(Jesus said) "Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." John 15:20

Money Magazine, Forbes, Fox News, Finance, and CBS News all have articles about the surest way to get fired from a job. Suggestions range from the obvious, "Don't show up for work," to the just as obvious: "Don't steal from the company" and "Don't badmouth your boss to other workers."

I was amazed that anyone needed to be taught not to come to work while they were doing drugs or making crude, unwanted and inappropriate comments to other workers.

With all these understandable ways to get fired, I came across one that wasn't so easy for me to grasp. The person who discovered this method is Mark Armitage, a science professor from California State University, Northridge.

Armitage's story begins, innocently enough, with him studying the horn of a triceratops.

As he looked at the great horn under magnification, Armitage discovered soft tissue fibers. That's not the kind of thing that shows up on a specimen that is supposed to be millions of years old. "No," Armitage concluded, "this find is much more recent than that. This horn may be only a few thousand years old."

Armitage took what he had discovered and published it in American Laboratory magazine and the Acta Histochemia journal. After the articles came out, in short order,

* a fellow professor told him, "We're not going to tolerate your religion in this department";

* he was ostracized by others on the faculty because he was a creationist;

* CSUN, his employer, told him funding for his temporary position had run out.

In short, Armitage had been fired.

He didn't take the termination lying down. He sued the school under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Understandably, the school fought back for a while and then they settled -- paying. The school says it paid Armitage to avoid a long, drawn-out court fight.

Maybe it's not telling the truth, I can't tell. I do know that Armitage's story is not unique. Many of our college young people are experiencing the same kind of pressure when they head off to college. Many report they have to cooperate if they wish to graduate.

All of this means churches, parishes and parents need to do their best to prepare our young for this world, which is increasingly open about its dislike to the Savior. We need to teach those coming after us that they, like the disciples, "must obey God rather than men" (see Acts 5:17-32).

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, for many of us who are older, the fights have been fought. But there is another generation that is just beginning its struggles. I pray the Holy Spirit may rest on them so they may remain faithful to their Savior who has lived, died and risen, so they might be forgiven and saved. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 7-8, 26    Acts 28

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