An 80-Hour Work Week with No Pay

“They [the President’s aides] should be possessed of high competence, great physical vigor, and a passion for anonymity.” – Report of the President’s Committee on Administrative Management, January 1937

When President Trump and Elon Musk decided to form the Department of Government Efficiency in an attempt to identify and eliminate wasteful government spending, they needed to hire some astute and enterprising people to join the effort. Here is how they went about recruiting on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter…

“We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE. We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting. If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

Posted on November 14, 2024, that job ad has since gotten more than 24 million views and in excess of 17,000 replies. Musk followed up the initial job posting with the following…

“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lots of enemies & compensation is zero. What a great deal!” He concluded the comment with a crying-laughing emoji, making it unclear whether he was joking about the no compensation part.

The bottom line is that, just like Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan were quoted as saying, “It is amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit.”

My friend, as Christians, we are called to serve in anonymity for the cause of Christ and the glory of God. Not to call attention to ourselves and not to burnish our own reputation (or pad our own wallet).

“But Jesus called them aside and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them. It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave – even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” Matthew 20:25-28 (BSB)

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President