“How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:4-5)
By Nancy Huddleston
Perhaps you’ve seen this “Nicknames for Lazy Coworkers” meme in your social media feed:
Cordless: only works for two hours.
E.T.: always wants to go home.
KitKat: always taking a break.
Muffler: always exhausted.
Seaweed: just floats around all day.
Sensor Light: only works if someone walks past.
Wheelbarrow: only works when pushed.
In the days before COVID-19, it was easy to think that our coworkers were not being good stewards of their work. Stay-at-home orders changed things for all of us, perhaps in unintentional ways that provided a different perspective.
There was a coworker that I thought deserved one of these nicknames; but during the mandated stay-at-home stint, I saw a different side of her. She was intensely responsive to emails; always the first one in for a Zoom meeting; and, well … happy! It was like working with a different person.
Turns out, she’s an introvert. Working in an office “cube farm” didn’t work for her. Too many distractions. Too much noise. Not enough time in the day to get everything done. But working at home removed those barriers to her workplace happiness. She was renewed.
At that point, I humbled myself by pulling the “plank” out of my eye. I was ashamed to realize that I was judging her based on my work style. And as I sought redemption for myself, I wondered: what nickname might she have given me?
Pray
Lord, help me to remove the plank from my eye when I believe a coworker is not doing their job and to realize that they might need support vs. judgment.
Reflect
When the job needs to get done, do you make room for a coworker to help you share that burden?
Discuss
What does the definition of a good steward look like at work? Share about a time when you judged a coworker too harshly.
Nancy Huddleston is the editor of The Flame and lives in Burnsville, Minnesota, with her husband, Mike. She can be reached at nancy.huddleston58@gmail.com.