By Rachel Loe, December 25, 2023

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6 ESV) 

I have always found it absolutely remarkable that our Lord chose to come to us as an infant. The Jews were expecting a mighty conqueror, but they always knew that he would come as a child. There is something to be said for the fact that God always chooses the least expected way to deliver His plan. Moses struggled with speech and became the mouthpiece for God to Pharaoh (Exodus 4:10). David was a shepherd boy, the lowliest of his brothers, and became the mightiest ruler in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 16:11). Christ came as a baby to a young mother in a stable. I say all of this to make the point that we get so caught up in what we believe to be the most attractive or powerful choice that we often miss the subtlety of the humble.

In our workplaces we do the same thing. The people who are the most apparent in their skillset do get acknowledged readily. Those who quietly, diligently work their day-to-day jobs do not often get recognized. Two of the positions we find ourselves in this scenario are either the leader who has the diligent team member, or the worker whose humility and diligent work is overlooked.

Leaders – Take stock of your team. Do the people who get credit always seem to be the loudest or the ones with the best resume? This is not always detrimental to the team, and having a good background is valuable. But are there people on the team who are putting in the work consistently and not getting the recognition because they are not advertising their work? Do you naturally just credit the boldest teammate who presents the ideas, projects, numbers?  

Employees – If you are the one who is being overlooked, first recognize that our joy and worth come from the Lord. We work and do a good job to honor Him and not because it will get us recognition from man (Colossians 3:23-24). Also remember that we do not always know who is watching us. When you consistently show up and do quality work, it will be noticed, even if it does not feel like it has been.

I love that our Lord uses the humble things of this world, because if He didn’t, He wouldn’t use any of us. The ultimate blessing that we receive as believers, is being a part of His grand plan as we stumble through our daily lives, blind to the larger picture.

“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31)