INVESTING IN THE BOSS'S KID

I wrote this post 4 years ago, on the eve of my daughter's 16th birthday.  Tomorrow she turns 20, and what I said then is even more true today.

Tomorrow my daughter turns 16.  For the last couple of hours I’ve been looking at her picture and feeling all wet in the eyes.

Which made me think about Eliezer and Abraham. 

Genesis 15: 1-3 says that Eliezer was the chief servant in Abraham’s household.

The household of a Biblical patriarch was a lot like a family owned corporation.  For example, in the house of Abraham, the patriarch had more servants (employees) than actual relatives by blood or marriage.

Yet the entire household depended on one another.  Together they weathered storms and famine.  Together, they fought marauders and rival tribes.   Together they would either prosper or die in the Canaanite frontier.  And when God gave Abraham the sign of circumcision in Genesis 17, EVERY male in Abraham’s house became a Jew---- the hard way.

But you could say that was all just good business. 

You have to be nice to the boss.  You have to work together.  If the company (household) fails then everybody’s out of a job.  In Old Testament days, being “out of a job” meant death or enslavement, so doing a good job was simple self-interest.  Genuine love wasn’t necessarily part of the job description.

But sometimes it was.

Before Abraham and Sarah had children, Eliezer was the designated heir of Abraham’s entire fortune.  So when Isaac, the promised son, came along Eliezer had no objective economic reason to love the boy. 

But he did.

We know that Eliezer CARED ABOUT Isaac because Eliezer INVESTED IN Isaac.

In Genesis 25, Abraham sent his chief servant to research and negotiate a marriage-merger for his son.   This was a lot of trouble.  There was no match.com to sign onto, no Instagram full of selfies to peruse, not even a postal system to send letters asking, “Hey, do you know any nice single women around Isaac’s age?”

Eliezer had to take ten camels and basically wander around the sparsely populated Canaanite and Mesopotamian wilderness looking for “the one.” 

And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there.”…Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and departed, for all his master’s goods were in his hand. (Genesis 25: 8, 10)

At this point Abraham was old and Eliezer had power of attorney over the whole family business.  All he had to do was “not find” the right woman or ship Isaac off to Syria and he could have taken over the family.

But he didn’t. 

Instead, he risked his time, the peril of his own safety (wandering around the dessert with a caravan of provisions at his age), and his personal self-interest; and invested it all in his boss’s child.

^Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. (Genesis 25: 12)

In my career as an educator and pastor I’ve worked with, for, and over a lot of people.  Especially on faculties when I was a department chair or administrator (boss), teachers had an economic self-interest in being nice to me because I performed their evaluations and managed their personnel files.

They didn’t have to really love me.  They didn’t have to really love my house, my family.

But they have.

My daughter turns 16 tomorrow. When I posted the announcement online and looked at the range of people who commented and liked I realized how expansive my household has really been.

Over the last 20 years, teachers, counselor,  pastors, co-workers, colleagues, church members, and employees have invested in their time, their gifts, their favor, and their love in me, my wife, and our children. 

They have gone far, far out of their way to protect my children when I could not be there to protect them. 

They have prayed for my family.  They have looked out for my wife.  They have sought our good when our good wouldn’t do them any good.  They helped me and mine when undermining me would have been easy and profitable.

I know what you did.

You loved my house when you didn’t have to.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 

Miles Chapel CME Church

P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 31: 15. "First Up. First In."

Proverbs 31: 15     She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.

Proverbs 31: 15.  The manager of a hotel or restaurant is up and on duty hours before breakfast begins.  He/she makes sure that the staff are all in place, equipped, and on task to provide food and hospitality for the guests.  The manager probably never flips a single pancake or takes a single order, but he/she takes care of everybody ---- all of the guests and all of the staff.   

Why would “a boss” get up so early and work so hard when he/she has employees to do that stuff?  Because that’s what it takes to be a boss.

First up.  First in.  Last to leave.  Last to bed.

That’s how King David lived (Psalm 119: 147).  That’s how Moses operated (Exodus 8: 20; 34: 4).  Joshua got up first and got it started (Joshua 3:1).  And Jesus was always up and rolling before his disciples (Mark 1: 35), even if He’d ended the night before literally dead (Matthew 28: 1, 2).

First up.  First in.  Last to leave.  Last to bed.

I remember the many cold mornings that my father woke me to do some early morning chore.  I remember that he was already fully dressed and he’d already been up and outside working before he came to get me.  I remember carefully stepping over the freshly shined shoes that Daddy changed into for the day job he sandwiched between early morning and late evening working on the farm.

I remember my mom flicking on the light switch and hollering for me to get up and get ready.  I remember that she had the housecoat on over her workclothes, her makeup was already done,  and the house already smelled of biscuits (homemade from scratch), and grits, and bacon that were almost done.

First up.  First in.  Last to leave.  Last to bed.

That’s what it takes to be a leader.  That’s what it takes to be “a boss.”

And ladies (as Proverbs 31 states), that’s what it takes to be a queen.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

Proverbs 31: 15. "First Up. First In."

Proverbs 31: 15     She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.

Proverbs 31: 15.  The manager of a hotel or restaurant is up and on duty hours before breakfast begins.  He/she makes sure that the staff are all in place, equipped, and on task to provide food and hospitality for the guests.  The manager probably never flips a single pancake or takes a single order, but he/she takes care of everybody ---- all of the guests and all of the staff.   

Why would “a boss” get up so early and work so hard when he/she has employees to do that stuff?  Because that’s what it takes to be a boss.

First up.  First in.  Last to leave.  Last to bed.

That’s how King David lived (Psalm 119: 147).  That’s how Moses operated (Exodus 8: 20; 34: 4).  Joshua got up first and got it started (Joshua 3:1).  And Jesus was always up and rolling before his disciples (Mark 1: 35), even if He’d ended the night before literally dead (Matthew 28: 1, 2).

First up.  First in.  Last to leave.  Last to bed.

I remember the many cold mornings that my father woke me to do some early morning chore.  I remember that he was already fully dressed and he’d already been up and outside working before he came to get me.  I remember carefully stepping over the freshly shined shoes that Daddy changed into for the day job he sandwiched between early morning and late evening working on the farm.

I remember my mom flicking on the light switch and hollering for me to get up and get ready.  I remember that she had the housecoat on over her workclothes, her makeup was already done,  and the house already smelled of biscuits (homemade from scratch), and grits, and bacon that were almost done.

First up.  First in.  Last to leave.  Last to bed.

That’s what it takes to be a leader.  That’s what it takes to be “a boss.”

And ladies that’s what it takes to be a queen.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com  .

If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 30: 23b "Rebellion or Revolution---for Girls"

Proverbs 30: 21  [NKJV]   For three things the earth is perturbed.  Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22     For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23     A hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

Proverbs 30: 21, 23b.  Number4, and final, in this list of shifts that shake the world is a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.  Some translations says a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

So basically we’re talking about a servant who ends up in her boss’s place. 

In a positive sense, this passage about the glory of upward mobility.  An elite leader recognizes and rewards the merits of her lowly employee who is more qualified to lead than her well-connected peers.

In the negative, this scripture is about a sneaky sister who steals her boss’s place (possibly by stealing her boss’s man).

The point is that sisters can choose to be a Hannah or a Hagar.

Hannah was one of two wives in a polygamist marriage (1 Samuel 1: 1-6).  Her sister-wife (actually the Bible calls the other lady Hannah’s rival) had children, but Hannah was barren.  Socially and legally under the Mosaic law, this depressed Hanna’s status to that of junior wife (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17).  In many ancient families, a junior wife without children was little more than a servant to the “blessed” wife/wives.

But 1 Samuel 1 implies that Hannah was a more virtuous woman than her rival.  For this reason, even though she’d given him no heir, Hannah was her husband’s favorite.  When the time came to divide the profits and favor of the family business, the husband gave Hannah a double-portion (1 Samuel 1: 4, 8)  In the Mosaic system, the double portion goes to a man’s chosen HEIR.

Hannah, the virtuous woman, superseded the other woman, and became the family’s HEIR.

God honored Hannah’s godly heart and gave her a son.  Hannah honored God by giving her son back to the Lord to be trained as a priest ( 1 Samuel 1: 9-28). 

That son was named Samuel.  Samuel was not entitled to high rank in the family, but out of his place in the temple, he became the most important spiritual and political figure in the nation.

Samuel instituted the monarchy in Israel.  He prophesied the rise and fall of high priests and kings.  Samuel consecrated the biological line of the Messiah. 

Through virtue, humility, and the integrity to keep her promises to God, Hannah brought forth a son who changed the world.

Hagar was maidservant to Abraham and Sarah.  Hagar got caught up in a scheme to use sin (adultery in this case) as a backdoor to attaining God’s promised blessing.  Drama ensued when Hagar gave birth to  Abraham’s firstborn son. 

Hagar got an attitude with Sarah.  Abraham copted out of his responsibility. Sarah abused Hagar.  Hagar ran away with the child. Then they came back. (Genesis 16)  

Abraham was crazy about his son.  He exalted the child, which meant that he exalted Hagar (Genesis 17: 18).  The young maidservant supplanted her mistress.

Hannah’s rise was based on godliness.  Hagar’s rise was based on sin.

Hannah’s son became one of the greatest prophets in history.  He was the kingmaker of Israel. 

Hagar’s son Ishamael became the patriarch of the Arab nations.  He is ultimately the reason Islam, the religio-political enemy of the Jewish nation, exists.

In Proverbs 30: 23, God speaks directly to and about women.  The Holy Spirit delivers an extraordinarily empowering message to the daughters of the King.

No matter where you start, sister, you can rise to the highest status.  Like men, women also leave a legacy.    If your rise is based on godliness, then your legacy will be great.  If your ascension is based on sin and deception, then no matter whom else you blame----your legacy will be one of corruption.

You can climb the ladder in a way that is sinful and REBELLIOUS, or you can advance in a way that is righteous and REVOLUTIONARY.

One way or another, sisters ---- you have equal potential to turn the world upside down.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church

Proverbs 30: 23b "Rebellion or Revolution---for Girls"

Proverbs 30: 21  [NKJV]   For three things the earth is perturbed.  Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
22     For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
23     A hateful woman when she is married,
And a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.

Proverbs 30: 21, 23b.  Number 4, and final, in this list of shifts that shake the world is a maidservant who succeeds her mistress.  Some translations says a handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

So basically we’re talking about a servant who ends up in her boss’s place. 

In a positive sense, this passage is about the glory of upward mobility.  An elite leader recognizes and rewards the merits of her lowly employee who is more qualified to lead than her well-connected peers.

In the negative, this scripture is about a sneaky sister who steals her boss’s place (possibly by stealing her boss’s man).

The point is that sisters can choose to be a Hannah or a Hagar.

Hannah was one of two wives in a polygamist marriage (1 Samuel 1: 1-6).  Her sister-wife (actually the Bible calls the other lady Hannah’s rival) had children, but Hannah was barren.  Socially and legally under the Mosaic law, this depressed Hanna’s status to that of junior wife (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17).  In many ancient families, a junior wife without children was little more than a servant to the “blessed” wife/wives.

1 Samuel 1 shows that Hannah was more than her rival.  For this reason, even though she’d given him no heir, Hannah was her husband’s favorite.  When the time came to divide the profits and favor of the family business, the husband gave Hannah a double-portion (1 Samuel 1: 4, 8)  In the Mosaic system, the double portion goes to a man’s chosen HEIR.

Hannah, the virtuous woman, superseded the master wife, and became the family’s HEIR.

God honored Hannah’s godly heart and gave her a son.  Hannah honored God by giving her son back to the Lord to be trained as a priest ( 1 Samuel 1: 9-28). 

That son was Samuel.  Samuel was not entitled to high rank in the family, but from his placement in the temple he went on to become the most important spiritual and political figure in Israel.
Samuel instituted the monarchy in Israel.  He prophesied the rise and fall of high priests and kings. 

Samuel consecrated the biological line of the Messiah. 
Through virtue, humility, and the integrity to keep her promises to God, Hannah left a world-changing legacy.

Hagar was maidservant to Abraham and Sarah.  Hagar got caught up in a scheme to use sin (adultery in this case) as a backdoor to attaining God’s promised blessing.  Drama ensued when Hagar gave birth to  Abraham’s firstborn son. 

Hagar got an attitude with Sarah.  Abraham copted out of his responsibility. Sarah abused Hagar.  Hagar ran away with the child. Then they came back. (Genesis 16)  

Abraham was crazy about his son.  He exalted the child, which meant that he exalted Hagar (Genesis 17: 18).  The young maidservant supplanted her mistress.

Hannah’s rise was based on godliness.  Hagar’s rise was based on sin.

Hannah’s son became one of the greatest prophets in history.  He was the kingmaker of Israel. 

Hagar’s son Ishamael became the patriarch of the Arab nations.  He is ultimately the reason Islam, the religio-political enemy of the Jewish nation, exists.

In Proverbs 30: 23, God speaks directly to and about women.  The Holy Spirit delivers an extraordinarily empowering message to the daughters of the King.

No matter where you start, sister, you can rise to the highest status.  Like men, women also leave a legacy.    If your rise is based on godliness, then your legacy will be great.  If your ascension is based on sin and deception, then no matter whom else you blame----your legacy will be one of corruption.

You can climb the ladder in a way that is sinful and REBELLIOUS, or you can advance in a way that is righteous and REVOLUTIONARY.

One way or another, sisters ---- you have equal potential to turn the world upside down.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Miles Chapel CME Church in Fairfield, Alabama;  executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO);  and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

Subscribe to my personal blog  www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .

Email atgravestwo2@aol.com

Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

You can help support this ministry with a donation to Miles Chapel CME Church.

You can help support Rev. Graves’ work by visiting his personal blog and clicking the DONATE button on the right-hand sidebar.

Support by check or money order may be mailed to 

Miles Chapel CME Church

P O Box 132

Fairfield, Al 35064

A WORD TO THE WISE. Proverbs 30: 10. "The Hazards of Being a Hater"

Proverbs 30:10     Do not malign a servant to his master, lest he curse you, and you be found guilty.

Proverbs 30: 10.  We worry way too much about “haters.” 

We spend too much time talking about and complaining about which bosses and teachers “don’t like me.”
We waste too much energy telling ourselves and each other that “Oh, they’re just jealous.” 
If instead of meticulously cataloging all the people you know didn’t want you to get that promotion anyway, you critiqued yourself and did a better job preparing for the next interview--------- you might actually get promoted next time.

“Take heed to YOURSELF” is what the Bible says.  (Deuteronomy 12: 30; 1 Timothy 4: 16; Galatians 6: 1)

Yet and at the same time, the Bible states that haters are real.  It’s NOT AN EXCUSE, but it is a reality that some people don’t want to see you succeed; and some of those people will try to sabotage your progress. 

David wrote Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head.  They are mighty who would destroy me, beingmy enemies wrongfully.  Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.  (Psalm 69: 4)

Haters are real. (David wrote several psalms about haters.  Psalm 56 is actually my favorite.)

In the midst of his hate-tastrophe (Yes, I just made up that word, but it’s a pretty cool word.), David took heed to himself and admitted, O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You. (Psalm 69: 5)

Some people are haters, and if you’re one of those people----- God don’t like you.  Well, actually God loves you, BUT He DOESN’T like what you do.

Proverbs 30: 10 warns against drinking that Hate-orade, and uses the workplace as an example.   

 

You’re a hater at work if you go around maligning/ slandering/ falsely accusing your co-workers, trying to get them in trouble for stuff (a)that  they didn’t do; (b) that you also do; and/or (c) that has absolutely nothing to do with the job; you just wanna tell their business.

If you do that then you’re setting yourself up for destruction.  One of those times----and it only takes ONE time-----somebody’s going to show the truth and expose you as a liar.  Now EVERYthing you’ve ever said or ever will say becomes suspect.  

See, when you lie like you’re telling the truth, even the truth sounds like you’re lying.

Now, when the boss sees that he’s/ she’s been lied to, they’re gonna feel like they look like a fool.  You knoooow that your boss hates to look like a fool.

And you, little hater, made him/her look foolish.  So now, you’re working (for the time being) for a boss who’s hating on YOU.

Worry less about your haters and take greater heed to yourself.  Worry less about the folks you’ve been hating on, and take greater heed to yourself.

Pray and do better.  Leave the haters to God.  You just line yourself up with God’s will.  God will make sure that everybody -----EVERYBODY------ gets what they deserve.

Psalm 18: 17     He delivered me from my strong enemy,

From those who hated me,
For they were too strong for me.
18     They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
But the Lord was my support.
19     He also brought me out into a broad place;
He delivered me because He delighted in me.
20     The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the cleanness of my hands
He has recompensed me.
21     For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves

To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

If you enjoy our work, please help support our work in the community. Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116