Three Stories That Will Make You Rethink “Not My Job”

leadership mentoring retirement succession Nov 05, 2025

If you’ve ever said, “That’s not my job,” “That’s not my problem,” or “That’s someone else’s responsibility,” this post is for you.

I just got back from Switzerland. I was there for a workshop and to meet with business leaders, and one theme kept surfacing everywhere I went - delay, disappointment, and discomfort.

And here's the hard truth: sometimes what we call delay is actually God preparing us. And sometimes what we call “not my job” is exactly where God wants to grow us.

So let me share three stories - straight from Scripture and life -that will challenge how you view responsibility, discomfort, and Kingdom purpose.

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1. Jesus Didn’t Choose the Guest Room

You know the nativity scene -Jesus in a wooden stable, surrounded by sheep, stars, and a peaceful silence?

Yeah, that’s not how it actually happened.

In first-century Bethlehem, homes were multi-generational and communal. The guest room (translated "inn") was upstairs. The family room was the hub of life - cooking, eating, kids running around. And slightly split-level below that? The area where they kept animals at night.

So when Luke says there was no room in the guest room, Jesus wasn't born in a barn. He was born in the chaotic, noisy, messy family space. Right in the middle of it all.

Here’s the point: Jesus doesn’t dwell in the neat and tidy parts of your life. He shows up in the middle - the stress, the noise, the business decisions, the family drama. All of it.

Stop trying to put God in the guest room. He’s Lord of the whole house.

2. Western Retirement Is Not Biblical - But Repurposing Is

In Numbers 8, God tells the Levites to serve in the sanctuary from age 25 to 50. After that? They retire from doing the work - but not from being involved.

They’re told to mentor, train, and support the next generation.

I’m not against slowing down. But the idea that you’re done because you’ve hit a certain age? That’s not Kingdom. You still carry wisdom, experience, and authority - now’s the time to multiply it.

You don’t retire. You repurpose. It's not about you at the top or in the center... it's all about those you are training and deploying to go further, faster, stronger, longer than you.

3. Mordecai Said Yes to What Wasn’t His Job

Before Esther saved a nation, Mordecai made a decision.

Esther was his cousin -not his daughter. But when her parents died, he took her in and raised her like his own. Not his job. Not his responsibility. But he said yes anyway.

And it didn’t stop there. He kept mentoring her, checking in, advising. That investment led to her stepping into influence - and Mordecai eventually became prime minister of a nation where he was a foreigner.

Here’s the kicker: His yes to inconvenience opened the door to national impact.

What About You?

Where are you drawing lines God never asked you to draw?

Where have you called something a boundary… but it’s actually disobedience?

Where are you saying, “not my job” when God is whispering, “Actually, it is”?

I’ve had to ask myself the same questions. There's a nation I said I'd never go to. Too hard. Too foreign. But it's exploding in business influence globally. And God’s been nudging me: “Will you say yes?”

We’re also launching a mentoring component in our Growth Path. I didn't want the inconvenience. But I realized: if I don't pour into the next generation, what exactly am I building?