Is your boss really a jerk?

In my continuing examination of how we as Christians should handle authority in the workplace, I give you a second conversation between a disgruntled employee named James and his pastor:

Pastor: James, last time you told me that your boss was a jerk. You said, “He expects me to work more than 40 hours a week, never says a kind or encouraging word, and his demands are unrealistic.”

James: Yeah, I remember. And I wasn’t too happy you showed me that God wants us to submit and work well for a jerk. But I looked at 1 Peter 2 and it was hard to argue with what it said.

Pastor: This time I have a new challenge to your thinking. Are you up for it?

James: That wasn’t first on my list, but I’m here to learn, so let’s give it a go.

Pastor: OK. Here’s the question: Have you thought about whether your expectations as a salaried supervisor are realistic and biblical? For instance, what makes you think your job should only take 40 hours a week?

James: I’m not sure. I guess I just don’t want to be taken advantage of and I want my priorities to be proper—work is not my No. 1 priority. Forty hours a week is the standard workweek and that is what I signed up for. Is that so bad?

Pastor: No, it’s not, but it’s also not complete. When the Bible speaks of a workweek, what does it refer to?

James: I suppose the answer is six days of work and one day of rest.

Pastor: That’s right, and for the agricultural society of Bible times what were their work hours?

James: I don’t know; I’ve never been on a farm.

Pastor: I worked for my uncle on a wheat farm in western Kansas as a boy. The hours were from sunup to sundown, at least 12 hours a day, and we worked every day except Sunday. I suspect the biblical Jew did the same, because he needed the time to eke out a living. How does that sit with you?

James: I don’t like it one bit, and I’m not sure how it applies to me.

Pastor: It applies in this way: Expectations are important. If they are idealistic or naïve they can negatively affect how you perform in your job and how you reflect on Christ in your workplace. If you feel injured, you cannot help but reflect that in some negative way. Forty hours a week is a cultural norm, not a biblical norm. No entrepreneur succeeds working only 40 hours a week, and few organizations function well with salaried associates meticulously counting hours. Professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, and numerous other occupations would testify that expecting 40 hours of work a week is naïve. Judging from the gospels, Jesus’ day never began at 8 a.m., ended at 5 p.m. with exactly one hour for lunch. Think about Paul, the apostles, and other biblical fathers and consider what their work schedules tell you.

James: I’d like to say thanks, but that would be dishonest. But I can say I’ll keep thinking about this.