Throughout my career, I have always had interesting supervisors and managers, and with each one, I gleaned a bit of wisdom. My favorite piece of wisdom came from a principal whose famous line and philosophy was, “Know your role, and stay in your lane.” The first time I heard him say this I thought that he was going to be unapproachable, but as time passed I bought into this philosophy also (especially the stay in your lane part).
In the world of education (and probably other occupations), you encounter people who think that they can do your job better, and some who don’t hesitate to tell you how to do your job. Because there are so many underlying factors to consider when making decisions in the workforce, people have a tendency to think that everything is black and white. People are quick to balk and criticize when the results of the decision are not as they think. Our response dictates our position, and when we don’t know our position we get results that render confusion and disappointment.
Isn’t it interesting that in our human nature, we will give unsolicited advice to a friend or colleague telling them how to handle their business? Haven’t there been times when we have taken over a situation that has not been ours to handle? When we make decisions because we know or think we know best, what is the outcome? And in our humanness, don’t we try to tell the Lord how to do His job and what we think is best? At times, we even try to help by taking action as opposed to listening or just sitting still. Then we (WE being the operative word) wonder why we don’t get our expected results. Imagine how we’d respond if the Lord looked at us and said, “Know your role and stay in your lane.”
We all have done this or we have known someone who did not know how to stay in his lane. Look at the character of Jonah. He had a role, and yet, he made a decision that he knew better than the Lord. But no matter how much we try to do it on our own, the Lord makes the final decision. Remember when God spoke to Jonah and gave him a charge to go speak to the people in Nineveh. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” (Jonah 1:1). Jonah thought he knew better than God because he did not feel that the people would listen or deserved the opportunity of repentance (Chapter 4). He became obstinate and in his flesh decided to go in the opposite direction. He stepped out of his role (he was chosen by God to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh) and ran in a direction that was not his lane. “But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.” (Jonah 1:3) I love this story and the way that Jonah, much like us, thinks that we can outdo, outrun, outthink, and hide from God. Oh, how God has a way of pushing us back into our lane. He sent a storm, capsized a ship, and tossed sailors and Jonah overboard. “Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.” (Jonah 1:4). After being thrown overboard, Jonah is eventually swallowed by a large fish where he had no choice but to listen and call out in a prayer of distress to the Lord.
When we forget who we are and whose we are, we try to do things in our flesh. We often find ourselves in the belly of a fish or in a place that we sometimes refer to as the pit. In these moments, we question how we got there or why did God put us there. God will place us in the belly of a fish to get our attention, to give us time to rest and/or reflect, or to give us protection. We can place ourselves there by decisions that we make or by undertakings that were not ours to address, or by taking offense for what is not our business. When Jonah finally realized and accepted that he had stepped out of his lane, he obeyed and went to Nineveh (He still had lessons to learn). Think about how much angst we could avoid if we would do what we are asked and not what we think, if we would stay in our lane? ml
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