CHAPTER FOUR
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
There is a very unscriptural saying that is thrown around by many Christians because it sounds like a biblical concept, and it is "let go and let God." The reason I say that it is an unbiblical saying is that too many Christians have clung to a method of living which is detached from biblical reality. Somehow we believe that if we just lay back in our holy rocking chairs God will work everything out in our lives and then put us in the middle of a utopian situation. How many bible characters laid back and let God do everything for them? Did Joseph sit around in prison? No, he was busy! Did Moses sit around in the wilderness both before and after his call? No, he was busy! There is no one in the Bible who let go. Now let me emphasize that God does work for His people and through His people. That combination always goes together. Let us test that conclusion and see if we are on safe ground. The Apostle Paul was given much inspiration to write the write 12 maybe 13 epistles of the New Testament. God gave him the words but Paul was the one who wrote them. Moses and Israel were trapped against the Red Sea and had no way of escape but God knew what His plans were in parting the Red Sea, however, He did not do it apart from Moses raising his staff. So here too we see God working for His people and through His people.
God never wants us to let go because he wants us strategically involved with every phase of our Christian life. How would it have sounded if Moses would have said to the Lord, "Okay Lord, We will wait here and rest until you pave the way clear and free and then we will go?" Now that is nonsense because the greatest maturing and learning happened to Moses in the desert, and out of that training time came Joshua who was to lead Israel into the promised land.
It is the same with us. During the time we are unemployed we have certain responsibilities. That is the subject of this chapter. God will do His part as we will see in the next chapter but we must do our part which we will see in this chapter.
KEEP SENDING THE RESUMES AND APPLICATIONS
It is necessary to make as many contacts as possible. Utilize the services of employment agencies. Send resumes to both the major and smaller employment agencies also. Purchase all the local newspapers, not only the one you normally buy. On Sunday I pick up four newspapers. A friend of mine who lives out of state sends me the classifieds every week. I supply the envelopes but out of his kindness pays for the postage. (Offer to pay the postage if someone is doing this for you.) You may need to consider working out of state, if you do, go to a good library and do a search of the telephone books of other states and seek the addresses of employment agencies. Use only FEE PAID by the employer. Some agencies will charge you a fee to do a search if you are out of state, this may be legitimate but make sure the position is fee paid. I have also made random mailings to companies who were not advertising just to get my resume in their files. Try to address your correspondence directly to the department head.
Let us say you are a CPA, you would address your letter of inquiry to the Vice President of Finance. Do not send it to Human Resources because they are normally detached from the technical knowledge of the position. You may possess skills which are unique and a personnel clerk may look at it and yawn but the trained person in that vocation will see it as an asset and you may receive an interview. Another method of job hunting is the following: Let us say you are a Production Planner and you see a manufacturing company advertising for a Secretary. Clip that ad and save it for two weeks and then send your letter of inquiry to the Plant Manager. By waiting a while you will avoid your letter being lost in the stack of responses for the secretary's position. The rush of responses for that ad will have diminished and you will have a clear path for your letter.
There are many other methods which may be used to procure employment such as: taking out an ad in a work wanted situation; giving your resume to friends and relatives who can put in a good word for you if a position opens up; take a temporary assignment, sometimes these open up into full time positions. A word of warning about a scam which targets the unemployed. Sometimes in a paper you may see a 900 number proclaiming you will receive job listings. These 900 scams are nothing more than someone reading the classified ads from a local newspaper. They charge outrageous rates just to read a newspaper to you. Do not fall for any schemes which you deem suspicious. Stay clear of all the ads to stuff envelopes for $500 per day or Multi-Level marketing (MLM). If you are seeking about going into your own business with MLM, please check it out thoroughly with the Better Business Bureau or the State Attorney General's office before you invest. MLM is like the lottery, it takes many losers to make a very few winners. I know this from experience because I went into two MLM companies with good reputations but the fact is that reputable products do not mean you will make a million dollars, you may, but it is unlikely. Do not go into panic mode when unemployed because you are most vulnerable at those times. Many times I have said that I want to work for myself so I cannot be laid off again but the truth is I had to work for someone again and yes I have been laid off again. The key is to make many contacts as you can.
LEARN THE PRINCIPLES OF INTERVIEWING
(Prov 15:28) The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
For anyone who has been working for a long length of time, the process of interviewing will be different from the last time they interviewed. The principles of secular psychology are being used in the interviewing process. It seems every interviewer is a psychologist but I personally think most of them would not answer the questions correctly if they were faced with the same problems. In reference to psychology, those who engage in this pseudo-science cannot solve their own problems, how in the world do they deceive themselves into believing they can solves someone else's problems?
In our verse the word "studieth" means "meditates or ponders." How do you answer questions like: Where do you want to be five years from now? Why should we hire you? Tell me about yourself. Give me your strengths and weaknesses. These are questions which must be answered to the satisfaction of the interviewer. Go to a good bookstore and look in the business section and find a good book which deals with interviewing. Learn the principles of interviewing and be ready to answer the tough questions. In fact, let one of your friends interview you and let them take no mercy on you. It will be good practice under fire and you will be ready for the real thing.
APPLY FOR JOBS WHICH FALL WITHIN ACCEPTABLE BIBLICAL GUIDELINES
(Isa 40:19) The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
As a Christian your job standards must be on a higher level than those of the world. You would not want to work for a brewery or a cable company that peddles pornography, or something of that caliber. To take a job which opposes biblical principles is revealing a mistrust in God with your situation. You would be accepting the first job Satan threw your way. What type of testimony would it be to the world and to the Christian community if you would work in a place that opposes the teachings of Scripture? The key word is to wait on the Lord and continue seeking Him because He will not place you in a position where you will be involved in sinning. How could you tithe dirty money with a good conscience? Another type of job to avoid is one where you would be required to work on Sunday. Satan has tempted the American retailer to believe that increased sales will occur if they are opened on Sunday. Since we have come to accept this lie, sales have actually gone down.
As Christians, can we honestly say there is no connection between recession and Sunday sales? The more communities which repeal the blue laws, the worse our economy becomes. Let me tell you that the depression of the 1930's will have been a picnic compared to the coming depression because now this country is soaked with the true gospel and no one is excused from knowing the truth. Now there are jobs which require a Sunday work like doctors, nurses, firemen, police, farmers, etc. These are works of mercy and necessity but voluntary overtime on Sunday is greed. Forgive me I preached a sermon but be careful of the type of job which will cause you to sin. Trust Him and beware of the duplicates Satan will throw your way. You will be able to discern a job offering which is not of God just by searching out the details of it.
DETERMINE TO IMPLEMENT A SYSTEMATIC PLAN OF GIVING TO GOD'S WORK
(2 Cor 9:6-7) But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. {7} Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
If you did not give to the work of God while you were working, maybe God is getting your attention in the realm of finances. He wants to break you of the evil of being miserly. He wants you to realize that everything you have is not yours, instead you are steward of God's possessions. One way in which we honor God is to give according to our income not out of it. There is a difference. Let me explain: If a millionaire sits in church and puts one dollar in the collection plate, he is giving out of his riches not according to. In the Old testament we see the systematic method of giving is tithing, which is ten per cent out of your pay. When we come to the New Testament, we see that God leaves the amount to us as we see in our verse. God is a bountiful God and wants us to be bountiful also. This is not the health and wealth gospel but it is a biblical principle. Whenever we give to God we acknowledge that He is the provider and that we are subject to Him. A good principle to embrace is: "First Fruits Giving." It is a good thing to honor the Lord with our substance.
Giving to God's work is not an insurance policy against unemployment but it establishes devotion to Him. Money is the easiest thing to give but the hardest to release. When we give to the Lord's work without reservation, we are in small way giving ourselves to the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ started the church and He has established a program of funding it and that is through donations from His children. If we do not fund the sending forth of the gospel, will the unbelievers do it? When we give we also put God on the throne of our life instead of us. If I receive a check and wonder how I could spend it on me without a second thought of the church of Christ, then I am revealing that I am on the throne of my life.
Establish a plan of giving, not because you must but because you want to. Giving to the Lord's work on a voluntary basis has a liberating effect on us. It tends to dissipate the bondage of fear we may have been in over the issue of money or it may tend to turn us around so we will easily give ourselves to the things of God without asking what's in it for me? Give, it is a great way to get involved.
ACT ON THE PROMISES OF GOD IN FAITH AND SINCERITY
(2 Cor 7:1) Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Bible is replete with God's promises and many of them are written to people who are in valley experiences. There is no need to fear that God will be unable fulfill what He has written. This is why He wrote it so we know He will be faithful. Remember, by His word, God spoke the creation into existence, so if we find something in Scripture which pertains to our situation, we can be totally confident that God will perform whatever He has written. Many promises of God are a two way street in that something on our part must be fulfilled. An example that comes to mind is Luke 6:38 where God says "give and it shall be given." Believe the Bible, God gave it to us because we exist in a spiritual wilderness and the Bible is our guidebook to help us through. As the Scriptures state in 2 Corinthians 1:20, "For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." If you are a Christian, the promises belong to you because you are in Christ.
TELL OTHERS ABOUT YOUR CONDITION SO THEY MAY PRAY INTELLIGENTLY FOR YOU
(1 Th. 5:25 KJV) Brethren, pray for us.
Do not be afraid to open up and tell other believers that you are unemployed, so they may pray for you and keep their eyes open also. In fact, it is good to tell your unbelieving friends of your plight so they may keep their eyes open for a job for you . God used many unbelievers in His plans. One of the best ways to land a job when a company has an unadvertised opening is a word from a friend. Let the brethren know so they may pray intelligently for you which simply means they will be praying in specifics instead of generalities. God is a God of specifics and appreciates good solid input. It is not that He does not know but it is a training mechanism for you. Entreat as many as possible to pray for you but be sure you are doing your part also. It does no good to have people pray for you if you sleep till noon every day. Your actions could negate their prayers and they will be wasting their time praying for you if you are not serious about your commitment. Be ready for ye know not when thy phone shall ringeth!
CONDUCT YOURSELF AS A SAINT OF GOD
(Prov 25:17) Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house; lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee.
This verse warns us there must be a limitation on our visits to others. When unemployed there is a tendency to have extra time on our hands, so we decide it would be a good time to visit friends who are home during the day. The problem with this is not the motive but the method. Just because we are unemployed does not mean others are. Many who are home during the day carry a full schedule and we would only be interfering and causing them to fall behind. If you want to visit, call ahead and make your visits short. We must be on guard that we are not causing distress in the home of family or friends. We should make it a policy not to visit them at their place of employment either. We do not want to risk them being fired. If you want to see them call and make a lunch appointment. We must guard against becoming busybodies or else we could put a crimp into our witness. If you have extra time available, call your pastor and ask him if there is anything that needs to be done around the church. If you want to visit friends at home, determine to help them in their chores and not hinder them. We must learn to discipline ourselves while unemployed and it does not hurt for us to set up a daily schedule. Establish a written schedule of daily activities and avoid at all costs the lifestyle of the busybody. Get yourself to the point where you can say, "I am unemployed but I am not out of work."