After answering the same math question for the sixth time in five minutes, asking John twice to sit down, Kimmy to put her phone away, and Jenny to keep her hands to herself, my right eye developed a twitch. I felt like a stereotypical cartoon character on the edge of losing their minds; the only outward appearance of their fall from sanity being the quick constrictions of the eyelid. Like the wave in the first chapter of James, my mind and spirit were being “driven and tossed about by the wind.” (James 1:6) There was no way to deny it; I was stressed!
I am a high school math teacher. Teaching mathematics has its own peculiar difficulties, such as the uncanny ability to make teenagers feel frustrated, adding stress to an already volatile hormone soup cooking with emotions. Clearly, this subject contributes to my twitching eye and angst-filled mind, but that’s not the only reason I feel strained. Countless other tasks and responsibilities in the teaching profession seem to push me deeper and deeper under waves of stress, anxiety, and exhaustion to the point I feel like I’m drowning. I glance around and search for Jesus walking on the water towards my sinking head, waiting for him to stretch out his hand to rescue me. I do not see him. However, this does not mean that he is not reaching a wounded hand out to save me.
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Stress in the workplace has been a part of life for the entire history of the world. In the third century, Saint Maurice led a group of Christian Roman Soldiers to put down a revolt located in Switzerland. Upon arriving in Switzerland, the Roman emperor Maximian ordered a sacrifice to the gods for a successful campaign. Maurice and his fellow Christian soldiers refused this sacrifice because of their Christian faith and were eventually put to death.
Saint Maurice’s workplace stress makes my worry about an eye twitch look silly. Most of us live in a place where martyrdom is not a consequence of our working life. Still, we can feel the weight of the world pressing down on our shoulders from our daily interactions at work with co-workers, customers, and duties. Here are three Bible verses that I find helpful to ponder during stressful times.
1. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison” (Matthew 5:25).
One day at work, a coworker knocked on my classroom door, fuming. I could tell by the look on her face that she was not pleased with me. I opened the door and immediately heard, “Did you tell our principal that I was taking another job elsewhere?” This took me by surprise because I am normally ignorant of workplace drama. I explained to her that I did no such thing and she left appeased, making her way to the next teacher’s classroom to find out if they had ratted her out to the principal.
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This incident brings to mind the words of Matthew 5:25. I had a great relationship with this other teacher and continue to. She had a problem with me and went to settle it quickly, albeit in an odd sort of way. If we had not settled this problem, our future meetings would have been awkward and stressful.
Maybe you have tension with a coworker at work. One way to try to help this situation is to get to know and understand your coworker. This is sometimes easier to say and harder to accomplish. Kindness, communication, and a cup of coffee can sometimes go a long way in helping with workplace harmony.
2. “…he would withdraw to deserted places to pray” (Luke 5:16).
This is my favorite way to deal with stress in the workplace. I cannot always withdraw from my classroom to immerse myself in prayer during the day, but I can always pray in my heart and spirit as I walk around the room. Though the room itself is not deserted, this type of prayer can create an intimate conversation with God as you move throughout the day.
3. “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
When we are exhausted to the point of not being able to take another step, let us look to our hope hanging from the cross. Jesus did not give up. He endured suffering until the bitter end. Sometimes our workplace suffering continues day in and day out. We can imitate Jesus in our suffering until the end of our journey, offering up our sufferings in union with his own for our sins. Though the stress of the day may continue to the next day, our sorrows do not have to lead to death, but to life everlasting.
My eye is not twitching anymore. That does not mean it will not start back up again when the pressures of work and endless barrage of hectic activity pick up. If it happens again, I can choose to be like Jesus by taking up this cross and carrying on. This is not a cure to my stress, but gives it so much more meaning when viewed in this light of faith.