The boss wears Prada
Research indicates that 70% of employees leave managers not jobs. It's the boss they can't abide, not their work or role. Of course it takes two to tango. Still, if like David, your boss tries to spear you to the wall, it's wise to plan a swift exit strategy. Certainly, in today's workplaces there is a great deal of bullying and ethical pressure and, whilst Meryl Streep's cinematic boss from hell wears Prada, in real life they are just as likely to be draped in M&S or Primark.
What then is the Christian response?
David's dilemma is obviously somewhat extreme, not just because the king is trying to skewer him, but because finding a new job can be tricky if the most powerful person in the land is pursuing you. Nevertheless, there are lessons to learn. Most startling is David's determined respect for Saul's status as the Lord's anointed. Indeed, when opportunities arise to kill Saul at En Gedi and in the Desert of Ziph, David refuses to lift his hand against him. Like Jesus before the unjust Pilate, he is constrained by the belief that authority has been 'given from above' (John 19:11). The boss we have now is in some mysterious and baffling sense the boss God allows to be there. We must respect the authority given them.
However, that does not mean we are doormats, allowing ourselves or others to be abused, or that we should not challenge a boss's decision when we believe it's against the law of the land, the law of God, or outside the organisation's best interests. This is precisely what Bonhoeffer decided when he joined the plot to kill Hitler - and was later executed. It is precisely what Daniel decided when he refused to comply with the Emperor's decree to stop worshipping the living God - and was later rescued. The different outcomes highlight the reality that, in the short term, principled stands against abusive authority are not necessarily cost-free.
On a positive note, a boss who feels his or her authority is accepted will probably be more amenable to having decisions questioned. The need to be clothed in that kind of deep humility is, for most of us, a more urgent challenge than avoiding the business end of a spear.
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