It was a typical Monday morning when the senior pastor, with whom I had worked for ten years, knocked on my door and asked if we could talk for a moment. As I listened to him speak, my mind began to whirl, Did he just say what I thought he said? No, there must be a mistake. This can't possibly be happening. After he left, I continued to sit there, stunned. Every muscle in my body felt heavy and sluggish. I continued to say over and over, "How can this be?"
I had just been told that my position as associate pastor was being eliminated due to financial decisions. As I sat there on that Monday morning, my thoughts changed to, How will I break the news to my family?, and the most looming question on my mind, What do I do now?
Joblessness not only creates a financial hardship; it also presents emotional strain and stress. The anxiety and worry of being without work can also lead to a crisis of belief that can affect the spiritual health of the individual. The church must be prepared to minister to this growing segment of our society. Most people have either personally experienced or know people who have experienced the hardships and emotional pain of unemployment. Joblessness presents several challenges, yet also an opportunity for growth for those who are traveling this road.
What are the most challenging issues facing the person who has just received a pink slip? Aside from the obvious financial challenges, there are also emotional, psychological, and even physiological effects that arise from anxiety, stress, and worry. Plus, joblessness can create an identity crisis as the person wonders, "Who am I?"
Unemployment has a way of tearing down the very things we use to shape our identity. From the rubble that remains, we can address what truly molds who we are. Look at these four main identity shapers:
You Are What You Do
When we meet someone for the first time, isn't our opening line often, "What do you do [for a living]?" This is natural when you consider the sheer number of hours we spend at our places of employment. A downsizing or lay-off often means we lose a core way of seeing ourselves.
You Are Who You Know
We derive a sense of self from group affiliation and interaction. When we are used to identifying primarily with the group of people we work with, what happens when separation occurs from that network? To be known and accepted is part of the very fabric of our humanity and its loss can be devastating.
You Are What You Know
We live in an information age. The perception today is that knowledge is everything. Not too long ago in our history, students were told that if they got a high-school education they could get a good paying job. My generation was told that to get a decent wage, you would need a college degree. In many fields and occupations today, you need a master's degree in order to be competitive. It's easy to feel hopelessly behind.
You Are What You Have
Whether we care to admit it or not, many of us derive identity from our possessions and financial portfolio. We live in a materialistic culture driven by marketing that feeds our insatiable appetite to get the latest, the best, or the biggest.
In other words, downsizing can bring one down to size. Joblessness, among other things, is an identity buster. If your job is eliminated, it takes away "what you do." If you don't have a steady job, "what you have" is threatened because of the loss of income. When you go to apply for a new job and find out that there are hundreds who have applied for that same job—many with the same level of education or better—you realize that "what you know" is worth a dime a dozen. Many of our social relationships are linked to where we work, so "who we know" also breaks down, leaving the person feeling alone and isolated.
Therefore, when unemployment strikes, the very ground on which we have built our identity begins to crumble. When this occurs, it will lead you in one of two directions.
For many, the path of unemployment leads to deep discouragement. The additional stress of not knowing what will happen next can cause one to spiral even further downward into depression and even despair.
The other path is to rest on a foundation that can weather any storm. This is where the church has an opportunity to minister to those struggling with the chronic stress and anxiety of joblessness. Individual Christians who find themselves on this road of joblessness, due to no fault of their own, have an opportunity to shine as lights in the world by the way they respond to such a difficult trial.
Since identity crisis is a major issue for those faced by the prospect of unemployment, the first step to victorious living in the midst of hardship is to discover or reaffirm your true identity. Trials strip away our pretense of self-sufficiency, which causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom. 12:3). To weather the storms of life and grow in faith, we must turn from the worldly ways we once used to define who we are and rest upon our identity in Christ.
As I traveled through unemployment, there were many tough days and painful setbacks. There were times when I was so discouraged that even getting out of bed in the morning was a monumental task. To rest upon our identity in Christ is not a once-and-done project. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I fall back into defining my identity by things such as occupation, possessions, and knowledge. All it takes is one rejection letter for the anxiety and worry to surface again. The journey through unemployment can cause one's emotional state to be tossed back and forth by the waves of circumstance.
There is no easy solution to this struggle. However, when I rest in the knowledge of who I am in Christ, I have peace and contentment, even if disheartening news comes. The gospel is a message of transformation. It is the good news of a changed identity. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV). This new identity in Christ changes everything and nothing can take it away—not tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword (Rom. 8:35). Not even joblessness!
The Bible has much to say about the nature of our new identity in Christ. We are the redeemed (Ps. 107:1-3; Luke 1:68-69). We are the justified (Rom. 3:23-26; 8:30; 1 Cor. 6:11). We are chosen (Rom. 8:30; Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 2:9). We are children of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:14-16). We are heirs and co-heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17; Gal. 4:7; Titus 3:7). We are elect exiles and strangers in this world (1 Pet. 1:1; 2:11; Lev. 25:23). Each of these aspects of our identity in Christ can provide hope and encouragement when we are in the throes of hardship.
In fact, trials become an opportunity to grow in Christ-like character that develops as we walk by faith. This includes growing in humility, contentment, joy, and perseverance. Each of these Christ-centered character traits comes when we embrace our identity in Christ.
As I know all too well, this does not take away the pain of job loss or eliminate the emotional struggle of being downsized. And there still will be significant financial hurdles to overcome as well. But our hope is this: If you have received Jesus Christ the Lord, you already have the most precious jewel—Christ in you the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
To showcase a diamond, a jeweler will place it against a black backdrop. This helps to show off the brilliance of the jewel. In the same way, God will often allow trials to come into our lives, as a backdrop before the world, so that the glory of his Son will shine even more clearly from our lives. This is the jewel in job loss—to grow in grace through the trial of joblessness.
Richard S. Jensen Jr. is the author of Finding the Jewel in Job Loss: Walking by Faith in Unemployment.
Adapted from Finding the Jewel in Job Loss, by Rich Jensen, chapter 1, copyright (c) 2011. Used by permission of CLC Publications, PO Box 1449, Fort Washington, PA 19034; www.clcpublications.com.
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