Getting Put Out to Pasture

Scripture:
Here’s a piece of bad business I’ve seen on this earth,
An error that can be blamed on whoever is in charge:
Immaturity is given a place of prominence,
While maturity is made to take a backseat.
I’ve seen unproven upstarts riding in style,
While experienced veterans are put out to pasture.
Ecclesiastes 10:5-7

Observation: As the wise writer continues with his observations of the world, he calls out this bad practice ... organizations that rely upon young, immature, inexperienced leaders, while casting aside older veterans who have acquired experience in their lives.

Application: Here's the deal ... I have been put out to pasture, and while sometimes it really bothers me, other times I kinda take it as a blessing. I no longer have the stress of leadership; I do not feel the weight that comes when my own decisions could truly impact the lives of dozens or hundreds of other people. At the same time, I don't necessarily get to decide for myself what to do. I have flexibility in my daily work, but not in my overall direction, goals, and outcomes. And I do find it interesting when peers, superiors, and even those clearly above me in a 'chain of command' come to me for advice.

However, make no mistake, I'm in the back seat. I do not have a place of prominence. After collecting decades of experience, having seen many successes and failures in my area of experience, I have no input into what any organization should do, or how anyone does anything. The people "in charge" - and I know who they are - made this decision.

Today, I take comfort that this is so very, very common that Solomon himself observed this almost 3,000 years ago. None of this is about me! This is just how people are, and they always have been this way. And by the way, lest I forget ... it's all smoke, just a temporary issue, embedded within of a temporary earthly life, to be erased and forgotten with the wave of a hand or even just a random breath of a breeze.

So I can enjoy my life. I can bless others, for I do not even know what tomorrow holds anyway. And I can fear the Lord and obey his instructions, as the best way of living and enjoying this life, until my body is cast back into the dirt and my soul returns to be with the Lord.

Prayer: Lord, I do not enjoy my life when I think sadly about issues that have occurred, and I do not enjoy my life when I am doing things that are disobedient to you. May my mind, body, heart, and soul draw closer to you, especially my mind. May my mind focus on you, meditate more on your word, and apply itself not to solving worldly problems, but to simply understanding you and being with you. Amen.