Pain of downturn instructive

With the downturn in the economy causing workplaces to cut back and cut corners, resulting in more and more people losing jobs, many people – particularly people in their middle or late middle age – have been forced to rethink their entire job history and to re-inventory what gifts and graces they bring to the next place where they will work.

That isn’t an easy process. We learn a trade or a skill. We work at that skill for years, learning as we do, so much so that what we do comes close to who we are. Then, when that job is no longer needed – not only at our present workplace – but at any other place, for that matter – we are forced to learn something new, simply in order to survive.

Among the several questions that can trouble people in this predicament are these two: “what value and meaning does my 10, 20, or 30 (!) years of service in this company have in the new work that I am now seeking; and, what have I learned during these many years that will help me in this new chapter of my life?”

God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah says to us: “Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it?”

And Jesus invites us to follow Him and to learn from his example, saying, “Come to me all who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The Christian faith is a call to move from one’s old self to become through God’s grace an entirely new person. Think for a moment of the disciples. Fishermen, tax collectors, men from all areas of work and from many places in the region – all transformed into followers of Jesus. Think for a moment of Paul, who in his own words describes himself as “a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin… as to the law a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church” – but, through the grace of God became the great Apostle to the Gentile world.

The great foundational leaders of the Church – Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley, to name just a few, discovered their true calling and began their most fruitful work after years of struggle and questioning, Augustine recounts in his Confessions his youthful forays into worldly adventures. John Calvin for awhile studied law and at one point received his license to practice law. Martin Luther also studied law because his father wanted Luther to secure a local civil position and his father saw Luther’s decision for the priesthood to be a waste of education. And John Wesley, long before his heart was “strangely warmed” at Aldersgate seemed destined for a career as a high church clergyman.

Each of these four men had their share of setbacks and failures; and each of them used their difficult experiences as a means to grow in grace and strength and purpose. They knew that God uses all of our lives – our successes and failures – our detours and dead ends – for the glory of God, as a means for us to a new thing in our lives.

Sylvester Stallone once cleaned lion cages for a living. Rush Limbaugh used to shine shoes. Comedian Bill Murray for a time sold chestnuts outside a grocery store. Michael Dell, the owner of Dell computers once washed dishes in a Chinese restaurant. And the author Stephen King worked for awhile as a janitor at a private school.

I myself have sold shoes, have waited tables, have worked in a book bindery, have worked in a grocery store, have driven a cab, have been a short order cook, have sold sporting goods, have delivered newspapers and have worked in politics and public relations. I have learned much from every work experience and have used much of what I have learned in my work as pastor.

God was not through with me at any of those points in my life nor was God through with any of those celebrities mentioned above. God was not through with the disciples or Paul before they encountered Jesus. God was not through with Augustine or Calvin or Luther or Wesley when they were convinced that they had reached their personal dead ends.

And God is not through with us. When we encounter setbacks of any kind; when we lose our source of livelihood and are forced to begin new careers and learn new skills; God will be there for us. God will help us take all of our lives, all of what we have learned, all of our past experiences, and so something new and wonderful with them; and God will lead us to do whatever we do for the glory of God.

(The Rev. Alan Follett is the pastor serving the Rapidan Charge of the United Methodist Church, which includes Bethsaida, Mount Zion and Walker’s United Methodist Church. Contact him via e-mail at afollett@vabb.com.)