Have you seen the TV show "Undercover Boss"? You know, the one where the CEO of a large corporation goes undercover in his/her own company to see how things are working or, in some cases, not working. I like hearing the back story of each CEO...their humble beginnings, the people that encouraged them, their stories of hard work and dedication, and the lives they are living now. It's always interesting to watch these CEO's change their image (so their employees don't recognize them) and, in most cases, enter into a work environment they've never been in before...everything from fast food to home appliance repair, from shipping and receiving to being a plumber, from driving a truck to bottling wine. However, the two most interesting parts of the show for me are the interactions of the CEO with his/her employees and when he/she reveals himself/herself to their employees and is able to reward or reprimand them.
I was watching an episode recently where the CEO was riding along with a guy who delivers the company's wine to various restaurants. The employee spoke freely about not following company rules, had extremely colorful language, arrived late for his deliveries and talked back to the restaurant owners who weren't happy that he was late. The CEO obviously did not like the behavior of his employee and was upset that this was the image their customers were getting of the company. This moment in the show
grabbed me. I began to wonder how I would act differently if I could see Jesus standing next to me. How many times a day do you think about Him being in the same room with you or remember that He is taking each step with you throughout the day? Would your words be kinder or would you continue to gossip? Would your actions be more heartfelt and compassionate or would you act without thinking about how it affects others? Would your work be done with more effort or would you do just enough to get by? Would you make more of an effort to please Him or just pretend He wasn't there?
I believe that I try to be nice, kind, hard working, honest, and considerate. But, I also believe that if I thought about Jesus sitting right next to me during the day, I would probably be a little bit more of each of those things.
The last part of the show is always the most fun to watch. Probably 90% of the time, the CEO brings the employees to headquarters, reveals himself/herself, tells the employee all the things he was impressed with (and, in some cases, not impressed with), and usually presents them with some kind of monetary reward or other incentive (such as giving them more responsibility or asking them to be part of a training team). How great it will be when we arrive in heaven and Jesus says to us, "‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!" (Matt. 25:21)
I am praying that Jesus will reveal Himself to me more throughout the day and that I will strive to please Him with my words and actions. I want to remember that He is sitting next to me in the car when somebody cuts me off; that He is with me on the phone when I'm talking with an angry client; that He is with me I am alone and no one else can see me.
Mary
