Friday, January 19, 2007

What does my boss see?

"Joseph was a young man with eleven older brothers," says the John Hartford song (did he write that song or just sing it?). It's a great song if not entirely accurate (for example, he had ten older brothers; one was younger), summarizing his story: the coat, being sold by his brothers, slavery and attempted seduction by his master's wife, time in jail, dream interpretation, and so on. You really should hear it, especially if you like bluegrass music.

This part of the story impressed me so much that I committed it to memory:
Now his master saw that the Lord was with him, and how the Lord caused everything he did to prosper.
Genesis 39.3
How did his master, Potiphar, see that the Lord was with Joseph? It doesn't say that Joseph talked about the Lord, though I suppose he must have mentioned his name occasionally at least. When things went well, did Joseph praise the Lord? Did he pray in public?

I'm actually not kidding here; I want to know myself what to do so that my boss and my colleagues know that the Lord is with me, and that he is the source of any "success" I might have.

Here is what I have so far. Sheri, the younger teen, made a mobile, a decoration, which now hangs in my office. Part of it is in the shape of a cross, and "faithful to God" is written on it. I have a Bible in my office, among my other books. My e-mails have Matthew 5.7 at the bottom. Anyone who knows me at all knows that I attend church and pray regularly.

Anyway, that's what I have come up with so far. I do not mention the Lord in the office daily, I don't answer the phone with "Hallelujah" or "Praise the Lord"; I try not to sound "kooky." But how little mention of him is too little? How much is too much?

If you figure it out, I hope you'll let me know.

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