Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:28 — 19.9MB)
Let me begin with some questions: Why do you work, and why do you have the particular job you have? Do you view your job as simply a means of putting bread on your table so you can do what you want to do with the rest of your time? Do you work just because you have to earn a living?
Perhaps you would say that you work not only to earn a living, but also because you really enjoy the challenge and you have career ambitions that interest you. Or, maybe you’re working to supplement the family income or to pay for a college education for your child. There would be, I’m sure, a wide variety of answers to this question of “Why do you work?”
I entered the working world out of necessity. Becoming a business woman had never been on my list of aspirations during college or those formative years. And for a great part of my business career, I viewed my job as what I had to do. Oh, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it—at times. But for a long time I never saw it as anything but an acceptable way to pay the bills and allow me to have the things I needed and wanted.
What I discovered about myself—and what I find true about many Christians in the working world—is that we tend to divide our lives into two categories: sacred and secular. Sacred includes going to church, studying the Bible occasionally, prayer, fellowshipping with other believers, doing good things for people, etc. Secular includes our jobs, cleaning the house, fixing the car, shopping, etc. Some of our activities seem sacred or religious to us, while others seem to have little connection with God and the Bible.
But, you know, it’s a huge mistake on our part to divide our worlds like that. God doesn’t see us that way; the Bible doesn’t see it that way. In fact, the Bible tells us that whatever we do, it should be done to glorify Jesus Christ, and that we will be accountable to him for everything we do.
When we see our worlds divided like this, we often find that our effectiveness as a witness for Jesus Christ is greatly diminished on our job; we find it easy to be an undercover Christian. Do you view your job as the place where God has you at this time for his purposes, to teach you and to use you as a light in darkness? Or are you an undercover Christian?
For many years I was an undercover Christian. It would have been very difficult to spot any differences between me and everyone else around me. In fact, I didn’t want anybody to spot the differences. I didn’t want to stick out in a crowd and be a fifth wheel and look and act differently. If you tend to be an undercover Christian, let’s consider some of the reasons you may feel that way.
- First, being accepted by the people—including the people you work with and for—has become more important to you than anything else. That’s one reason a lot of us never let anyone know we’re a Christian. After all, being born again has gotten some bad press; most people think of a born-again person as a quirk or a little weird. And who wants to be put in that category? So, if you fear rejection or persecution, that may be why you have gone undercover.
- Second, maybe you’re intimidated by the cultural attitudes all around you. Separation of church and state has been drummed into our minds by the media so that you may think you’re breaking a law to mention the name of God in secular environments.
- Third, maybe you stay undercover because you don’t want to do your career or relationships any damage because of Christian ethical standards. After all, if you let it be known that you are a Christian, then you’ll be obligated to live up to high ethical standards. That might cause you to have to take stands that may not be popular or understood.
- Fourth, could it be that you know your life doesn’t measure up to Christian principles, and therefore you’re ashamed to say you’re a Christian?
- Or lastly, if you don’t know how to witness to people and the very idea scares you to death, you may stay undercover for fear you’ll mess up!
Can you identify with some of those? Let’s look at them again.
First, the fear of rejection. You know, this fear in your mind is greatly overblown, to begin with. Few Christians really experience severe rejection from coworkers and management because of Christian beliefs and principles. Oh, you may be misunderstood and not always included in activities, but those are very small rejections, as a rule. More often than not, your Christian witness encourages other people and builds bridges rather than creating conflict.
Then we know that fear is always of our enemy and not of the Lord, so we know as soon as we fear something, that our faith needs some serious repair work. If God is for us, Paul wrote to the Romans, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31) And Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
Secondly, we need to realize that talking about our belief in Christ and our commitment to him is not breaking a law and we should never be intimidated by this mindset. You can talk about everything else in our society without much criticism or problem, and we need to be bold in talking about Jesus when appropriate. I don’t mean we’re preaching sermons everyday, but I do mean we don’t hesitate to express our faith.
For example, if it is your habit to ask a blessing before a meal, then do it in the cafeteria, or when you’re with others. Don’t hesitate to tell someone you care about his or her problem and you’ll pray for that person. If God has answered a prayer, why can’t you report your good news and give credit where credit is due? Don’t be intimidated by the world’s message that God is talked about only in churches and the privacy of your home. That’s not in the constitution, and if it were, it would be evil.
Recently, a school teacher told me how she has to be so cautious about what she says to her children about God. What a sad state we’re in when a teacher can say anything they like about all kinds of topics, verging on crude, pornographic and certainly controversial, and yet let them mention God to their students and they could lose their jobs. But this woman had found ways to do it and still not break the rules. She asks questions of the children so that they will talk about God, and she tells her students that she will pray for them.
We’ve got to have some boldness in our Christian walk. If Christ has set you free, how can you not speak of it? You remember when Peter and John were in trouble with the Sanhedrin because they were teaching and proclaiming Jesus. They tried to intimidate them by putting them in jail overnight, and then warned them the next morning not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
“But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). If God is working in your life, you’re going to have to speak about it from time to time on your job. It will happen naturally; you can’t stop it! And you shouldn’t.
We need some Christians coming out from undercover who are bold to say what Christ has done in their lives. Nobody can deny your testimony. They can say they don’t believe the Bible or they don’t believe that Christ is the only way to God. That’s their right. But they can’t tell you that what has happened to you didn’t happen!
Third, we worry about the damage we could do our careers by being labeled one of those “born again Christians.” (By the way, you know there are no other kind. Jesus was the one who said, “You must be born again,” so the tag “born again Christian” is a redundancy. You can’t be born again without being a Christian and you can’t be a Christian without being born again.)
Some Christians have had to pay a price for taking ethical stands. And let’s also say that there are people who aren’t Christians but who have strong ethical standards, and they may pay a price, too. But whatever it might cost us to stand true to our ethical high ground, it is still the easy way out. When you compromise your standards in order to protect your career, you really do your career damage long term.
I have a good friend who was a partner in a prominent law firm in New York and now teaches ethics and the law at a prominent Ivy League school. He reminds me that being a Christian in the long run can enhance your career, even though it may at times cost you something to take a stand. At one point he was dealing with another law firm that was doing some very unethical things. He, on the other hand, refused to be a part of it and took a stand against it. While it caused some discomfort and took some courage on his part, he told me that eventually the opposing law firm caused its client to go into bankruptcy because of its unethical practices, many had lost their jobs and the law firm was disgraced. He said, “You know, Mary, running your career or business by Christian principles really pays off in the long run.” And he’s right!
However, our decision to stand for what we believe to be right should never be based on the consequences. We do the right thing because we want to be obedient to our Lord and Savior and trust him for the consequences. That’s what faith is all about.
Fourth, if you think that coming out from undercover and being open about your faith in Jesus Christ means you have to witness to everybody, including your coworkers, that could cause you to be frightened. You can just see yourself carrying a large Bible to work everyday, grabbing people by the shirt collar, cornering them in the lunch room, and ramming the four spiritual laws down their throat.
That’s not the way Jesus witnessed and it certainly is not an effective way for you, either. You know, witnessing is not something you need to worry about. If you and I will walk with Jesus on a daily basis, we will be witnesses. It will happen, and it will begin with a life that is lived in the power of Jesus and displays a victory and a winsomeness that some will recognize and want.