idolatry, sexual immorality and orgies. God hates divisions among his people. We are all saved the same way to the same level. It is all Christ, our ego and pride have no place in it.
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