Genesis 31:1-55 – LEARNING FROM A TOXIC WORKPLACE
He has been bullied into working for them for many years. Now he overhears his co-workers making derisive comments about him in a private conversation. They falsely accuse him of wrong-doing and attack his character. They don’t even work in his department but it seems his reputation has been tarnished (Genesis 31:1,2).
Their loss is not the forfeiture of wealth but of relationship with Jacob. They grumble about him, ostracise him and criticise him, rather than embrace him as family.
If jealousy is allowed it’s way, it will fester and rule over your life. It will mislead your motives and prejudice your perspectives. The murmurings of malice will begin to spill venom into your speech.
The lust of envy has already adversely affected Jacob’s life. Deceptive half-truths and distortions have shadowed of his family history. Lies and malicious rumours now dog his own steps and bite at his heels, stripping away pieces of his reputation.
Am I willing to be bullied by the limiting attitudes of others?
Laban & Sons is a toxic workplace. If we reverse the curse of their poisonous bullying we can find some positive principles for a healthy workplace environment. If only Laban and his sons would…
1. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY AND ENCOURAGE OTHERS (instead of play the Blame Game)
Jealous of Jacob’s success, Laban perceives that it is at his expense. The company hasn’t made a profit this year and Jacob becomes an object of false blame, a scapegoat. Surely a healthy workplace culture depends on a boss who takes responsibility and encourages his workers to succeed in their endeavours.
2. ENCOURAGE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION (not Workplace Inflexibility and Oppression)
Are the results of my changes welcomed or does it appear to others that I am trying to take over. A healthy workplace encourages creativity and innovation.
3. BE INCLUSIVE AND BUILD HEALTHY WORK RELATIONSHIPS (vs Power Politics)
Laban: “There are unwritten laws and expectations. Everyone has to have some kind of workplace politics! All he has to do is tow-the-line and not challenge the status quo; do things our way. He won’t accept that we are the ones in authority.”
Jacob: “Am I willing to challenge those who legislate rules in favour of their autocratic leadership style?”
It is often the few, like Laban and his sons, who have the loudest voices and they market their ideas in the cauldrons of power in order to coerce others to become a puppet of their political correctness. Are we destined to ape the morality of those we admire the least?
Relationship building, not autocratic power-mongering, is the sign of a healthy workplace environment.
4. INSPIRE SUCCESS (vs being Threatened by Success)
Does my workplace culture remain fluid and open to new ideas rather than domineering and repressive, inspiring success?
We can choose to refuse a bullying culture. In educational institutions as well as political arenas, workplaces as well as neighbourhoods, there are authoritarian, arrogant, narcissistic personalities, who feel a strong need to control or dominate, and who use bullying as a tool to conceal their shame and boost their self-esteem, demeaning others in order to feel empowered, the Laban and Sons of our world.
As we overcome the obstacles, the barriers, brick walls, roadblocks, hurdles ahead and find the direction and the courage we need to move forward in our lives, moving away from toxic environments will we find the purpose for which we are designed to fulfill.
Having purpose and privilege in being involved in that which has eternal value does not make it easier for you or me to find the courage we need to face our detractors; those who dislike us; critics or cynics; and those who say disparaging things about our faith and play the bully in the name of tolerance.
Jacob is no innocent, perfect man. He’s under pressure, and obedience to God will often involve going against the flow. He is learning not be bullied by the restrictive attitudes of others. Once, he had his manipulating mother to push him past his problems using deception, but now he will find other allies and a different courage inspired by faith instead of fear.
It’s time to become a returnee and brave the journey to the land of promise. But is he prepared to lose his job to pursue his destiny? Are you?
Genesis 31:1-13 - FOCUS ON THE PROMISE NOT THE PROBLEM
FOCUS
“The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus” (Alexander Graham Bell).
The fleeting movement had caught my interest. It was only a leaf, red on one side and green on the other. As I focused on the outward edge I saw tiny green legs. Turning the leaf over, a small spider momentarily appeared and then retreated to the other side, away from the light and my attention.
I pivoted the lens perpendicularly to the sun and focused the resulting beam on the very central ridge of the leaf, narrowing the light until it was a small white spot of searing heat. The backbone of the leaf began to bend and sizzle with the intensity of the beam and as a thin trail of hazy smoke ascended, the spider appeared, scurrying to the front side of the leaf, green against the red, a cynosure of contrast.
My lens was swivelled again so that I could observe the intricate nature of the creature but once again it disappeared to the green side of the leaf where it’s camouflage would keep it from prying predators.
Jacob is the cynosure for all eyes, accented by his wealth against a backdrop of anger. A focal point for the envy of Laban’s sons; the convergence point of searing blame. Jacob wants to hide but the lens of their concentrated criticism has brought him into focus. For 20 years he has been tolerated but of late his business ventures have made him the centre of attention.
ON THE PROMISE
And now, in the heat of the moment, just briefly but with clarity, his attention is deflected from their gaze to the brightness of the prevailing light of a promise made to him by God. The image of a promised land looms large in his vision and he is able to see clearly what must be adjusted in his life for it to become a reality.
As the lens of Laban’s sons zoom in, exposing their jealousy for his wealth, zeroing in with their false assumptions, pinpointing his position with their predatory avarice, their very focus becomes a starting point for Jacob, a journey of new discoveries, away from their gaze.
Filled with new assurance, Jacob was still tentative about declaring his plan openly. He had entered into covenant with God and God had guaranteed the outcome. In fact God would be with him, pledging to Jacob the land of his ancestors.
To undertake such a journey would involve courage, but he has seen a vision of a stairway to heaven and he became aware long ago that he was a bonded servant undertaking a dangerous but necessary adventure. How could he tell his wives? How could he tell Laban?
Once he had hinted to Laban that this journey back to the promised land was likely to occur but Laban was prospering by his work and so he had entered into an agreement with Laban which would financially benefit them both.
Now was the time. His destiny was only a possibility as long as he stayed. His talent for listening to God in his farming techniques had increased his fortune.
He meets with his wives in secret in the fields over a strategic coffee. He shares the compulsion he has for leaving secretly. He shares how God has engaged his attention and pledged to be with him. He wants desperately to believe in that promise.
Jacob is intimately acquainted with broken promises. He was pledged to marry Rachel and Laban had given him Leah. His wages have been changed 10 times. He has been cheated just as he has cheated others.
Somehow this pledge from God is different and gives him every indication to expect fulfilment. The portend of potential hope was drawing him to respond, heralding new opportunities for his family rather than the prospect of submitting to the shadowed presage of a rising hatred in Laban’s family that did not bode well.
NOT ON THE PROBLEMS
T.F. Hodge said “To conquer frustration, one must remain intensely focused on the outcome, not the obstacles” (From Within I Rise).
The problem in this case has to be faced and it will be complicated. How will he let Laban know he is leaving? How will he inform his wives without others overhearing that he intends to go?
It’s all going to get messy with emotions, and timing will be the most important difficulty to overcome. He knows he can expect trouble. It’s already been brewing. He doesn’t want any setbacks; snags in his plans. His plight for flight may well disturb a hornets nest.
Someone said “The successful man is the average man, focused.” Jacob is focused. The invitation and challenge Jacob offers us is to remain focused on the promises of God not on the problems at hand.
Pastor Ross
