Thursday, November 5, 2015

THERE WAS A LABAN

For sometime now I have been trying to clear my mind on how to put my thought together and get this piece across. I think I have finally been able to do that and hope that what you are going to read here will encourage you to keep holding on and if need be, help you to make adjustments where necessary.

If you are used to reading the Bible, you should be familiar with the very popular story of Laban and Jacob.

In case you are not the Bible reading type, let me quickly run you through the story.

Laban was a very successful businessman who had two beautiful daughters - Leah and Rachael. He also had a very thriving business as a farmer in cattle-rearing. Somewhere along the line, Jacob came into the picture and was to marry one of the daughters of Laban. Rachael to be precise. But there was a tradition that said the younger could not marry before the older, hence he had to marry Leah whom he did not love. But to marry his true love he had to work for his father-in-law for another 10 years. What a story of love.

But the essence of this article is not even about the sacrifice that Jacob had to make in order to marry the woman he truly loved, though that is something many men need to learn from. How far can you go for the woman you claim to love? What sacrifices are you willing to make to prove the genuineness of your love for this 'woman'?

Now, let us get back to the meat of this piece. Gen. 31:6-7, "You know that I have served your father with all my strength. Yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times; however, God did not allow him to hurt me."

Sincerely, I have seen this happen to people and I also have firsthand experience of a boss changing the staff salary. I have been in HR practice for a while and have seen bosses take advantage of their workers. They use all sorts of manipulative excuses to rob their workers of their due wages/salaries. Maybe they forget that "You shall not muzzle the ox that threads out the corn" (Deut. 25:4, I Cor. 9:9, I Tim. 5:18) is still in the Bible.

These bosses, sometimes out-rightly just act wickedly, thinking and behaving like no one can query them or ask them why! Sometimes, some hide under the guise of down-time in business and then 'change' agreed wages, in some cases up to about 50% reduction.

This is gross injustice. Yes, for many Nigerians, they would rather not fight back, because they don't want to be eventually sacked. After all, "Half bread is better than none", they console themselves with. And you won't blame them. If they leave that job, when/where will they find another? And they also know that if they leave, the boss too will be happy, since he knows that there are many out there who will still accept the position for the same amount.

So where does one find respite when he faces a situation where his boss cheats on him as it was in the case of Laban and Jacob?

My submissions are simple. And they are summarized thus:

1. Quit that job. Yes! You can quit and will not die. It may be difficult and take sometime before you find another, but sometimes it is better to stand up for what you believe and not accept any injustice that belittles your person. Believe me, you will eventually find another job.
2. Remain on the job. This is especially if the reason that your boss claims to be the excuse is true. I mean it was obvious and you could see that your boss is not the wicked type, only that situation has forced his hands. Then there is no crime in waiting and weathering the storm with him till things improve and your worth in terms of salary is restored.
3. Trust God to do justice in the matter. In this case, you will not need to fight and become slothful on the job because you feel cheated. In the case of Jacob, he remained and never complained about anything, and his wage was changed - reviewed downwards 10 times. But in the end, God showed up and there was a TRANSFER OF WEALTH.

This was a supernatural intervention. God can give you a better job via recommendations from people you have interacted with on the present job. God can actually bring a situation into your bosses business that will make him begin to negotiate with you, because you are the one with the skill to attend to that situation.

I see God giving you justice in every area where you have been cheated.

God bless.