Copyright © 2005-2007 Collin Park
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.Notes for reading of September 09
OK, so Christians aren't supposed to have any anxiety. Our Sunday School teachers, our pastors, our mentors, not to mention insensitive busybodies, have all quoted that verse "Don't be anxious about anything, but pray about everything" (or however their translations put it). Well, somebody had better tell the Apostle Paul, because in today's reading I find this:
And apart from other things there is the constant pressure every day of my anxiety for all the churches. 2 Corinthians 11.28
OK, so the NIV says "concern", but the version I memorized (and I'm not sure I got it right - RSV or NAS maybe) has "anxiety."
So what's going on? Paul is telling them in this paragraph about what he is doing for the church - not just the Corinthians but church congregations elsewhere as well. This is where he talks about being beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, etc.
Why does he do this? He wants the Corinthians to understand how much he is for them, to show that he really is an apostle, not an Elmer Gantry or a Jim Bakker (to mix genres).
But back to anxiety or concern. Paul goes on in verse 29: Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? Many of us today would call Paul "co-dependent" or "enmeshed" or some word like that. But would we be right? Does Paul care too much?
You can probably guess my answer: that it is rather we, in 21st century North America, who have gone off the rails and are way too individualistic. I'll say more about this when we get to Galatians.
posted from Japan, 6:18am Sunday Sept 10... the first time I'm ahead of schedule, and it's only because of the timezone
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Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will serve before kings;
he will not serve before obscure men.
Proverbs 22.29
I knew a software guy that this applied to. He got laid off a few years ago -- pretty much his whole department was. So he e-mailed two Silicon Valley CEOs. (Both these companies are on Fortune's "100 best places to work" list; these were not startups, obscure or otherwise.)
(By the way, this guy wasn't a CTO or even a manager; he designed and coded and debugged code. Then how did he know two CEOs? He knew them when they were engineering managers, before they became vice presidents and CEOs. He asked for and took their advice, and he told them things he thought they should know.)
He had seen the handwriting on the wall and emailed the first CEO before the layoff notices actually came. "We can talk in my office. Please make a one-hour appointment with my assistant." He sent his resume and went to the CEO's office.
"I don't have to look at your resume to know I'd love to have you in _________ (his company). Your attitude, your values...." But the work available didn't fit my friend's background. If the tech bust had actually been over, this CEO would have offered him a position where he could learn a new skillset. "When the layoff actually happens, let me know; business may have picked up by then."
He emailed the second CEO after getting the layoff notice, not really sure if he'd remember him. "Of course I remember you -- I always remember the stars." He didn't invite him to his office, but he did send his resume to someone who interviewed him and offered him a job.
Of course, things don't always work out this way, but the Proverbs give us insight into the smart way to bet.
posted 9:58pm 9/9 from Japan
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