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May 15, 2006
Produce Fruit Where You’re Planted
It’s rare to find a Christian workplace in our post-Christian age. Furthermore, it’s easy to imagine that you could be a better person – or a better Christian – if you worked in such a place. However, God has us placed in “the world” so that we might be witnesses to the Truth and bring others to Him. This is difficult to say the least.
In a workplace where it doesn’t seem appropriate to even mention God, much less tell a co-worker about Him, how can we function as witnesses? How can we articulate our love of Christ without words, as St. Francis admonishes? These are just a few of my ideas on how you can become a better Christian witness in a secular workplace.
Get the Basics Right
For starters, you won’t end up influencing anyone if you are unethical, untruthful, or unkind. You’ve got to start with the basics and always take the high road. God’s commandments do apply in the workplace, just as they apply on Sunday morning. I know this seems simplistic, but it is a basic requirement for being a good Christian witness.
Keep Clean
By this I mean: no cursing, no going out to strip clubs with your co-workers, no dirty stories, etc. You’d be surprised by how many men who consider themselves Christian still send obscene emails to co-workers or use obscenities in the workplace. Just by refusing to curse you begin to set yourself apart – others actually notice when you choose to be clean, so it’s a great starting point for discussion.
Be a Good Person
The next step is to be a generally good person in the workplace. Don’t get caught up in office gossip or politics. Help others when they need it. Put your family first in the workplace. I personally don’t work on Saturdays or Sundays, which sounds obvious, but there have been several situations where co-workers did work during this time. I work hard, but I also don’t stay at the office until late at night. Remember that work is a way to sustain your life, it is not life itself.
Be Joyful at Work
No one respects those who constantly complain or whine about their jobs. Be joyful. Disgruntled workers aren’t living our their calling as they should (we are obliged to give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay). So work diligently and well and be happy about it. A slacker cannot be the example he/she should, so get your job done well. Also, no one wants to emulate a person who is obviously unhappy. Be happy at work!
Use Your Surroundings
One thing that is typically okay in the workplace is hanging up a calendar or pictures, etc. Use this opportunity to be a silent witness: buy a calendar with Scripture verses or pictures of Churches. Add pictures of your family – possibly even in religious settings. These quiet examples get noticed by others even if they don’t say anything about them.
When Asked, Be Honest
When you set an example like this, the Holy Spirit will lead others to ask about it. Our job is not to convince others to be Christians or to convict them of their sins. That’s God’s role alone. Our job is to honestly explain that the reason we’re different is because of our Christian faith. We should be able to provide a defense of our faith (apologetics) and explain what we believe and why. In this way you allow others to come to you – your actions attract those seeking more in their lives. And you provide the explanation of how they can be happy and holy as well.
The Fields are Ripe
In our materialistic society, the fields are truly ripe for the harvest. Materialism will never satisfy the need for God’s love that all people feel, so those without God are constantly seeking Him (whether they realize it or not). If you choose to act as Christ would in the workplace, you not only become a great employee for your employer, you also provide an example to others of how their lives could be.
Join in the work of the Holy Spirit today and become the productive vine God calls us to be.
God bless,
Jay
Posted by jay at May 15, 2006 7:48 AM
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Comments
Even if the workplace is not Christian, the work can be both creative and a service to others. If it isn't, we should be changing jobs. If it is, I would add Be Good at Your Job to your list. doing that will add to the other ideas on your list.We owe it to our customers and our employers to be good at our jobs. Doing so adds credibility to the other ideas that you list.
I'm a big fan of Gregory Pierce's ten disciplines of workplace spirituality. See my website for the complete list.
Posted by: Herb Ely at May 16, 2006 9:22 AM
