But if I say, “I will not mention his word
   or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
   a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
   indeed, I cannot.
I hear many whispering,
   “Terror on every side!
   Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him
   and take our revenge on him.”  But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;
   so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
   their dishonor will never be forgotten.
LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous
   and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance on them,
   for to you I have committed my cause.
Jeremiah 20:9-12, New International Version (emphasis mine)

The verses above come from a prayer that Jeremiah was offering up to God.  Jeremiah wasn't liked much by the people of Judah.  After all, he was the one called by God to come and expose their sinful life, and to warn them of God's pending judgment.  It's typical though isn't it?  I don't care if it's Jeremiah a few thousand years ago, or the cocky kid running his mouth in the 9th grade ... if someone is saying something the majority doesn't like, that person isn't well liked, and may want to watch their back.

I've been in that position more than once.  One event that stands out among the rest was a staff meeting at one of my former employers.  A member of the management team was giving a talk on the benefits of social networking as it related to business.  I found it interesting that a senior member of the company was telling his much younger staff about the power of facebook.  He encouraged us to set up an account, then go out and search for our clients and ask them to be our 'friends'.  He felt it would be a great way to stay in touch with them, thus leading to more work.

I had a hard time believing he was serious.  I had actually avoided doing that ... I had intentionally 'ignored' requests from clients, in order to maintain the integrity of our business relationship.  Back before I started blogging I spent most of my time on facebook bashing the liberal, political left.  Can you imagine what a left leaning client might think of that?  My hunch is that it would prevent us from getting a project, or at the very least, keep me from working on their project.  I raised this concern in the meeting, and explained the scenario I just described.  The gentleman explaining the benefits of social networking didn't appear to like it.  I'm not sure the management team liked it when I posed questions to them ... I feel they would have been happier if I were a robotic 'yes' man ... I just don't know how to be that way.  Anyway, they seemed to brush aside my concern with mixing a professional relationship with a gossip laden facebook relationship.  Can you imagine if someone saw a profile picture of one our structural engineers slamming back a 40 oz of Bud Light while on an ice fishing trip, all the while thinking "wow ... that's the guy who designs my bridges."  I found out about a week later that the management team had met again on this subject, and admitted that I was right, and that maybe mixing the two wasn't such a good idea.  Of course, they could never tell me that.  I had to hear it second hand.

A few months after that during one of my performance reviews I was told that I could no longer ask questions in our staff meetings.  They never explained why, but I assume it was due to the facebook incident.  My first response was "Great, so that means I don't have to go."  My boss told me no, and that I still had to attend.  I asked why I couldn't ask questions.  He told me that my questions seemed to lower the moral of other staff members.  Could someone please tell me how that works?   I really don't understand how a question could lower moral.  I can, however, understand how a lame, half baked answer could lower moral.  That was just one of many times I was attacked, or as Jeremiah puts it, persecuted by my former employer.


After thinking about that for awhile, it dawned on me: this isn't my blog.  It's Gods ... I'm just the mouthpiece.  I can't change anyone.  I can't affect any one's life ... only God can.  All I'm doing is directing readers like you to look towards Him.  Don't look to me because I'll screw it up, and will most likely let you down.  God will never let you down ... never, ever, ever.  I may be the one behind the keyboard, but I've committed this to God ... this is His work, not mine.  As Jeremiah said about his ministry, "I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot ... my persecutors ... will fail ... for to You I have committed my cause."  You see ... it's not "on me" ... this is God's deal.  He's allowed me to play a role, but it's all in His hands.

What are you doing that you've committed to Him?  What are you doing that has led to people attacking you, or to persecute you?  Maybe you're a business owner trying to do the right thing.  Maybe you're a stay at home mom trying raise your kids.  Maybe you've been recently laid off like I was, and you're trying to figure it all out.  Maybe you have a neighbor that treats you poorly for no reason at all.  Maybe you're faced with making a decision that you don't want to make but you know it's the right thing to do in the long run.  What ever you're facing, you don't have to face it alone.  Commit it to God.  Give it up to Him.  If you struggle with doing that, just keep trying.  I know I have to ... daily ... hourly.  God has promised to watch over you, and protect you, and to cause those who rise up against you to fail.  He's crazy in love with you.  Good night, and God bless you.