THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE RIGHT JOB

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth. I have even seen servants riding horseback like princes—and princes walking like servants! 

What sorrow for the land ruled by a servant, the land whose leaders feast in the morning. Happy is the land whose king is a noble leader and whose leaders feast at the proper time to gain strength for their work, not to get drunk.

Ecclesiastes 10:5-7, 16-17 (NLT)
 

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Here is something we see happen all the time:

Someone who is less qualified gets placed in a position over someone more qualified, most of the time because of the decision of a higher authority.

We find it in politics all the time as people are appointed to positions in government. Typically, the inappropriate appointments are made because of party preference more than whether or not a person can really do the job or not. Often times, people are selected for a position so the one appointing them can actually control what goes on within that agency, the appointed leader being nothing more than a figurehead who is manipulated to serve the needs of the appointee.

We also find this happening in the workplace quite often as people are promoted to higher positions over more qualified candidates because they are liked more by the supervisor than others. The promotion is founded more on favoritism than on merit. Maybe you have seen this. Maybe you have been a victim of it.

I know I see this happening in sports too, especially when coaches are hired. I don’t know how many times I have seen hires where people have had no major league coaching experience and are placed in high pressure coaching positions. And although a few of them may have went on to some success, a majority of them were just not qualified enough to handle the spotlight of coaching a high profile franchise and end up fired not long after they were hired. It always makes me wonder what a team was thinking and why they didn’t go with a more experienced coaching option.

Well, as we look at our verses today, we find that Solomon saw the same inequities happening in his Old Testament days in Israel. Specifically, he saw kings and rulers erring by placing the wrong person in positions of great authority over others who had proven themselves more worthy of the job. Why the choices were made is unknown but it’s clear that there were some appointments that were viewed as inappropriate and unfair.

Clearly, these things have happened and continue to happen. But why does God’s word bring it out into clear view for us? Are we to just take this as a simple observation from Solomon that we can see rivals observations we see here in the 21st century? Is it simply to show us that nothing has really changed since biblical days as so many other scripture passages do?

I believe that there is more here than that. I believe the Lord is speaking to us about how to always ensure we get the right person in the right job and the only way that will happen every time is if the person making the appointment first consults God as to who He wants to be appointed.

You see, the problem here is that mankind always seems to want to be in control when they are actually in control of nothing. Now, God will sometimes allow us to take control only to show us that we will make a mess of things in a hurry without Him. I have had that experience and maybe you have as well. But in the end, God has been, is, and will always be in control. He is perfect in all He does and so the choices we make will always be perfect when we seek His counsel and then act accordingly. In the matter of promoting people to positions of authority, God will always ensure the right person is in the right job to carry out His purposes. We only need to trust Him, receive His guidance, and then appoint as He deems.

It’s a process I used in executive leadership during my time in the Navy and it works because God’s way always works. So whether you are deciding on who is more suitable for a position or what you should do in any situation, the answer is the same:

Seek and trust God, never leaning on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). He’ll always guide you to the right outcome.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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