God’s Perspective @ Work – Stress Management

It’s been a very stressful week. In the middle of it, my doctor asked me how I manage stress. Good question – how would you answer it?

The answer I gave was a somewhat pat one – true on the whole, but I wonder how well I really live up to it. I said it was a combination of prayer and seeing things somewhat from God’s perspective – seeing that the business decisions I’m involved in aren’t the end of the world, and that there’s a bigger context. That satisfied him (though he still gave me a leaflet on managing stress which I duly assigned to its rightful place). But I’m not sure if it satisfied me.

We’re in the middle of a complex series of Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, and our plan is coming up for confirmation. What this means is that everyone who is opposed to us, including some who will benefit enormously from the plan did they but know it, is attacking us. We are also dependent upon some critical events occurring for the plan to be viable, and that has been challenging. My boss has had a run of particularly unpleasant things happening to him (in the business context) and so he is more stressed than usual. As a result, despite prayer and head-knowledge of God’s perspective, I’ve been snappy and irritable all week. Ask my boss. Ask my wife!

Yet, I think my answer is still right. This is a character issue, a learned-habits issue. I have still not got to the point where I am habitually seeing things in the light God’s sovereignty and love. I still don’t automatically bring things before Him in prayer as they happen – it is only after I catch myself stressing out that I do it. When I do, the stress level does go down – you’d think I’d figure out the connection wouldn’t you? The problem is partly not having the right habits (I’m reading NT Wright’s latest book “After You Believe” which has some really great commentary on building Christian character by building the right habits – worth a read!)

It is also partly that I want to take responsibility for outcomes and results that properly belong to God. Being responsible is one thing. Taking too much responsibility is another. We are called to be the right kind of people (in the image of God, bearers of the Holy Spirit), which will lead to us doing the right things. We are not called to make sure that the results are what we want them to be. Making this distinction is hard in a business setting, because others don’t see it that way. If we are unable to recover our investors’ money, despite doing everything right, then they will blame us. I’m not sure God will though. I should be satisfied with that!

Stress results from worry, lack of perspective, or setting unreasonable expectations for ourselves (others can try to do that, but we have a choice to accept them or not). The solution is some combination of better knowing God, and our place in His Kingdom, and habitually bringing everything before Him in prayer, both formally (quiet times, prayer groups, etc) and informally (arrow prayers, bathroom prayers, etc). Only then will we really see and adopt His perspective on our work.