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Do you let it be known on your job that you’re a Christian? Perhaps you worry that if you’re very open about your faith, you will have to take some ethical stands that could be harmful to your career or your relationships.
I have a good friend who was a partner in a prominent large law firm in New York. At one point he was dealing with another law firm which 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 that law firm had 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.
Another reason we tend to be undercover Christians is that we fear failing. Maybe you lost your temper with a co-worker recently, or you told a lie to your manager and your conscience hasn’t stopped bothering you. You think you could never be a witness for Jesus since you know you’ve failed and others know you’ve failed and what’s more, you may fail again.
Let me tell you that sometimes the greatest witness we can have is to own up to our failures, confess and make restitution where necessary, but share that God is a forgiving and restoring God. Don’t you know that everybody else struggles with failure too? And if they’re not a Christian, they don’t have any good way to deal with the guilt.
I can remember when God used a specific failure on my part to help a struggling Christian co-worker understand that God would forgive and restore him when he failed. I really blew it in front of him, and I didn’t want to go back in that office. But God clearly told me to go back and be very honest about my failure, which is what I did. Obviously it would have been better had I not failed, but God is great enough to use even our failures. Failure or fear of failure is not a legitimate excuse for being an undercover Christian.