Article August 31, 1974 Issue

God Is the Employer

LARRY HELLER

One rainy morning a few years ago, I went to work and was just comfortably seated at my desk, deciding which task to tackle first, when the boss called me into his office.

I entered, seated myself, and waited expectantly while he fussed with some papers before him with a preoccupied frown. Suddenly he faced me, cleared his throat, and said: "This job is not everyone's pair of shoes. It doesn't seem to be yours. I therefore must let you go." Shocked, and fighting a king-sized lump in my throat, I didn't hear the rest of what he said. Quickly I recalled the previous days, weeks, and months to try to determine a reason for what was happening. I could think of none.

I was given a month to find other employment before being taken off the payroll. Instead of intelligently turning to God as the source of my supply, asking Him for direction, I began desperately scanning the help-wanted advertisements. Fruitlessly. I telephoned friends and acquaintances I supposed could help me. But—as is generally the case when we look to person instead of to God for help—they couldn't. Dressed up in my best clothes, I went to countless interviews, trying to put my best foot forward. You know what happens when you try that hard to put your best foot forward? Well —it happened to me.

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