57. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. He is an advocate of order and shares his faith in the workplace.

12 November 2020

The Preaching of Saint Paul at Ephesus, Eustache Le Sueur, 1649

Eustache Le Sueur • Public domain

Acts 19

The Riot in Ephesus

39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.

God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (Acts 19:11-12)

There was argument on the preaching of Paul in Ephesus, where God worked miracles healing the sick. The livelihood of some Greeks, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was at stake, they were in uproar; Paul was not around and they vented their anger on a Jew. There was confusion (Acts 19:23-31).

The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly. (Acts 19:35, 37-38, 40-41)

1 Timothy 2

Instructions on Worship

1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 

2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 

3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior.

Order in the court, we hear that said in the movies.

Let me share something I wrote earlier, on 25 August 2017, pertaining to the above passages in Acts 19.

“Safety First. Part of my job is to look after construction safety, like requiring workers to wear safety shoes and hard hats which at times is not welcome. Then I would emphasize, such is for their own safety. Safety is not a set of rules, safety is education, creating self-awareness and the discipline that people will comply even if nobody is around. Safety is a mindset.

“Lord, how disturbing recent developments have been in our country, the continuing battle in Marawi, the drug smuggling, the killing of innocent victims, the corruption, the falling of the peso, and many more. I pray that those in authority will not shrink to the responsibility of calling for order, rather than creating further confusion. Lord, put the fear of God in their hearts, that they put the public interest first, so sobriety will prevail. Lord, heal our land, hear the prayer of Your people, in Jesus' name. Amen.””

Nowadays, there are the covid pandemic and the successive typhoons at that, we can only pray that government authorities will be able to put order in the response actions and serve the general public well. We need to pray for them because their hands are full.

On personal level, one time I had a job with the challenge to put some order, at same time it was an opportunity for me to share my faith in the workplace.

I initially hesitated to take the job as employee discipline was an issue. I sought counsel from our Dear Pastor Clem Guillermo, who encouraged me to accept the position.

When I started on the job, I realized there were about 160 skilled and unskilled workers, including agency personnel, that I was to be responsible for, working for building and grounds maintenance.

The first order of the day was to enforce employee rules and regulations like no entry of personal vehicles in the motor repair shop, and second, to improve work efficiency.

The other issue was that some workers come in slippers. Requisition for hard hats and safety shoes was made.

The short of the story, the following year, the office was given special citation, Parangal sa Lingkod Komunidad.

The citation came with cash award which was used to provide everyone with a souvenir shirt.

Along the way, I initiated mentoring session with team leaders and foremen, and arranged for office-wide team building activities. I gave copies of our Daily Bread on occasions, and shared my faith one-on-one and on group basis.

The initial resistance to my efforts to put order faded as my sincerity for employee welfare surfaced. Financial stewardship was also an issue and I obliged to give monetary help as needed along with personal counselling.

After I left that job, people would continue to regard me well. At this time, some of them are my blog viewers and would give compliment on facebook.

This, my privilege in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Someday, my children's children will say, wala ka sa Lolo ko, he is an advocate of order and shares his faith in the workplace. Amen.

May you be blessed.

Maraming salamat.