PROGRAM W-1767 – Part II
4. Be Transparent and Vulnerable
Jesus gave us clear instructions as to how we are to live as Christ-followers in our worlds. In Matthew 5:14-16, we read from his sermon on the mount, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
In other words, we’re not called to be “undercover Christians.” Even in our post-Christian culture, Jesus’ challenge does not change. We are not to hide our lamp—our witness—or our identity as Christ-followers, and that includes on our jobs. The challenge we face is how to do this naturally, organically, and not in ways that are unnecessarily offensive. Someone has said that too often we Christians are more interested in giving out the right news instead of the good news. We believe we’re right, based on God’s Word, and therefore we should never compromise those beliefs. However, we must communicate these beliefs through being real, not with a know-it-all attitude or arrogance of any kind.
You and I must be approachable, real, and transparent in the way we live if we ever hope to have any influence in our world today. If you project a plastic image to those around you—an image of “I’ve got this all figured out and my life is always together”— then who can ever relate to you?
Let me ask you the following: Do you fake happiness even when you are sad about something? Do you share personal struggles and concerns with coworkers appropriately? Can you and do you just naturally talk about how God has helped you through hard times, and how he has answered your prayers? Are you willing to be vulnerable, admit your mistakes, and talk about your struggles, or are you trying to never show a trace of doubt or misgivings, and never let anyone see the pain in your own life? If you can identify in these areas, you are putting up a barrier between you and others. People just don’t know how to relate to someone who is always. . .well, always in control! Living a transparent and authentic life means being yourself—without any pretensions.
There was a woman who worked for me many years ago who seemed always perfect. She was vocal about her faith. . .but she was also vocal about how perfectly she did her job. She would subtly let everyone else know that they should be like her and do their work like she did. Now, she was an excellent worker, but truly she made everyone else in the department uncomfortable by her perfectionist demeanor. I often wondered what she was like at home with her husband. Over time, I noticed that she really had no connections in our office; she worked in an isolated atmosphere. This will never be an effective way to reflect Christ, will it?
So, one powerful way you and I can reflect Christ—be like Jesus—in our work places is to simply be transparent, inviting, and willing to share our lives—the good and the bad—with others.
5. Reflect Christ by Developing the Fruit of the Spirit
I come to the fifth suggestion I have for reflecting Christ on your job, and that is to consistently display the fruit of God’s Spirit in your life. Honestly, this is an impossible assignment until and unless you become intentional about bearing much fruit. In John 15:8 Jesus said, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Showing ourselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ is another way of saying that we reflect Christ, and we do this by bearing much fruit.
This fruit is clearly defined in Galatians 5 as love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is the evidence that the Holy Spirit is in control of your life and you are more and more like Jesus. To the world around you, it appears in contrast to the normal dog-eat-dog world you work in where everyone is out for themselves. This happens when we pursue God, have daily time with God, pray this fruit into our lives, and cooperate with the Holy Spirit who empowers us to grow much fruit.
Years ago, as I contemplated how I could ever make this a reality in my life, I read in Colossians 3 that we are to “put on” these characteristics of Jesus. That gave me a handle which helped me begin to become intentional about bearing this fruit in my life—becoming more like Jesus. I began to pray “on” each of these characteristics every morning, thinking of dressing myself spiritually for the day ahead. I prayed through them individually, focusing on the ones which gave me the greatest struggle.
For example, forbearance or patience doesn’t come easy for me. So, I prayed about it regularly—still do! As I would pray for this fruit specifically, the Holy Spirit would remind me throughout the day when I failed. He would also point out to me when I had an opportunity to reflect Christ by demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit—such as showing love to someone I worked with in some way, or allowing God’s Spirit to keep me peaceful in the midst of disagreements or difficult situations. Honestly, there were many times I could hear that inner voice of God warning me, “Be careful, show patience,” or “That wasn’t such a kind thing to say.” Eventually I wrote a Bible study entitled The Well Dressed Christian, which goes into detail on how to intentionally focus on wearing those beautiful garments—the fruit of God’s Spirit—and pray them into our lives.
When you and I consistently reflect Christ in our lives by more and more bearing this fruit of love, joy, goodness, faithfulness, peace, and gentleness, our lights do shine in our worlds. We do reflect Christ. It is a natural outcome of bearing much fruit, and this opens so many doors of opportunity to talk about Jesus and explain the good news—that he offers forgiveness and a new life.
As a footnote, let me quickly admit that there are many days and ways I don’t reflect Christ as I should. Bearing much fruit is a never-ending challenge. However, I know from experience that we have the power through God’s Spirit within us to be more and more like Jesus. I certainly don’t want to make it sound like the Christian life is a matter of following a certain formula. No two lives are alike and God deals with us differently, that’s for sure. But I know that for most—if not all—of us, growing in our knowledge of God and becoming more like Jesus requires us to be intentional about instilling good habits in our lives which help us reflect Christ to a dying, hurting world.