Often, we respond to something we don’t like by ditching it for something else. Whether it’s a restaurant, clothes, a relationship, or a job, we figure the grass must be greener somewhere else. When I became disillusioned after 20 years of church work, I tested this tactic by pivoting to work at a tech company.
Front-line customer service was like boot camp. You must be pleasant and helpful with the irate customer swearing at you and resolve the root problem in under 5 minutes. As I moved into product management and development, the job demanded both technical expertise and customer service skills. Although it paid better than church work, the grass wasn’t greener in terms of either difficult bosses and coworkers or tough customers and grinding work.
Every day, I’d look at the little copy of The Beatitudes I taped on my computer monitor. Honestly, many times, those words from Jesus didn’t seem to connect with the “real” world I lived in. Never did I assume they weren’t applicable; it was just hard for me to see how.
Then I began looking at how I conducted myself in my tasks and relationships in light of the Great Commandment and the Beatitudes. If I truly love God and my neighbor, how does my attitude toward my boss match up with that? I started noticing changes I should make.
Other people’s shortcomings were no excuse for me to go rogue from God’s ways. Jesus’ teachings echoed in my mind: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”; “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”; and “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” The more I practiced Jesus’ instructions for how His followers should love — which often looks a lot like good customer service — the more meaning I found in the Beatitudes. They are not so much goals to which we aspire as they are the natural consequences of diligently loving God and our neighbors.
After 16 years at the tech company (I’m a slow learner!), I accepted a call back to church work. Church as an institution, as a business, hadn’t changed much. The grass looked the same. This time around, I was different, and things went much better.
Next time you’re thinking about going for greener grass, maybe take a look at yourself and ask God to help you see if there are some weeds in your own garden you might need to pull first.
Dr. Carl Grosse is an ordained pastor and the author of Faith Along the Way, a weekly reflection for KnoxTNToday that encourages readers to discover God’s presence in everyday life and share His love with others.
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