Recently I have come into more understanding of the necessity of growth and maturity as a believer in Jesus Christ. I decided to try my hand at something new and wrote a story depicting what I’m learning. It’s a little lengthy but hopefully still enjoyable :-). Shalom!
There once were three coworkers, Id, Ego and Self. Id was the short paunchy one who needed to have everything go his way or he would literally throw a temper tantrum on the floor. Tears and all. Ego was the tall, lanky one who wore glasses and talked with a nasally voice. She walked around the office with her chest puffed out most of the time and thought everything she said was uniquely more important than anyone else’s thoughts. No one could get a word in around her and she made it difficult for her coworkers to engage in any type of conversation with her. And Self, well, he always had a habit of keeping his head down as he worked. He figured if a situation wasn’t about him, then it wasn’t worth giving his attention to.
These three were thick as thieves, but interestingly enough, their relationship was not really based on companionship and affection towards one another, but rather based more on their effectiveness at working together. They often carried out group projects and received much praise and adoration from the management team with how well they functioned as a unit. Their peers on the other hand did not like them too much because they were very proud and arrogant. When the trio did well at a project, they would often brag about their achievements and rub it in other’s faces.
And so the three lived their work lives in this fashion until one day a new CEO took over the company. His name was True Love. True Love’s presence pretty much disrupted the whole office environment because His leadership style was so much more different than their previous CEO and current managers. Instead of lording over His employees, He chose to encourage them and serve them. Instead of yelling at their shortcomings, He gave them “strength finder tests” to help them see areas of needed improvements along with techniques to actually improve.
Probably one of True Love’s biggest changes in the office was that He chose to split up the familiar team of Id, Ego and Self. After a few months of watching these three, He noticed the negative energy they created within the office. While they worked effectively together, it was to the detriment of the department’s morale. In fact, the only reason they worked well together, He perceived, was because they shared the same goal of puffing up themselves and pushing everyone else down.
True Love made a bold move and placed Id on a team with Maturity & Character. He placed Ego on a team with Humility & Kindness. And last but not least, He placed Self on a team with Generosity & Giving. On top of these changes He let go of the previous managers Greed & Selfish Ambition, and replaced them with His longtime friends Faith & Hope.
Well there was an uproar in the department at these changes by all involved. Not only did Id, Ego & Self complain to their new managers, but the other employees were not too thrilled to have to work with them as well. But Faith and Hope backed up this decision and supported their leader.
Soon thereafter, all teams were provided with their first work assignment. As each team tackled their assignment they spent long hours together, sometimes coming in the office on the weekend. They each had their own deadline to reach and needed as much time as possible to meet it. After about a month of working with Character and Maturity, Id noticed something very strange was happening to him. He was growing! His normally 4-½-foot frame was now 5 feet tall! He was a grown man and to his knowledge had hit his last growth spurt as a teenager! How could this possibly be happening? All of his work pants were flooding and his wife had to go out and get him new pants! Ego noticed that her voice was less nasally and her stature was more of a normal posture. But what she was most shocked about was how often she kept thinking of others. She had this insatiable urge to put others’ needs before her own! And Self, he found that he actually enjoyed engaging with others instead of keeping to himself. He even started interacting more with his wife and found that his marriage was happier (now that he was less self-consumed).
By the end of the quarter all teams completed their projects and submitted them to the management team. As Faith, Hope and True Love reviewed the data, they were very pleased with the results and had an inkling that implementing the information their teams provided would increase profits. Well, they were dead on. That quarter was the most prosperous quarter in the history of the company! True Love’s tactic of esteeming all workers, and not just a few, paid off. The office environment itself had an element of camaraderie it did not have before. Id, Ego & Self hadn’t even noticed that they barely saw one another, and even when they did, their conversations were actually affirming to one another instead of self-consuming. By the end of that first year Id had grown a total of 1 foot and was now 5 ½ feet tall. Ego talked in a perfectly normal voice that no longer grated on anyone’s nerves and Self had a host of new friends simply because he actually now cared about others. His marriage was also flourishing and he and his wife were celebrating their 25th anniversary.
True Love saw these improvements and wanted to reward Id, Ego, and Self with a promotion. Right before Self’s vacation with his wife to celebrate their anniversary, True Love called the three into His office. He shared with them how proud he was of their efforts for the company, but how He was even more impressed with the personal changes they had made. These changes were the true reason He was promoting them. Along with their new titles He wanted to give them new names. Instead of being called Id, he would be called Mighty-in-Character. Instead of Ego she would be called, Lowly-in-Spirit. Instead of Self, he would be called Generous-in-Nature. The three employees were so excited! Not just because of their promotions, but also because of the transformations that had happened within them that were now being confirmed outwardly by their new names. They thanked True Love profusely for His excellent leadership and promised to do their very best to continue serving Him.
“I have no doubt that you all will do well at your new positions” True Love told them. “I would not have promoted you, had you not first demonstrated the character needed to be elevated in My business”.
The End
