THERE'S JUST NO PLEASING THEM

DAY 46: When it comes to work, hands down, I like being the boss much more than I like having a boss.  It's not that I have a problem with authority, okay I have a small problem with authority; but the main reason is that it is more challenging to figure out what some one else wants you to do than it is to tell others what you expect.  I realize this may not hold true for everyone, but in my experience, not a lot of people know how to be the boss.

That's why I used to train a course called "Managing Up."  You could say it was about leadership skills, but for the employees who were struggling under bosses who could not communicate it was a survival course.  Often I heard the same complaint, "I just don't know what my boss wants from me!"  Boy, I have been there- working for someone who wants you to do everything right, but they can never seem to communicate their definition of "right."

Sometimes with bosses like that you get lucky and they are pleased as punch.  And sometimes you are so far off of their unvoiced expectations you feel lucky to keep your job.  So I would teach people how to "manage their managers" using communication tricks and tips that could help them get from their bosses what they needed to meet expectations.  It can be done, but it takes a lot of effort, patience and consistency.

Oh, how wonderful it would be if we could all work for someone who knows their own mind, knows what they expect and then actually communicates it.  What a relief it would be not to have to guess how to please a boss - or a customer, a spouse, a friend, a parent.  

I was reminded today as I was reading Exodus 39 & 40 that we do have ONE who never expects us to guess what He wants. God makes it very clear how we can please Him.

In today's passage, the craftsmen begin making all of the parts and pieces of the Tabernacle that will be God's dwelling place with Israel.  Each item that God described to Moses was crafted from the gifts and offerings given by the people.  And every single one of them was made "just as the Lord commanded Moses." No detail was left out.

Exodus 39:32 "And so at last the Tabernacle was finished.  The Israelites had done everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

So the craftsman brought all the perfect  parts and pieces to Moses and God instructed him when and how to assemble it.  "Moses proceeded to do everything the Lord had commanded him." He set it up on the first day of the new year "just as the Lord had commanded him." He placed the stone tablets with the law carved by God inside the Ark, "just like the Lord commanded him." Then he proceeded to construct the Tabernacle and place the furnishings in an exact order, "just as the Lord commanded him."

SIXTEEN TIMES in these two short chapters the work of the craftsmen and Moses is described as "just as the Lord commanded."  Even I get the point... what God wants done He reveals.  What he reveals is what He expects. HOW REFRESHING!  Everyday we encounter people we don't know how to make happy; and it can be exhausting trying to figure out what they really want from us. 

BUT GOD....

... But God who is gracious, slow to anger and full of mercy and loving kindness has communicated to us all that He expects.  In His Word we know how He wants us to worship (in Spirit and in Truth);  to treat those He loves (bear with them); to live around enemies (love them and do good to them); to work (as if we were working for Him).  There is no part of our lives we live for Him that He has not told us what He expects.  I love that even in today's New Testament passage of Mark 1, the very first thing recorded that Jesus says in this Gospel is what He expects:  

Matthew 1:15 Jesus said: "The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News."

And there you have it. The very first thing God expects and the ONLY WAY TO PLEASE HIM is to turn from our sins and believe the Good News of Christ. Without such faith, it is impossible to please God.  How nice it is to know what He expects...

We may not be able to please all the people all the time, but we can please the One who matters most by trusting Christ.

Day 46 of 365
Exodus 39
Exodus 40
Mark 1:1-28

Psalm 35:1-16
Proverbs 9:11-12

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