Mr. Standoffish was Boss

Showing you can be trusted with what is expe

cted of you

MEMORY VERSE | Luke 16:10a

W E E K

1

M

r. Standoffish was Boss

“Move it . . . move it!” he would shout. “Stay sharp. Don’t go all soft on me now!” Though Mr. Standoffish liked to be in charge, he still had to answer to the Big Boss. The Big Boss had only two factory rules:

1. Love God. 2. Love others.

But for the life of him, Mr. Standoffish simply couldn’t see what those rules had to do with making marshmallows.

One day, the Big Boss left to travel the world and discover the best marshmallow recipes in every country. Mr. Standoffish was delighted. He called the workers together and proclaimed, “While the Big Boss is gone, I’m in charge. And I say there’s only one rule: Create great marshmallows!”

The employees shifted uneasily. Finally, a grandmotherly woman with hair like marshmallow fluff spoke up. “But what about the two rules—”

“Silence!” Mr. Standoffish boomed. “I don’t want to hear a peep from any of you peeps!”

An awkward young man with freckles raised his hand. “Could we still—”

Greatest Commandment

Still, the workers stood staring at him wide-eyed. “What are you waiting for? Back to work!” he barked.

The employees returned to their positions on the marshmallow line. No one spoke or asked anyone else for help. Everyone kept their heads down. Mr. Standoffish grinned gleefully as he surveyed the workers through his office window.

“We’ll create more great marshmallows than ever now!” he thought greedily to himself.

But something strange began to happen. When Mr. Standoffish reviewed the company records at the end of the month, his jaw dropped.

“Clams and corn syrup!” he exclaimed, pounding his fist on his desk. “This is impossible.”

The factory had produced fewer marshmallows than ever before. Furious, Mr. Standoffish burst through his office door and snapped at the workers, “No vacation for anyone. And mandatory overtime!”

But the following month, the numbers were even worse. “Gerbils and gelatin!” Mr. Standoffish kicked the trashcan beside his desk. “This is unacceptable.”

To top it off, the Big Boss sent a message to say he would be returning the next day. That whole afternoon, Mr. Standoffish paced the factory floor, desperate to create more great marshmallows before the Big Boss arrived. He glowered at the young man with freckles.

“You! You were 90 seconds late today.”

“But my little girl was sick,” the young man began to explain nervously, “and I needed to—”

“You’ll put in three extra hours after work with no pay to make up for it!” Mr. Standoffish turned abruptly, before he could see the young man wilt, and stalked over to the grandmotherly lady.

“What are those?” he demanded, scrunching his nose and pointing to a pile of perfectly stacked marshmallows.

“Do you call that end round?” Mr. Standoffish yanked a marshmallow from the center of her stack and examined it closely. “Why, it’s practically square!” The older woman desperately juggled marshmallows to keep them from hitting the floor as she explained, “My . . . my fingers get so tired. If I could have a short break—”

“What does that sign say?” Mr. Standoffish glowered at her and jabbed his finger toward a sign hanging just above the door to his office.

“Create great marshmallows,” the grandmotherly lady read in a near whisper. “Then do it!” Mr. Standoffish shouted, causing every worker to jump. Pinching his lips together, he stomped back to his office. But as Mr. Standoffish glanced through his office window, he stopped cold. There, in the office at the back of the factory, stood a familiar figure. The Big Boss had returned early! And he was watching Mr. Standoffish and the workers with sad eyes through his office window. Mr. Standoffish hurried to him.

“But . . . you’re not supposed to be here yet!” he said, trying to hide the panic in his voice with a broad smile.

The Big Boss only pointed to the new sign hanging on the wall and asked, “What is that?”

Mr. Standoffish beamed, proud of the improvement he had made. “The One Rule, of course! ‘Create great marshmallows.’”

The Big Boss furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side. “What happened to the two rules I gave you? ‘Love God. Love others.’”

The Big Boss

had returned

“But they come straight from the Good Book.” The Big Boss motioned to a Bible sitting on top of his briefcase. “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with

all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ And ‘love your neighbor as you love yourself,’” he quoted from memory.

Mr. Standoffish shifted from one foot to the other. He hadn’t known those rules came from the Bible.

“How has your new rule worked out?” the Big Boss asked.

Mr. Standoffish cast a nervous glance at the open factory record books. Clearly, the Big Boss had looked over them and knew things weren’t going so well. “Not . . . exactly . . . great,” he admitted slowly.

“I’d like you to give my two rules a try again,” the Big Boss suggested. “I need to test my new recipes. So I’ll leave you to it.” With that, he smiled warmly at Mr. Standoffish and the workers and left the factory.

Mr. Standoffish could feel all the workers’ eyes on him through the big window, but he didn’t dare look up from the floor.

“Love God. Love others . . . ?” he murmured. He glanced around. He swallowed hard. And then . . . he started to pray.

“Um . . . God? I’m not sure I know how to do this . . . I mean, how do I love You? And what does that have to do with marshmallows? I guess . . . maybe . . . I have to start with the second rule?”

Mr. Standoffish listened, hard. He didn’t quite hear a voice. But he had a certain feeling. He knew what he needed to do next.

He walked back out onto the factory floor and approached the freckle-faced man. “I’m sorry I snapped at you for being late. Please, go home and take care of your little girl. We’ll pay you for sick leave.”

The man’s freckles sprung up in a giddy grin, “Oh, thank you! I’ll work twice as hard when I’m back.”

Next, Mr. Standoffish approached the grandmotherly woman. “You create the very tastiest marshmallows we sell! Please, take a rest. You’ve earned it.”

Let’s

Talk!

Did you know that the Jewish religious leaders

required people to follow 613 different rules?

That’s almost impossible! But Jesus made it simple. He didn’t say the other 613 rules were wrong—He simply explained that if you make every choice through the lens of loving God and loving others, you can’t go wrong. Focus on those two things, and the rest will take care of itself. Even more amazing, one of the best ways we can show love to God is to show love to the people He created. What are some ways that you could show love to God by loving others this week? Pray

Mr. Standoffish whistled for everyone’s attention. “Tomorrow, I want each of you to tell me how I can make your jobs better so that we can all reach our goals together. But right now . . . we’re having a party to celebrate all your hard work!”

No more marshmallows were churned out that afternoon. But Mr. Standoffish felt his heart lighten as he watched the joy on the workers’ faces. And just as he promised, he began listening to the workers’ ideas. At the end of the month, he reviewed the factory records.

“Leaping lollipops!” he cried out as he leapt into the air. The factory had produced more and tastier marshmallows than ever before! Clearly, the changes in Mr. Standoffish himself were changing the atmosphere in the factory for everyone. Grinning, Mr. Standoffish removed his old sign from the factory wall. He replaced it with a new one, which simply read: