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I want to begin by asking some questions.
- Have you ever preached a sermon at work?
- Have you given the four spiritual laws over the PA system in your office?
- Do your coworkers beg you to take them to church with you?
- Do you read the Bible out loud to your coworkers each day?
I’m guessing not many of you answered yes, but neither did I. Does that mean none of us are effectively witnessing for Jesus on our jobs?
Effectively witnessing on our jobs. That thought frightens most Christians in the marketplace. For most of us, the idea of witnessing conjures up visions of cornering someone against their will, or passing out tracts, or badgering a coworker to go to church with us, resulting in being labeled as a religious fanatic, etc. Does that sound familiar? And yet, we know we should be sharing the good news of Jesus because there is likely someone in our work environment who really wants to know the truth. Besides, Jesus has called us to be his witnesses to the whole world.
Well, let me ask you another question: Has someone on your job ever asked you a question or made a comment that opened a door for you to talk about your faith in Jesus—maybe just a little bit?
Now all of us should have our hands up on that one, because if we’re living our faith out in our everyday worlds as we should be, someone will ask us a question and open a door for us to share what Jesus means to us.
Peter wrote:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
I believe question-answering is the most effective means we have to share who Jesus is and the good news of his gospel with the people we interact with daily.
Jesus was the master of this technique. Nicodemus was fascinated with what he’d seen and heard about Jesus, so he came quietly to him to ask some questions. Jesus answered Nicodemus’s questions, explaining what it meant to be born again because Nicodemus found that a baffling statement.
His interaction with the rich young ruler was a series of questions and answers. With the Samaritan woman at the well, his behavior was so unusual it caused her to ask questions. And Jesus kept leading her to ask other questions. By the time he answered her questions, he’d revealed to her that he was the Messiah, and she went back to town to tell everyone else about him. Effective witnessing, wouldn’t you say? No meeting, no altar call, no one-two-three formulas. Those techniques would not have been appropriate at those times. But Jesus lived a life that generated questions, and he was prepared to answer them.
Throughout our history, Christians have spread the good news of Jesus by this one-on-one question and answer method. Just look at the Church in China or any of the countries where Christians have endured persecution for years. Not only have they been unable to wipe out Christianity, as Stalin claimed he would do in Russia, but the Church grew and increased amid persecution.
And how did the Church survive? They could not hold evangelical meetings; most of their churches were closed; they could not speak openly about Jesus. Yet they continued and grew because they infiltrated their society. They became living examples and question-answerers. Their presence could not be ignored because their lives told a story that caused people to ask questions.
Your calling and mine is exactly the same as theirs: To infiltrate our worlds for Jesus. And I firmly believe the American marketplace is one of the last frontiers for infiltration. It’s a ready-made mission field. You’re already there; and you’re there on equal footing with everyone else who is working with you. Your presence is legitimate, and you are there for long hours every day. What better opportunity could you ask for?
Now, how do you infiltrate your world? We’ve already noted it cannot be done through religious services in the workplace or preaching sermons. Those methods are good in their place, but they won’t ever work in the marketplace. Instead, as a Christ-follower, you become salt and light on your job, infiltrating for Jesus, so that someone will begin to ask you questions. When you are asked a question, you have a right to answer it. Question-answering is the method.
But in order to answer questions, we first must be asked. So, how do you generate the questions? By your lifestyle; by your attitude; by your work ethic; by your faithfulness; by your peaceful and contented spirit.
And one primary way is by the way you handle difficulties. I’m convinced that God purposely puts some of his children in tough situations in order to give them opportunities to generate questions. Do you think we’d get many questions if everyone had it easy and there were no conflicts or difficulties with which we had to deal?
How in the world do people around us know that Jesus makes a difference in our lives?
By loving the unlovable.
By being peaceful in the midst of stress.
By suffering unjustly like Jesus did.
By refusing to stand up and demand your rights all the time.
By doing your work to the very best of your abilities.
By living a life of total integrity, honesty, and purity on your job.
Peter told us we should live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us (1 Peter 2:12).
So, if we intend to infiltrate our worlds with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we’re going to have to live question-generating lives. Now, that’s not always easy. It takes commitment, time with the Lord, a surrendered life, a life dead to self but alive to God. It’s very daily.
But it is a natural outflow of a life controlled by the Spirit. You don’t start each morning with the intention of generating questions. Those questions just happen naturally when you live your life— when the love of Jesus overflows through you to others.
Now, ask yourself, has your life been generating any questions? If that never happens to you at your job, then I think you have to ask yourself what’s missing in your life. Perhaps it’s not salty enough to make anyone thirsty. Or it’s not bright enough to illuminate their darkness.
The integrity of your life is the beginning of witnessing; it is the essential building block, and you cannot overlook it. I’m not saying you have to be perfect and never make a mistake. I vividly remember once when I lost my composure and behaved in a very un-Christlike way in a meeting with my peers. Later, when I apologized to one of them, he was really moved that I would ask for forgiveness, and it helped him see that God forgives us when we fail. So, we can even witness through our failures.
No, you don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to be in a living and growing relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship must be the highest priority of your life. That’s always a basic for a Christ-follower, right? The walk has to match the talk if your life is effective for Jesus Christ.
Now, given that basic, let’s think about what kind of questions our lives should generate. They are not likely to be ones like “How can I become a Christian?” or “Can you please give me the plan of salvation.” You will rarely, if ever, get such a direct question from anyone. But look for questions that give you an opportunity to talk about how your faith in Christ makes a difference in your life.
To make this clearer, let’s take some hypothetical examples of how our lives could generate questions and what those questions might be.
Case #1: Your coworker has, for some reason, decided to pick on you. He or she makes fun of you whenever possible, points out to everyone any mistakes you make, seems to try to upset you and make you angry. What would be a question-generating response to that kind of situation?
What if you just refuse to let this make you angry. Instead, you respond with a smile or some lighthearted remark when this coworker launches an attack. When this person criticizes you in front of others, suppose you say, “I appreciate your concern for my performance. I’ll sure try to do better next time.” Can’t you imagine that someone—either that person or a coworker watching—might say to you, “Why are you so nice to that guy? He—or she—gives you nothing but trouble!”
There’s a question; if you’re ready to give an answer, you have an opportunity to share your faith in Christ.
Case #2: A coworker is going through a difficult problem in her life, and she is often distressed, tearful, and finds it difficult to make it through the day. What would be a question-generating way to treat that person?
The best thing you can do is just be there for her. Listen and sympathize. You don’t have to be a professional counselor or come up with answers to her problems. You can just show your care by giving her some compassionate words, going to lunch with her and listening, doing something to let her know you care about her hurts. Not only is she likely to ask you questions that open doors for a witness, but others who are watching may do the same.
Case #3: Everyone in your office loves to gripe and complain. The environment is very negative and depressing. How could you use that environment to generate some questions?
Here’s a good suggestion: Just refuse to gripe and complain along with them. Stay positive even though they’re negative. Smile a lot. It can’t be artificial, but if you truly have the joy of the Lord shining through you, you will generate some sort of question or remark from someone that will open a door for witnessing.
Now, these are just some everyday examples of how our lifestyles and the way we react and respond to people and circumstances could generate questions that open a door to witness. Of course, we don’t live this way in order to generate questions; we live this way because we want to please Jesus, and we’re walking closely with him. But this kind of behavior in the marketplace will generate questions.
So, pray for opportunities to answer questions and then look for them. You’ll find some if you’re on the lookout. Then you might say one simple sentence or give a very brief testimony about your faith. Pray you won’t miss those question-answering opportunities, either because you don’t recognize them or because fear starts to creep into your mind. Remember you have the wonderful opportunity to share truth—wonderful truth that can set people free. And your job is just to be ready to answer those questions. How someone responds is not your responsibility; you and I are just seed sowers, planting truth seeds anytime and anywhere we can.