Where The Heck Is The Fruit?

By Chuck Cooper
April 14, 2007




Two of my colleagues, both well-trained veteran employees of an Atlanta-area attraction, fired themselves this week. That’s right….they fired themselves!

Both falsely signed and dated a required safety inspection form stating clearly that they had completed the full inspection of a passenger-carrying vehicle, when in fact, they hadn’t. They took a senseless shortcut which could have endangered not only their own lives, but the life and limb of their passengers.

Quickly, they discovered that taking safety shortcuts is a huge “no-no” particularly in the “high risk” classification in which they were employed. They were both terminated immediately. Rightly so.

I have no idea what they used as excuses for their wanton disregard for safety procedures and for signing a false statement. What I do know is that no excuse is an acceptable one to my employer. Period. No relaxation of safety procedures is tolerated because “I’m having a bad day” or “I’ve got some personal issues at home” or “I’m on some medication which blurs my memory” or “I’ve got a bad back.” Zero tolerance should, and does, rule.

Do I feel compassion for them? Of course, I do. They were my team-mates and had been extremely helpful to me in learning the “ropes” of my new position. But, they were wrong and were held accountable for their actions. Their willful disobedience to company policy cost them a good-paying, fun job and reminded the whole team how important it is to strictly follow safety procedures.

I’m particularly perplexed because one of them is a professing, born-again believer in Jesus Christ. He is an active member of one of Atlanta’s largest churches and teaches Sunday School there. And, he would frequently initiate discussions about his faith with his believing team-mates.

Frankly, he was on thin ice to begin with. Our team-mates warned me about his negative, arrogant, me first attitude. He just wasn’t fun to be around. He constantly complained about the entire operation. He took great pleasure in telling new employees the best way “to mine this gold mine we’ve got here” with bigger tips. And he frequently pontificated that he didn’t care whether guests had a good time or not as long as they tipped him generously. He was a grumpy, unhappy man.

He made matters worse for himself when he “went off” on his supervisor and other managers who questioned him about his inspection report in a publicly-heard tirade spiced with “colorful,” inappropriate language.

Unfortunately, his behavior this week trashed his Christian witness and his credibility as a believer and follower of Jesus with all his team-mates and those within ear-shot of his tirades. The reason: his actions didn’t evidence any of the fruit we believers are supposed to bear. Where the heck was his fruit?

His self-imposed termination was the perfect example of being hanged by one’s own tongue. That is so sad!

I’m recording this incident as a personal reminder to me of how important it is for me, as a Christian, to be careful of the fruit that I bear. In all circumstances! The Scripture warns that we believers are to judge others and will be judged by our fruit – love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

How many times have I evidenced rotten fruit? How often have I lashed out in anger rather than in love? How often has my joy in the Lord been masked by anger or a bad attitude or selfishness? How often have I been negative about my circumstances or complained about the behavior of others to all who would hear? How often have I disobeyed the rules because I thought they applied to everyone but me? How often has my walk not lived up to my talk?

My prayer is that the Lord will convict my former team-mate of his lack of fruit in this instance, that the Lord will remind me of my own fruit-bearing shortfalls and that in reading this, you, too, will vow to be careful of the fruit you bear.

It’s our fruit that speaks loudly and clearly…much more so than our talk. Our fruit is our walk. Perhaps learning of this incident can be a lesson to all of us.

If I were arrested and hauled into court for being a Christian and the evidence presented against me was my “fruit” would there be enough to convict me?

So, how’s your fruit today?

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