Psalms 16, 17 * 22; Job 9:1-15,32-35; Acts 10:34-48; John 7:37-52I had a boss once who was very protective of his "turf", of his job, his responsibilities. He seemed to live in a place of constant fear that it was all going to be taken away from him and he was going to be replaced by either one of the people who worked for him or by someone that his bosses would bring in "from the outside".
This did not engender a tremendously friendly work environment, nor was it conducive to creating a team among the folks who worked for this gentleman. His insecurities ultimately led him into a fortress-like mentality for the department where creativity and ingenuity were squashed. Management finally figured out what was going on and this man's deepest fears came to fruition, because of his own doing.
There is a similar mentality exhibited by the Pharisees and other leaders to Jesus' actions at the last day of the festival of Booths that we hear about today. Even when one of their own, Nicodemus, asks a simple question about what they are doing, he gets squashed. Operating from a place of fear, having a siege mentality about new things, will almost always lead to self-destruction, self-caused implosion. We are not a stagnant species, but are vibrant and change and growth filled, with all of us able to fulfill our potential in ways surprising and joyful. bringing about the kingdom's existence among us in unimagined ways.
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Copyright 2008, John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.
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