Several months ago, I received a call to work for a couple weeks on a commercial job. I had just finished a feature film and welcomed the change of pace. The client was a national brand and the agency needed someone local on the ground who knew the area. The inital conversation with the producer was extremely positive and I thought it would be some good fun. Besides, I didn’t have anything else going so I said, “yes.”
When the out of town production staff arrived, everything quickly changed. What was to be a challenging yet enjoyable shoot spiralled into one of the most toxic work environments I’ve ever been in. Even more than the previous project I had been on which was pretty bad.
Everything Goes South
I won’t get into all the details but the producer was, how can I say this gently… psycho. You may have worked with people like her. Insecure. Overbearing. Demeaning. Moody. She loved to cause crises so she could be the one to sweep in and be the hero. Everything had to be chaos so she could be the one to fix it. You never knew who you were going to get from one moment to the next. You’d just scratch your head and wonder, “How in the world did a person like this get into the leadership position they currently hold?”
I’m telling you… this lady was crazy. Certifiable. She was the opposite of a people-empowering leader. She was only concerned with being right even if it meant the whole thing burned to the ground. And boy did she have me in her sights. She was gunning for me all the way.
I tried to part ways a couple times but I was already committed and we were a day away from shooting. I can endure almost anything if I know there’s an end in sight. Just grin and bear it. Right?
The problem was, I didn’t want to grin. I didn’t want to bear it. I wanted to punch her in the throat. Go full out UFC on her a-double. I’m serious. My heart was growing dark and all I wanted to do was chokehold this chick until she tapped three times so I could throw my hands up in victory having vanquished my evil foe. I know, I know. Hate is not the godliest of feelings. But, I’ll be honest, that’s the emotion I was struggling with.
A Shift In Perspective
So, it’s the last day of shooting which means I didn’t have to be around her much and it finally dawns on me… this woman is broken. Like all of us. She’s just broken. She made my life so miserable that I failed to see it for what it was. I failed to see her as human; as an image-bearer.
I turned to a friend who was working with me and said:
“You know the thing that bothers me most? God loves her. She is special to him. She is valuable to him. And that drives me crazy because there is nothing in me that feels that way in this moment.”
That moment of revelation didn’t change anything, really. I was still her whipping boy. For another six hours at least. She still thrived on chaos. She still loved to be mean. But, something in me changed even if just a bit.
I still didn’t like her. I couldn’t wait for it all to be over. But, something about that experience stuck with me. I come back to it quite often. I come back to the question God was asking of me, I think.
What if you lived with the realization that everyone you encounter is broken?
What if you lived with the realization that everyone you encounter is broken?
Two Questions to Ask Daily
In some way, big or small, every person we meet carries brokenness that runs to their very core. And what if, in that understanding, we asked ourselves these two questions:
- What can I do to bring healing to the brokenness that is in them?
- How can I be part of their redemptive story?
How different the world would be if we could only see each other in this way.