Not my best joke

Ever think of something as a joke, but then realize later that it’s no laughing matter?

Much of my early career was spent working in a pharmaceutical laboratory, performing tests on tablets and capsules to demonstrate that the medicine we produced was acceptable for people to use.  Given the nature of the work and especially the chemicals we used, the normal lab attire was t-shirt, jeans, leather-topped shoes, lab coat, and safety-glasses.  There was no reason to wear “professional” clothes, because the laboratory environment made it too easy to ruin them.

Eventually, I took a desk job within the department, working on investigations for any unexpected testing result generated.  While I still interacted with the other chemists, I was no longer the one performing the tests.  I also attended various meetings with management from other departments.  As you can imagine, the t-shirt and jeans attire was no longer acceptable.  Instead, business casual became the norm – dress shirt, slacks, and dress shoes.

I enjoyed the position, and I was good at my job.  But like all working environments, it wasn’t perfect.  There were inconsistent expectations about when a shift started and when a shift ended.  This would often lead to animosity between management and those who reported to them.  The need to release product to customers was unending, so there was a constant pressure on the department to make sure we were doing our best to fill the orders.  We would frequently make jokes about us “slaving away” for the company or being “chained” to our desks.  But we were just dealing with normal work-stuff, really.

One morning, while I was getting ready to head into the office, I picked up my dress shoes and quipped, “Well, time to put on the shackles”.  I chuckled at my own joke as I put my shoes on.  Thinking nothing of it, I went about my day.  The next day, I made the same joke and laughed to myself again.  This went on for a few days.  One day, after getting home from work, I equated taking my dress shoes off with “taking off my shackles” – therefore being able to relax and do as I please.

This internal joke routine continued on until a few weeks later, I realized that my attitude toward my shoes and my job had taken a dramatic downward turn.  I resented having to put my shoes on and go do my job, and taking off my shoes had become the part of my day I looked forward to the most.  Thinking about this, it dawned on me just how influential a little grumbling – even a joking grumble – had become.

The apostle Paul warned the believers in Philippi about such thinking:

Philippians 2:14-16
Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world, by holding firm to the word of life.

If we allow grumbling and arguing to seep into our mindset, we lose access to everything God has in store for us as one of His children.  God wants us to be without fault or blame.  He wants us to shine and stand out as one of His kids in the world. 

But there is no family resemblance when we grumble or complain.  Honestly, we look more like the rest of the world when we do that.

There’s a lot of talk these days about “being your authentic self” or “getting your shine on”.  And there’s nothing wrong with that, provided you know what your authentic self is like and how you’re supposed to shine.  We’ll be able to do so when we stop with the grumbling jokes and hold firm to the word of life.

Keep Pressing,
Ken