GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:11
Dealing With Rejection
In the dark days of the Great Depression, most of the nation welcomed the optimism of the New Deal. During the darkest days of the era in 1933, the unemployment rate was approximately 25%, meaning that about one in four people in the workforce were unemployed. The goal of many of the New Deal programs was to find gainful employment for workers. By December 1936, the national unemployment rate in the U.S. was 16.9%, about an eight percent drop from the 1933 high. Optimism was returning to the national psyche.
Focusing on that growing optimism, Dorothy Fields wrote the song “Pick Yourself Up” in 1936: “Pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, Start all over again.” Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers popularized the song in the 1936 film “Swing Time.” President Barack Obama quoted those same lines in his inaugural address in 2009 as a response to the Great Recession of 2007-2009, signaling a message of resilience, renewal, and hope.
When he was commissioning the Twelve for their first evangelistic tour, Jesus warned them that they might face rejection: “And whatever place does not receive you nor do they listen to you, as you are going out from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a witness against them.” (Mark 6:11) First, the new evangelists needed to know that they might face rejection, just as Jesus had experienced recently in his hometown of Nazareth. Rejection is one facet of life—a failing grade in school, a disappointing romance, being turned away from a job interview, being fired from a job, or, as Jesus warned, being ignored. Well, Jesus said they should pick themselves up—“as you are going out from there,” in other words; move on. That was Jesus’ response after his rejection at Nazareth.
Second, develop a plan of action for moving forward. In the disciples’ case, they were to “shake off the dust under their feet.” There are cultural elements behind this command, but one point is to have a plan—look for a new job, change careers, seek counseling, and move forward, have a plan. Holding on to the past only hurts the one holding on. Letting go, erasing from the mind, or refocusing may not be easy, but it is a healthy response to rejection.
There are unhealthy, maybe even destructive, responses to rejection, but Jesus gave his disciples a healthy, positive, and productive response to rejection—a response that still holds true.
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