When Nebuchadnezzar is Your Boss

Have you ever worked with a “difficult” boss or co-worker? Even a job you love can become a source of tension and even torture. Maybe they are lazy. Maybe they are unreasonable and demanding. Maybe they are incompetent. Maybe they are corrupt. Maybe they just “push all your buttons.” Whatever it is, it leaves you frustrated, stressed, and questioning your future.

I’ve worked for several bosses through the years, and most of them were wonderful. But there were a couple…I can still remember uncomfortable confrontations and unresolved issues even years later. And I know several others workers who suffered under those same managers– many of them left to take other jobs because the situation took so long to resolve. A bad boss can really hurt a company or office. They can destroy morale, decrease efficiency, and make it difficult for anyone to know what the goals and expectations are– this week!

One of the difficult things about working under a “bad” boss, is that, often, what makes them a “bad” boss also makes them look “successful”– at least in the short term. They manage to turn in impressive “numbers”– it looks like production is up and waste is down; it looks like everything is in order to outsiders. Those who leave are often workers who have been with the company a long time– new hires come in at a much smaller salary, and with “fresh” ideas– at least initially. If there is an overriding goal, they will pursue it with fanatical focus, making them look committed, determined, and competent. If workers can see underlying problems, other people only see what looks like focused efficiency and “sour grapes” from harassed staff members.

When I worked for “bad” bosses, they seemed to last about five years, before their cruelty, arrogance, or incompetence forced them to leave. They went on to “new” positions, where they followed the same patterns.

In the Bible, there was a young man (just a teen when we first meet him) named Daniel. Daniel had grown up in a noble family in the capital city of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem was besieged and fell into the hands of a tyrannical ruler named Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was captured, exiled, and taken into Nebuchadnezzar’s service. On the surface, this may have appeared to be a “plum” position; he got to live in the palace, and he served as an advisor. He had food, clothing, advanced education, and many “creature comforts” available to him that were lost to many of the other exiles who were forced into manual labor.

But Daniel’s position was far more precarious than it appeared. Nebuchadnezzar wanted men of intelligence, culture, and breeding– and he wanted them to be clean, healthy, and confident–but he also demanded results, and often, he demanded the impossible! Field hands might have brutal masters who would beat them for minor offenses, but Nebuchadnezzar didn’t inflict punishment– he simply “eliminated” anyone who didn’t produce the desired results!

In the history books, Nebuchadnezzar looks like a successful ruler– his armies had conquered every region they attacked. And by sending the people into exile– bringing the best and brightest to Babylon, and scattering the rest–Nebuchadnezzar kept the conquered regions from rebellion and revolt. He appointed satraps and governors to help manage the empire, and it looked like nothing could stop him from conquering the world! But Daniel wasn’t reading a history book. He was living and working under one of the harshest and cruelest rulers of his time!

The book of Daniel gives us at least three examples of Daniel and his friends being put in life-and-death situations involving some of Nebuchadnezzar’s more impossible demands. And in each case, God gives miraculous rescue to Daniel and his friends as they bravely serve this unwelcome “boss.”

When we study Daniel, we tend to focus on the miracles– the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, the lion’s den, and the answers to impossible dreams. But God didn’t just send miracles, and He didn’t rescue them from having to serve in Nebuchadnezzar’s court (or in the courts of some of the equally bad rulers who followed!)

God’s purpose in our life may involve serving with or under people who abuse their authority, or who don’t “deserve” to be leaders. But His purpose also involves teaching us to serve, as Daniel and his friends did, with integrity, dignity, and consistency. It wasn’t easy for Daniel– he was the target of jealous plots, megalomaniacal panics, and culture wars. God didn’t rescue Daniel from his situation– Daniel remained in exile, likely for the rest of his life–but God rescued Daniel from being consumed or changed by his situation. And Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t a “mistake” that God made. He was God’s chosen tool to punish Israel for its unfaithfulness, and His chosen tool to show His sovereignty OVER even the great Babylonian Empire!

Daniel was known as a man of prayer– that’s how he ended up in the lion’s den (years later under another ruler)! Praying won’t keep us from experiencing “bad” bosses, or from facing difficult situations. But prayer can help us to persevere, to endure, and to be a shining example of God’s faithfulness.

I would love to say that I behaved like Daniel when I was in a “bad” boss situation. I didn’t. I endured, but I was impatient and vocal in my displeasure. I complained, I worked grudgingly, and I even changed jobs to get away from the situations. I don’t mean to suggest that it is always God’s will that we stay in a bad situation– I was lucky to be able to change jobs, and grateful for the opportunity to continue to do good work elsewhere. But in times when we are being tested and cannot change jobs, or have to endure chaos and upheaval for a long season–we need to be willing to be like Daniel, who was faithful, loyal, patient, and trustworthy. Daniel “kept his head” because he kept his heart turned toward the source of his real success– not the King of Babylon, but the King of Kings!

I don’t know what situation you may be facing today– what injustices, or upheavals you are enduring. But I pray that God would give you the strength and wisdom to be a Daniel. Look past the Nebuchadnezzar in your world, and serve the King!