Lately at work has been crazy. With all of the changes coming from the building of our new store and the one up the road a few miles, there’s been all kinds of drama going on. As people are leaving and others are coming in, rumors are flying, backstabbing is taking place, and things aren’t pretty.

Through all of this I’ve been hearing reports of how people are talking about me. I’ve also walked up on conversations that people are having about others I work with. I have to confess I’ve let myself get caught up in a couple of these conversations. More recently though I’m trying my best to stay out of all of the drama, and simply minding my own business.

What has frustrated me though, is that I’ve heard that people I’ve considered friends are some of the ones talking about me. People who I’ve confided have said things to others against me sounding like anything but a friend. It’s made me really rethink who my friends are and be very careful who I confide in. To be honest I’m really not sure who I can trust at work right now.

All this brings me to Ephesians 4:25 which says: “What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.” (The Message).

A lot of what is going on at work is because of people not being willing to tell the truth. It began with management making some questionable choices and then making excuses for why they made them. It’s continued with people jockeying for the positions that open up as people leave and the store expands, and instead of being good sports about whatever happens backstabbing and undermining the reputation of others.

I know that all of this is because we human beings have the need to elevate ourselves at the expense of others. We’d rather see someone fail with us than watch them succeed without us. The best example of this I can think of is sports. Instead of rooting for the team that beats ours, so we can say our team was beaten by the champions, we’d rather see the other team crash and burn.

I truly hope that I can step up and be the person I need to be at work. I hope that I can put aside my need to be a part of the rumor mill and step outside it all the be the bigger person. It’s definitely going to be a challenge as I have struggled with how I’ve gotten passed over a bit and felt I’ve been treated unfairly. But at this point I have no control over it, so I need to take what I’ve been given and run with it. It’s time for me to put up AND shut up!