为官之道 Being an Office-bearer

Title: Being an Office-bearer
Date: 18th Sept 2022
Preacher: Rev. Wong Siow Hwee

There are three sub-series in our Proverbs sermon series. The first sub-series was Proverbs 1-9 which was an introduction to encourage us to pursue Wisdom and avoid the temptations of Folly. The second sub-series based mainly on Proverbs 10-22 addressed miscellaneous topics of Proverbs, such as Health and Wealth, or Speaking and Listening. Today we are starting on the third and final sub-series from Proverbs 22-31, which is based on the sub-collections of Proverbs. The first sub-collection is called the Thirty Sayings of the Wise found in Proverbs 22:17-24:34. The reason for this title is because of its reference to an Egyptian collection called “Instruction of Amenemope” [1]which contains thirty chapters. [2]

When the 30 chapters of Egyptian proverbs were adapted by Israel, all the references to Egyptian deities were removed or replaced by the reference to God alone, and the main contents were trimmed down substantively to the local context of Israel such that really only a small portion remained. In fact, the bulk of the similarities mainly lie in our passage today, which is just the first third of the 30 Sayings of the Wise. We will save the second third which is about youth and parenting to be preached on the children’s day combined service, and next week, Pastor Enoch will preach on the final third of the 30 Sayings plus Further Sayings of the Wise.

In the original Egyptian context, the Instruction of Amenemope was written by a scribe called Amenemope as a legacy for his son. It was likely that his son was about to become a court official and he was giving some sound advice based on his personal experiences and his extensive learnings as a scribe.
Proverbs 22: 20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you,
sayings of counsel and knowledge,
21 teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth,
so that you bring back truthful reports
to those you serve?
As a court official, Amenemope’s son played an important role in reporting to the Pharaoh on the status of the extensive lands of Egypt, so that proper royal decisions can be made. Amenemope not only wished for his son to do well in his political career, but also be a good and honest official for the people. You can imagine that such teachings would be quite relevant and applicable for the nobilities of Israel as well, and thus they were adapted into Proverbs to teach the younger generation before they too assumed important positions in society.

If I were to apply the passage literally, then I would only be preaching to the youth wings of the political parties of Singapore, and perhaps to the civil servants in the government departments. But I believe the message is applicable to many of us as well. Hence I have set the title for today’s sermon as: Being an Office-bearer. Most of us may never become politicians, but in our work we may often play a role to serve people, not because of who we are, but because of the official title we bear. Whether you are a human resource manager, a facilities supervisor, a HOD in school, or an officer in a department in one of the government ministries or stat boards, your work affects the lives of your subordinates and customers, and the policies and strategic planning of your superiors. As long as your position, whether in work, or in your social clubs, or even in church, affects others, then today’s message is relevant to you.

Let us do a quick run-through of the 11 sayings in our passage today, using the words of David Cook written for youths. [3] I am also using the numbering system of NIV for the sayings. I removed Saying 1, which is the introduction, and Saying 5, which is repeated in Saying 11.
2. Don't exploit the poor, for the Lord is their protector. (vv. 22-23)
3. Watch whom you associate with, for you may follow their ways (especially the bad tempered). (vv. 24-25)
4. Be prudent in your financial commitments. (vv. 26-27)
6.The quality of your work will determine your progress. (v. 29)
7. Beware the temptation of gluttony, for it can trap you. (23:1-3)
8. Don't pursue wealth, for the security of riches is fleeting. (vv. 4-5)
9. Don't accept an invitation from a stingy host, the meal will not be enjoyable. (vv. 6-8)
10.Don't waste your effort advising fools, it will be like casting a pearl before swine. (v. 9)
11.Don't steal the property of others, especially orphans, the Lord is their defender. (vv. 10-11)

You will immediately notice that the sayings are filled with potential pitfalls: don’t do this, beware of that. Why? Because as an office-bearer, you are entrusted with authority, and herein lies the danger. Your bestowed authority may give you an illusion of power and influence over people. It feels great when people listen to you, and what you want gets done. But I call it an illusion, because there are many who mistaken their entrusted authority as their own power, and that’s when mistakes are made because they overestimate themselves, and their illusions make them deal with people in the wrong way. I will explore the danger in 3 categories, first dealing with those people under you, then with those at your level, and lastly with those above you.

In the first category, Sayings 2, 5, and 11 deal with those people under you. The most straightforward way of expressing Proverb’s advice for dealing with people under you is: Don’t bully the powerless. If this seems commonsensical to you, it’s only because you’ve not been a bully, so you don’t think like one. Bullies are by nature insecure, which is why they have the need to belittle others to feel bigger and better about themselves. Yet they are cowards because being insecure, they can only do so to those whom they know cannot fight them back. Some people may have authority because they are office holders, yet no amount of authority can really make a person feel secure. Those with insecurities when faced with the stress of deadlines, or sales targets, or survival in the company, or ambitions to climb higher on the corporate ladder, would abuse their authority to take it out on those under them. If you ask why, the answer is “why not?” What can the powerless do to them? And so even though the advice “don’t bully the powerless” might seem trite, it is a serious concern because many of us have insecurities, and we don’t handle both stress and authority that well. So the Sayings serve as a timely reminder: God is the defender of the powerless. If you think there’s nothing the powerless can do to you, you’re wrong. Their cries will reach the heavens and God will be their vengeance.

The second category deals with those at your level. Sayings 3 and 10 deal with friendship, and Sayings 4 and 9 deal with money and favors. Sometimes in a workplace, you don’t get to choose your colleagues, and you all have to work as a team. As the Chinese proverb goes: you are stained red when you are near red powder, and you are stained black when you are near black ink (近朱者赤, 近墨者黑). You would notice that being bad tempered has its short term advantages, people have to pay attention to you, and you are more likely to get your way faster. This is the same in companies, in dealing with government bureaucracies, and sadly, even in church. Interestingly, Saying 10 warns against advising fools, which I suppose includes bad tempered people as well. It is said that “men are not to be reasoned out of an opinion that they have not reasoned themselves into”. So if a co-worker is being unreasonable, reasoning or arguments becomes a waste of time. The temptation therefore is to learn and be likewise when you want to get your way. So why not, since being bad tempered actually works? Proverbs doesn’t give a direct answer, but it is implied by the long term goal of wisdom. Proverbs 22: 19 So that your trust may be in the Lord. We lean not on our foolishness, and trust in the Lord in the pursuit of growth in a flourishing life. It is more important to live right, so that we can live well and live happily.

As for the issue of money and favors and co-workers, Saying 4 advises that you shouldn’t promise financial under-takings such as lending money or being a guarantor beyond your means. The money can also be a metaphor of promising something beyond your ability or authority. You might wonder why anyone would do that, but I have heard enough cautionary tales to know that it is actually not uncommon. When you work together, you become comrades in projects and challenges, and you build trust and mutual dependence, and it can be hard to refuse when your comrade is in trouble, financial or other kinds. Ironically, Saying 9 advises against eating the food of calculative people, because you will eventually have to pay back what you have eaten. Similarly, you should be wary if accepting any favors from petty people. So how do you stay generous, and yet careful with your commitments to your co-workers? This is especially critical for office-bearers who might have some means, but yet not too much. It may be a financial request, but it could also be someone asking for a favor beyond your given authority. They might say, “Hey, can you close one eye on this for me?” I think the answer is prudence. Friendship is important, but it should still stay within your means. A person who is submerged is no help to anyone who is drowning. If you really have trouble saying no, just say you are a Christian and the bible says that you cannot over-commit.

Lastly, we shall talk about the category of dealing with those above you. This is addressed by the Sayings 6 to 8. I will start with Saying 7 because it is most interesting.
Proverbs 23: When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.
The advice is to eat modestly. The ruler is watching, and if he sees that you are easily manipulated by food, then he will know how to control you. And if you tend to lose control before delicacies, forcefully remind yourself of the danger. “The danger comes from the “ruler.” What will be the price of taking what he has to offer? Take it all, and you will be easy for him to use, abuse, bully, and discard when he is done with you.” [4] Saying 6 informs us that those who are skilled will be respected by their superiors. Saying 8 reminds you not to pursue wealth, which is a transient reward. And when you put these 3 sayings together, you form a complete advice on how to deal with superiors at work. You are respected when you produce quality work, but do not lose yourself when you are rewarded with treats, especially money. You can work for money, but don’t die for money. Aim to be respected, and not easily manipulated. In fact, a good work done should be your best reward.

So to summarize the points from the three categories: if you are in a position of power or if you are in customer service, don’t bully the powerless under you; to those at your level, stay away from the bad tempered and avoid over commitment to them, and lastly to those above you, be respected for the quality of your work, but do not be manipulated by them. Allow me to link this to our theme on flourishing life. Life led right means that God’s will is our primary concern, not wealth, not personal achievements, not even our bosses’ approval. Life going well means that we learn how to live harmoniously as a society, no matter our current social status. Lastly, living happily is only possible if our work stress can be managed properly. The sayings today teach us how to deal with people in our work, and that is the key to flourishing life.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instruction_of_Amenemope
[2] In light of its foreign origin, allow me to address a quick concern: Does it mean that we can also take reference from non-biblical proverbs and sayings, since Israel also borrowed from Egypt in this case? This is a relevant question because proverbs as a language form can be found in most cultures, from the Africans to both the western and eastern civilizations. Most of us who are bilingual know of many Chinese and English proverbs. Yet Proverbs 5-7 also warns us against foreign teachings, as if it is an adulterous foreign woman seducing us into Folly.
The short answer is yes, we can refer to proverbs outside of the bible. We see that not just in Proverbs, but foreign sayings were also utilized by Paul in his preaching (Acts 17:28) and his letters (Titus 1:12). Similarly, in Jubilee, we referenced secular love songs when we preached Song of Songs, and I’ve personally quoted local proverbs when preaching on Proverbs. Just like the biblical writers, we do such referencing because it is a rhetorical device to bridge the speaker to the listener through the use of common language and contexts. However, we must also be especially cautious when making such references, to ensure that nothing contradictory is introduced to our message, and whenever necessary, we need to make adaptations to the proverbs and sayings to customize them for Christian purposes. In short, we can learn from and interact with foreign teachings, God has given wisdom to all mankind, not just to the Jews or Christians, but serious caution is necessary. I would advise that we do so only when we have a strong biblical foundation, so that we are equipped with the ability to filter out unwanted foreign content. So it is the same between Instruction of Amenemope and the Thirty Sayings of the Wise.
[3]https://journeythrough.org/courses/proverbs/lessons/day-34-12/
[4] https://www.geneva.edu/blog/biblical-wisdom/proverbs-23-1

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