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PROGRAM D-7179
Here are a few more simple things you can do to become a Barnabas where you work:
- Be a good employee. It’s not always easy to submit to your boss, but that is what Christians in the workplace are to do. When given instructions, follow them—unless they would cause you to lose your integrity. Remember, you are working for Jesus and he is your true boss. Just being a good employee will be encouraging to your boss, if no one else, but it also sets a good example for others.
- Take second place. Be willing to be the last in line, to take the worst seat, to let someone else take credit. That’s not easy to do sometimes, but it’s the servant attitude that Jesus had, and we need to have it as well.
- Apologize. If you’ve made a mistake, done something you should not have done, said something you should not have said, own up to it as soon as possible and simply apologize. A friend of mine says the biggest difference between her and her coworkers who are not believers is that she apologizes more than they do! Well, an apology can go a long way toward relieving tension in relationships, and it will indeed be an act of encouragement.
I often think of that old song, Home on the Range, where never is heard a discouraging word! You remember that song. Well, wherever that range is, it’s not where most of us work, is it. So, we need to become Barnabases—people who refused to be discouraged, and instead, offer words of encouragement to those around us. It’s what Jesus would do, and we need to be his ambassador right where we work.