Have You Ever Had A Johnny Paycheck Moment?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

If you’ve been in the work world for any length of time, you have probably come across the foolish boss, or the foolish foreman, or the foolish manager who was able to just push all of your bad buttons. Perhaps that leader was even backed by the organization for which you worked. If so, you’ve probably had at least one Johnny Paycheck moment where you fantasized about pulling down the whole organizational structure as you proclaim “take this job and shove it!” while trying to keep the screen door from slamming you in your butt as you exit in a blaze of destructive angst and sweet, rebellious glory.  

But this would be wrong, and against God’s way of doing things.  Your discomfort may be truly justified, but your fantasy is nothing but pure flesh.  It’s rooted in pride.  But more importantly, it goes against God’s way of doing things.  If you were to execute your fantasy against bad authorities, wherever they are -- whether at work, at home, at your university, or your church -- you would be executing it against God.  Romans 13:1-2 tells us that God has appointed those leaders for a purpose, and that to rebel against them is to rebel against God.  It’s quite a serious charge.  Interestingly, Miriam, the older sister of Moses, speaks out against the leadership of Moses.  She was already a high figure, the first woman to be given the title prophet (Exodus 15:20). And the prophet Micah recognized her as one of the leaders that helped deliver Israel from Egypt (Micah 6:4).  But when she opposed Moses, there were personal consequences.  God struck her with leprosy.

It’s also important to think about what you would actually be doing if you realized your fantasy. First, you would be assuming God’s job, because your intent would be to exact revenge, and Paul tells us plainly that revenge is the purview of God (Romans 12:19). But perhaps the biggest consequence is that to make that fantasy real would have a negative impact on your fellow workers and the customers your company serves. In other authority contexts such as your classroom, your marriage or your church, you would impact your fellow class mates, your family members, or any other innocent person that depends on the stability of a given authority structure, and perhaps even someone who needs to see the patience or wisdom of a follower of Jesus in order to get to know him like you do.