February 27, 2026

Business by the Book

Nehemiah 3: 1-2 Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri.

The wall around Jerusalem had ten gates. Each gate and the span of wall between each gate was built by different groups of workers. In all likelihood each section of the wall and each gate was repaired by those living in close proximity, which leads to the thought for today.

Do your work. It seems as if we are living in a time in which so many are overly concerned with what everyone else is doing that they do not consider their own responsibilities. I learned this lesson early on. I was about 17 and was working for a worldwide delivery service. I was on the job for all of about six months when I took it upon myself to tell a brand new employee to stop doing one job and begin on another job. About two hours later the supervisor came out to our work area and began chewing out the new hire because he was not doing his assigned job. When the supervisor stopped for a breath the new employee told him that he was only doing what I told him to do. The anger of the supervisor was then turned on me. I was in big trouble. My boss told me in no uncertain terms that I was not a supervisor, and probably would never be one. He told me to do my work and shut up. I did. I learned a very valuable lesson at a young age that has served me well for almost 40 years.

Proverbs 26:17 states: He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. If you never had the privilege to take a mad dog by the ears know this, there is no way to let go without being bit. If you let go of the right ear the dog will turn and bite your left arm, if you let go of the left ear the dog will turn and bite your right arm, and if you let go of both ears at the same time the dog will probably lunge at your face. Many times when we intrude on that which others should be responsible for it is like taking a dog by the ears, the trouble becomes yours.

As a person crawls up the corporate ladder their responsibility increases. For example, Nehemiah was at the top of the organizational chart concerning the work to be done on the wall around Jerusalem. He had oversight of all the work, for all areas of the work, and over all the workers. But Eliashib, the high priest, probably had the oversight of the other priests in building the sheep gate. Eliashib was not responsible for the men of Jericho that built the part of the wall next to him.

Take care of your work. By doing a good job, you will probably be given more responsibility and one day may be over the entire workforce. Until that time simply do your part of the job. You may just save yourself from a dog bite.

Dr. William Howe