Three Ways To Collect Enemies

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No Good DeedGoes Unpunished

1Sam. 3:10: Toe hetdie HERE gekom engaan staan en geroepsoos die vorige kere:Samuel, Samuel! EnSamuel het geant-woord: Spreek, wantu kneg hoor .Samuel se moederHanna kon nie kin-ders baar nie en hethom van die Hereafgebid en vandaardie naam Samuel. Symoeder het hom aandie Here opgedra enhy is as jong seundeur haar by Eligelaat om die Here tedien. As jong manhet die Here metSamuel gepraat en hykon nie die stem vandie Here identifiseernie, totdat Eli vir homleiding in die verbandgegee het. Toe dieHere vir ’n derde keerna Samuel roep hetSamuel geantwoord;Spreek, want u kneghoor. Heb. 1:1: NadatGod baiekeer en opbaie maniere in dieou tyd gespreek hettot die vaders deurdie profete, het Hy inhierdie laaste dae totons gespreek deur

die Seun.Die Here praat met uen my deur die lewevan Jesus Christus,deur Sy kosbareWoord wat Hy virons gegee het endeur die werk van dieHeilige Gees (Joh.14:26). Joh. 1:1-4: Indie begin was dieWoord, en die Woordwas by God, en dieWoord was God. Hywas in die begin byGod. Alle dinge hetdeur Hom ontstaan,en sonder Hom hetnie een ding ont-staan wat ontstaanhet nie. In Hom waslewe, en die lewe wasdie lig van die mense.Joh. 1:14: En dieWoord het vleesgeword en het onderons gewoon—en onshet sy heerlikheidaanskou, ‘n heerlik-heid soos van dieEniggeborene watvan die Vader kom—vol van genade enwaarheid. 2Tim.3:16: Die hele Skrifis deur God ingegeeen is nuttig tot lering,tot weerlegging, totteregwysing, tot

onderwysing in diegeregtigheid.Terwyl die Here seWoord baie duidelikvir ons verseker datGod op verskeie ma-niere met ons praatmoet ons ook vir ons-self afvra: Is my ooroop vir die stem vandie Here?; As ek System hoor, doen ekwat Hy vir my sê?; Sêek “spreek Heer, Udienskneg/d iens-maagd luister endoen dan wat Hy sê?God het geen behaein mense wat nie ag-gee op Sy Woord nie.Ons mag Hom niebehandel asof HyIemand is wat NIE diemoeite werd is om nate luister nie. Mensewat nie na Sy stemluister nie behandelHom eintlik metminagting wat ge-weldige konsek-wensies inhou. Joh.3:36: Hy wat in dieSeun glo, het dieewige lewe; maar hywat die Seun onge-hoorsaam is, sal dielewe nie sien nie,maar die toorn vanGod bly op hom. Jak.

1:23: Want asiemand ‘n hoordervan die woord is ennie ‘n dader nie, diéis soos ‘n man wat synatuurlike gesig in‘n spieël sien. DieHere praat met ons!Sal ons nie in hierdiemoeilike dae Homgelyk gee dat Hy dieheel beste weet nie endat ons nodig het datHy met ons praat enons lei. Joh. 10:4: Enwanneer hy sy eieskape uitgebringhet, loop hy voorhulle uit; en dieskape volg hom,omdat hulle sy stemken. Het u al die HereJesus aangeneem asSaligmaker en Ver-losser en is Hy nou uHerder, want anderssal u nie Sy stemherken nie. Joh.10:27: My skapeluister na my stem, enEk ken hulle, enhulle volg My.Spreek Heer, u diens-kneg en diensmaagdluister.Groete in Sy Naam.Ds. Jan Keyser.

“This is no time to make new enemies”. Thesewere the last words of French writer andphilosopher, Voltaire on his deathbed whenasked to foreswear Satan.I, of course, have no problem making newenemies (and upsetting old enemies) on aregular basis. Yes, I know, being arrogant,self-absorbed, difficult, short-tempered andpetulant - with a weird (if any) sense ofhumour doesn’t help my cause at all.Yet, if I were a genius like Ernest Hemingway,Pablo Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci, WilliamShakespeare and Mr. Spock, these characterdefects would be eccentric (and expected) tomere mortals.Being a mere mortal myself, my frailties aren’tcute and eccentric … they’re just bombasticand rude.Here a three ways I collect enemies.#1 - I’m a shocking listener. I’m that guy. Youknow the one. That irritating creature whoantagonises people by finishing theirsentences for them and interrupting them inmid-sentence. And, of course, listens not tounderstand, but to get my viewpoint across.I promise you … nobody likes a self-opinionated smarty-pants.#2 - If I haven’t got a real enemy, then I makeone up. Like I don’t have enough on my plateto contend with. I’ve conjured up an enemy.Let’s call him Jeb to save me theembarrassment of having to apologise to himlater. The Lord knows that the log in my eyeis far greater than the splinter in his. Jeb is aprofessional speaker. Whenever he presentsa motivational talk or writes something, I justknow it isn’t his own work. But, he claims itas his. It drives me insane. And, it drives meto a froth that his audiences love him and lap

up every word he says. I don’t know if it isthat they love him or that he makes moremoney than a small town and me (or acombination of both) that gets me so riledup.Of course, the irony is not lost on me that Imight just be projecting my inadequacies ontohim. I know I’ve pinched a quote or two or 50from someone without acknowledging thesource.But, here’s the thing, Jeb doesn’t even knowthat I have an issue. And, even if he did, hewouldn’t change nor care to change. So, Jebis in effect besting me without even knowingit. The only one who is losing in this self-inflicted drama is I.#3 – Be helpful. That’s a sure fire way ofmaking enemies. I get an A+ in this department.I have a ‘gift’ of being able to spot agrammatical error or spelling mistake with oneeye closed, even if I’m in a drunken stupor.Naturally, this gift doesn’t extend to my ownwork which, more often than not, looks likethe love-child of Tourette’s and ADHD.When I point out a mistake (with greathumility and tact) I can see the shutters godown and ire rise. It has taken me years torealise that even if people ask for critique,nobody actually likes it. Most of us just wantsomeone to agree with our viewpoint.Criticism hurts for the simple reason that it isprobably true and the person being criticisedhas to come to terms with his or her frailty.So, I don’t critique anybody’s work nowunless they ask me to (at least three times)because no good deed goes unpunished.

Volksrust SemeBusiness ColumnKeeping silent about workplacesafety concerns

A recent US surveytargeting opinionsand knowledge aboutenvironment, healthand safety amongstemployees might

surprise you. Thesurvey has found aconflict betweenvalues and behaviorsamong employees.

See no evilTwo-thirds of workerssay they value a safe,secure workplace, butmore than half wouldnot intervene if theysaw an unsafe act.Two-thirds of therespondents valuefeeling personallysafe and secure in theworkplace, but nearlythe same amount areunaware of theenvironment, healthand safety (EHS)functions in theirworkplace, according

to the new researchreleased on June 24,2015.The study surveyed500 U.S.-basedrespondents workingin organisations withmore than 5,000employees.According to theresearch, there is adisconnect betweenemployees’ understanding of therole EHS plays andhow it impactssatisfaction at work.Hear no evil

Only half (55 percent)of employees feelcomfortable pointingout potentiallyunsafe behavior toboth their peers andsuperiors; however amajority (64 percent)would appreciate ifthey were told theywere doing somethingpotentially unsafe. Ofparticular concern, alarge percentage (52percent) likely wouldnot feel obligated tointervene if they sawan unsafe act and as i g n i f i c a n tpercentage (36 and 38percent) would notappreciate or actuallywould be offended ifthey were told theywere doing something

potentially unsafe.Speak no evilThese survey resultspoint to the fact thatif employees are notcomfortable talkingabout safety andhelping their col-leagues be safe in the

workplace, it likelywill limit the ef-fectiveness of manycompany safetyprograms, such as anincident reportingprogram, injury andillness preventionprogram and risk

assessment program.Other findings revealdivisions amonggender, age anddemographic groupson the importance offeeling safe andsecure in the work-place.

These survey results point to the fact that if employees are notcomfortable talking about safety and helping their colleagues be safein the workplace, it likely will limit the effectiveness of many companysafety programs.Across the board, findings show that women value attributespertaining to EHS more highly than men. For example, women valuefeeling personally safe and secure in the workplace more so than men(84 percent women vs. 69 percent of men).

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