“How to Handle a Raise/Promotion”
Nehemiah 5:14-19
The title of my message today is how to handle a raise. Now that may seem at first glance to be a strange topic. I mean if your boss were to ask you --- do you think you could handle a raise, I imagine your response would be. Sure. Yep. Where do I sign up? In fact I’ll take it right now. I honestly cannot imagine anyone being offered a raise and responding -- no thank you --- I have all I need.
Let me ask you, if you were to receive a promotion, a raise, what would you do with it? Most of us would quickly name several bills or credit cards we might pay off. But it doesn’t usually turn out that way. Too many times when we get a promotion, we get our sights set on other things …. A new car, a bigger house, a swimming pool or a new guitar. Just being honest.
Now everyone knows what to do when the suddenly run into extra money. Not everyone knows what to do when they are dropped into a place of influence and often what happens is that it goes to their head. They become full of pride. And here is why … we often have a false belief about where the promotion actually came from. I worked for at least ten years, both part time and full time in the grocery business. I remember a young man I worked with who told me very clearly one day --- I plan to go to the top in this business and I don’t care who I have to run over to get there.
Many believe that a promotion comes by being
• Knowing the right person
• Shaking the right hands
• Patting the right people on the back.
• Running over people.
If I get a promotion, I want it to come from God. These kinds of things may help you get a promotion but they don’t last for long. People figure you out. And the promotion won’t last for long.
In scripture it was God who literally took
• Joseph out of the pit and made him into a leader
• Took Daniel out of boot camp and place him at the right hand of the king
• Took Amos and moved him into the position of being a prophet; one who spoke for God himself.
Joseph, Daniel … these men knew how to handle a promotion. And so did Nehemiah.
The questions is really how do we handle a promotion, how do we handle leadership without allowing pride to step in and take over?
Well the first step is easy. Accept it. If God drops s position of leadership in your lap, accept it. Remember what I told you in chapter one? Nehemiah started a cupbearer. Then he became a foreman. Kind of an engineer. Then he became governor. Each time he received a promotion, he had to do a simple thing. Accept it.
For some of us, perhaps many of us, when an opportunity for leadership is placed in front of us our first response is something like this ….
• You talkin’ to me, you talkin’ to me, God?
• I’m not capable
• Moses said, Lord I can’t speak well
• I don’t have the confidence
A good example for us is this man in the OT named Jabez. He stands out in the OT for his prayer. He said, “Lord, would you bless me indeed, would you enlarge my territory/my influence, would you let your hand be with me, and keep me from evil, so that I may not cause pain.” And he did. I first read that book in 2000 when we started this church. That prayer --- the prayer of Jabez --- is almost hidden back in the book of 1st Chronicles. I read the book one week shortly after we started this church and immediately started praying that prayer and it was that very week that we were offered a larger space to meet in. Jabez didn’t say Lord, give me some tiny spot where I can just go on with life, unnoticed … you know sort of cruise for a while.
If you ask for leadership, plan to work harder. Nehemiah accepted the job as governor and when he did, he was immediately faced with some major concerns. You may want to write them down.
1. With every promotion there are privileges. Benefits. And the wise leader will use them without abusing them. He never ate from the food allocated to the Governor. Basically as governor he had an allowance for entertaining people but he never misused it.
2. Leadership often brings with it new temptations. New struggles. New opportunities. And to succeed you must learn to use self-control.
3. Promotion brings change. Change can be good. Change can be bad. Look at verse 15. They laid burdens on them. They overtaxed them. They stole a pound of silver. They promoted their servants. Do what I say and I will put you into leadership. It’s a dangerous thing when someone tells you that. Because you may one day be told to do something that is unethical. People may say hey we’ve never done it that way before. My other boss did it this way. Nehemiah is told that he needs to go back to the old way of doing things. But listen to his response when he is told that. v. 15. I did not do this because of the fear of God. Every new leader has to deal with this remark …. It’s never been done this way and I don’t like it. Let’s face it. People don’t like change. But leaders have to make decisions and they are not always popular. When the privileges were offered, Nehemiah said, “no thanks I don’t need them.” The last Governor took all he could get. But not Nehemiah.
4. Promotions involved more projects. More work. In every promotion there is always more work to do. And that work can become a problem because the increase in responsibilities sometimes keeps you from the main things you are trying to do. For Nehemiah his main goal was to build the wall. That was his vision. That was his goal. That was his purpose. And not once did he allow anything to block his vision. Some leaders just know how to focus. Others don’t. Solomon didn’t. Maybe he knew how at one time and just forgot. Solomon was known for several things. And they all begin with a “W.” His wisdom, his Wealth and his Women. He had 700 wives and the definitely led his astray. God gave him wisdom. He had wealth. In one year he gathered 40,000 pounds of gold. According to 1st kings chpt. 10 Solomon made the equivalent of 20 million dollars a year. Not bad for 900 BC. But Solomon lost his focus. He couldn’t handle the responsibility. We think now if I had that kind of money I would use it wisely. I read an article this week titled Life Lessons from the lottery. To be clear I don’t play the lottery and I’m not planning on starting. But here are a few stories the article described.
• Jack Whitaker won 315 million dollars. Four years later he was broke. Lots his daughter and granddaughter to drug overdoses. Both he and his wife said Later, we wish we had just torn the ticket up. We don’t like what we have become.
• Another man in Florida won 30 million. He was murdered for his money.
• Another woman won 5.4 million and went to Atlantic City and lost all of it. Gambled the entire amount away.
Scores of stories like this all pointing to the same conclusion. More money does not equal more happiness. Some of us simply do not need more. The fact is Solomon couldn’t handle is promotion.
4. Promotions will affect people. They will affect you. And they will affect the people around you. Nehemiah 5:18b. “I did not demand the food that was allotted to the Governor.” Leaders will often run over people to get to where they want to be. But not Nehemiah. Oswald Sanders said, “If we run too far ahead, we will lose our power to influence others.” They very thing a leader is hoping to do. That’s good advice for leaders. Now look at this. There are two phrases I skipped … on purpose. Kinda saving the best for the last. V. 15. “I did not do so because of the fear of God.” He is speaking of the policies that used to be in place. The ones in place when he became Governor. His walk with God was so strong so unshakeable that when temptation came Nehemiah would simply say how could I do that?? I don’t care about the raise. I don’t care what the salary is. I don’t care about the privileges. I can’t do it. Now does that mean that God’s people can’t have nice things? Nope. Absolutely not. But I do think Joel Osteen’s got it all wrong. We need to be accountable for what God brings into our lives. You can have nice things but be careful that nice things don’t have you.
The 2nd phrase is found in v. 19. “Remember me Oh my God for good according to all that I have done for these people. Nehemiah was saying Lord, I have been promoted by your grace.” Psalm 139:23-24. Psalm 139:23-24 NCV 23 God, examine me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life. And if you find them Lord, remove them.
Now let me ask you …… would you rather be promoted or demoted? Both can be hard actually. If you face adversity, you are demoted on the job, perhaps even fired, it will cause you to really have to trust the Lord … It will cause you to have to lean on Jesus. That’s a good thing. If you’re promoted, it can cause you to have pride swell up inside you. Pride actually drives you away from the Lord. Nehemiah passed the test. Perhaps God has something bigger for you right now. Will you pass the test?
A young man had been promoted to a bigger position in his company. He never dreamed he would be in a position like this, especially at his age. So he went to see a fellow who was quite a bit older and had been in the company a long time. He said I need some advice as to how to succeed. The guy said sure, that’s easy, just make the right decisions. He says well could you be a bit more specific? How do I make the right decisions?. He said simple, experience. He says well how do I get experience? He said simple. By making the wrong decisions.
Invitation.
