An Awkward Job Interview

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Revelation 3:17

Upon leaving residency, I began my job hunt, traveling and doing interviews. The one that stands out in my memory is for the job that I eventually accepted. The reason it stands out in my memory though, is because it was so awkward. Here’s why. My wife and I met my future boss who interviewed us while giving us a tour of the hospital. We were dressed nicely, and I was confident that I was being warm and charming without trying too hard. I’m killing this interview. As he began to guide us through the hospital, he turned away from us for a moment when my wife leaned over and whispered, Your zipper is down. I was mortified. My confidence evaporated. As I went to remedy the situation, my interviewer abruptly turned to towards us and proceeded to give us a tour of the entire facility, walking backward, facing us the entire time, which left me no opportunity to zip up my pants. I got nothing out of the tour. All I could think about was my zipper. I got the job of course, but that interview was more than a little embarrassing.

This blind, mistaken overconfidence is what I thought of when I read today’s passage. In it, Christ reprimanded of those in the church in Laodicea. Self-sufficient, they thought they had everything they required. Smug and confident in their financial accomplishments, they just didn’t need God, and so, they didn’t follow him. They lived for themselves, believing the big lie – that they were fine on their own. They thought they were wealthy, well-fed, and well-clothed. Spiritually though, Christ said they were poor, blind, starving, and naked. They mistook worldly wealth for spiritual health, and their self-sufficiency killed their faith.

I’ve been there. As a physician, I’ve been paid a comfortable salary. It was once easy to see myself as self-made. In my success, I just didn’t need God. Yes, I still believed in him, but in my self-confidence, I followed me. It wasn’t until I lost everything in the disaster of my addiction that I came to understand my desperate need for God. The challenge now, nearly nine years later, is to daily understand that I need God as much today as I did back in the disaster of my addiction. As life has returned to normal, the temptation is to become self-reliant, once again mistaking material wealth for spiritual health. The truth is, I always need God. If I fail to recognize that, then I’m walking through life with my zipper down, confidently ignorant of my pitiable condition.