Prophet's Blog

Proverbs 6:6-11 KJV Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: (7) Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, (8) Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. (9) How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? (10) Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: (11) So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

Recently, I was dealing with a situation in which I needed my car repaired. Although I have two reputable and reliable businesses that I have frequented over the years, I decided to enlist the services of a brother in Christ who is struggling financially (he notified me of this and requested a loan) and going through some personal struggles. I figured that it would not only provide a means of blessing him, I could also use the time in which we interacted to encourage him. This gesture was not foolish in nature; he was actually a great mechanic who was certified for many makes and models, and he had previously "resurrected" my older car for much less money than several other vendors had estimated.

Several days prior to having him handle my latest car repair, I called and notified him that I would need him to handle the repair in one day, but I provided him several options that would work with my schedule and also ensure that my wife and son could get to college and school (I work from home, so I had much more flexibility). After he verified his availability, we scheduled a date and time for him to perform the repair.

When the time arrived, he hadn't arrived at my home or called to indicate that he was on the way or experiencing some type of delay. After waiting for approximately a half hour, I called to see if anything was wrong, but he didn't answer his phone. I decided to be patient although it is an extremely hectic time for me, but finally called him after another hour had elapsed. Once again, no response, and I left him another message.

Approximately 2.5 hours after our scheduled time, he called to inform me that he was heading to my location without any apology or indication that he realized that he was late. When he arrived, I was gracious although I despise lateness; I figured that his current trials and tribulations might be causing him problems that were affecting is arrival.

As planned, he completed my car repair that day, but instead of first thing in the morning it was now approximately 4:30 PM. Although I had an open schedule for the morning, his tardiness had negatively impacted me because I had some errands to run, but I decided that I could wait until the following day since they weren't critical. Once he completed the work, he stated that everything was fine, but as we test drove the vehicle I noticed that it was making noise that was related to the brake job that he had performed. We returned to my home, and after inspecting the vehicle he determined that I also needed rear brakes as well as the front. Since it was now dark, we agreed that he would do it the following day.

Once again, his arrival was much later than planned, but he completed the repair quickly after he began working. As we test drove the car the second time, I noticed that it sounded like the brakes were rubbing as we drove, so we headed back to my home and he made some adjustments and removed excess spray that was intended to eliminate vibrations that cause squeaking. Upon driving the car again, I still noticed noises, and I told him that it sounded as if the brake calibers weren't releasing properly, followed by providing the analogy of how brakes on bicycles would rub against the rim and make noise due to friction from not fully releasing. Based upon this, he told me that he would take it to a friend's garage the following day and recalibrate them.

Over the previous two days, I was already a little frustrated at the fact that on many occasions, he was non-responsive when I called him and left multiple messages. As I was nearing a critical day in which I needed the car all day, he was lackadaisical about properly completing the repair and failed to pick up his phone for hours after I called and left messages. As a matter of fact, I only reached him when I finally called his home and had his wife hand him the phone, and he had the nerve to ask me if I had called when a simple glance at his cellular phone (his primary work number) would have confirmed that he had awaiting messages.

At this point, my frustration was reaching a peak level, and I truly had to pray to restrain myself from "blasting him with both barrels." I have always been a hard worker, a person with over two decades of experience in my career who is known to do whatever it takes to please my superiors or customers, even if it means working all night for free or billing much fewer hours than I actually worked. To deal with someone with a nonchalant attitude who was nearing four days on what would have been a one-day repair at my regular auto repair locations was the height of restraint. However, I still felt obligated at that point to inform him of my work philosophy, expectations for myself as well as the standards that I require to refer him to my friends. He stated that he understood, so we agreed that the situation would finally be completely resolved the following morning. After once again dealing with multiple calls to reach him after he had agreed to contact me with a time, he finally stated that he would be at my home between 8-9 am. However, I told him that that wasn't a time, it was a range, and I needed him to commit to a specific time.

On the final day of this debacle, he arrived within the agreed-upon time frame, took my car and had the brakes recalibrated. As I had described in my bike analogy, there was something preventing the brakes from totally releasing in the passenger-side rear brake which would have kept the brakes continually rubbing and at least wearing out much quicker than they were supposed to. However, instead of admitting that I was correct in pressing the issue to ensure that it was perfectly handled, he shared that he had told the person at the garage that he had a "particular" customer who required that he find a location to complete the final (and necessary) repairs. I don't understand why someone demanding that a job is properly handled would be described as "particular," or probably more accurately, difficult.

Although I ended up being viewed as a "particular" customer, the man who performed the repair was actually blessed when my pestering and refusal to accept a substandard repair forced him to go to a garage where he could pay to use one of the owner's bays to lift up my car and see what was causing the brake issue. One of the things that I had previously asked him and prayed about was where he was going to work during the winter months since he was low on income and couldn't work outside when the temperatures are too low or weather conditions are poor. As he was finalizing my repair, the garage owner noted that he was a good mechanic and they reached a percentage agreement which will enable him to use one of the open bays whenever he needs it.

Men of God, you have to understand that trials and tribulations are no excuse for sloppy work, tardiness and a lack of responsiveness or reliability before your employers or customers. All of us will endure struggles of various levels that may weigh us down, but we still have a responsibility to provide quality work and to position ourselves for future success by not frustrating the people we are blessed to work for. Especially in a situation such as this where I could have gone elsewhere but was trying to help a brother that desperately needed the income, he should have been aggressive about showing up on time, diagnosing things properly (instead of having me provide suggestions) and completing it as quickly as possible. Unexpected things may sometimes occur, but even these issues can be handled properly and without frustrating your client by communicating effectively.

My career success is a perfect example of this even in times in which I have been overworked, underpaid or overlooked. I have always gone "the extra mile," and even if one position doesn't meet my expectations, God has always opened up additional (and better) opportunities because of my obedience to the following passage of scripture:

Ephesians 6:5-8 KJV Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; (6) Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; (7) With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: (8) Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Whether it is your boss or a client, you should work for them as if your work efforts are being performed directly for Jesus Christ. As it states above, your work quality should not be impacted by their observations or proximity to you while you're working, it should be the same regardless of whether they are absent or present. As we see here, the current employer may not treat or compensate you fairly, but if you dedicate your work ethic to God, He will ensure that you will be elevated or provided another opportunity to "reap what you sow" in this area. What you invest in your work, not only in physical effort but in attitude, is what will eventually be returned to you. As a matter of fact, if your current job situation or career outlook looks bleak, it may be because you haven't committed yourself to being faithful with the opportunities that God has provided you in the past.

So what does this mean? It means that regardless of whether it's "the perfect job," you should get up each morning on time and give 100% to your employers or clients. Over a decade ago, I struggled with chronic asthma, and I often lost sleep due to the medications giving me heart palpitations or due to me being up coughing and wheezing almost every night as I struggled for air. In addition to this, I suffered with bronchitis multiple times during the winter months, sometimes felt tightness in my chest during the summer months and experienced high fevers or flu-like symptoms from the medications. As a result, I rarely slept more than 5-6 hours a night during this time. However, regardless of how I felt, I got up each morning and rarely missed a day of work, and I also had an exceptional reputation for my quality of work. Even when my body would have failed me, my determination enabled me to succeed!

Regardless of the economy, if we submit our career or employment situations over to Jesus and provide the best quality of service possible, He will ensure that our efforts are rewarded!