'Difficult' people (CLM 719)

From: "Michael Churches"

Sun, 17 Jan 1999

While I agree with Rowland Croucher that a lot of progress is made by having 'difficult' people on team, I am concerned by one aspect of the concept when applied to Christian work: Is the work of the Kingdom advanced or retarded if the job goes ahead, but leaving a whole lot of wounded souls in its wake? As one who was formerly one of those difficult people, I agonise over the times when, in my impatience to get the job done, I have ridden roughshod over the feelings of others. I still need to keep in mind that the objectives and priorities of the Kingdom are not the objectives and priorities of the Kingdom's servants. I have also seen that often, God is content to work at a pace that includes those who are slow to get on board, rather than at the pace of the 'leaders' and 'visionaries'. Often we need to back off and let people get used to new ideas or directions, rather than push through regardless of feelings. There are times (now) when I feel that it might be better to leave a job undone rather than me rushing in to do it because no-one else seems to be interested. It's a bit like the prophets: they had things to say that weren't popular to the people. I assume they did it God's way, therefore it was OK. These days, I think we still need prophets, but we also need to leave room for the Holy Spirit to work. Also, we need to continually remember that Christianity is about inclusiveness, not exclusion. Too often, I think, the 'difficult' people are (like me) loners. It gets the job done, yes, but no-one else thinks the results are worth the mess that gets left behind. God bless you, Michael Churches churchesma@cyberelectric.net.au

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