Changes to This Blog

So after a bit of realistic reflection, I'm making a change to the number of posts per week. Looking at the upcoming semester, I'm teaching more students in more courses than I have in several years and I have a number of research projects that I need to give significant attention to. For the next several weeks, I wouldn't be able to post three times a week. After thinking about it, I've decided that it's probably better to shift to one post a week, at least for now. One reason is that I want to be sensitive to getting my work done. I've posted before about fulfilling work obligations. I need to be focused on work during work time. And I need to spend family time focusing on family. A second reason is that I see the content slipping a little bit. My original purpose was to catalog what the Bible says about work. Having finished that, I've been going back and thinking more about how general passages related to our workplaces. That's fine, but keeping up with the pace has forced me to publish some posts that probably needed to be better thought out.

So, this will be the last non-Monday post, at least for a little while. An exception to that might be if anyone wants to submit a guest post. Let me know if you're interested.

A Secular View of Work

Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, in their book You Work Matters to God, state that there are five attitudes that indicate a secular view of work.

• The ultimate purpose of work is to fulfill yourself.


• Success in life means success in work.


• You can tell how successful someone is by material wealth, professional recognition, or positional status.


• You've got to do whatever it takes to get the job done.


• You just go to work to earn a living.

These attitudes come with living your life in compartments where God is in the Sunday compartment and work is in the Monday through Friday compartment. Unfortunately, that's all too common.

God calls us to tear down those attitudes. The ultimate purpose of work, like everything else in our lives, is to honor God. Success in life is based on His glory and on His Son, and you can't tell that from someone's wealth, recognition, or status. Sometimes, you can't make compromises for your job. And work is an opportunity to glorify God--far more than just a paycheck.

Today, look at your attitudes. Do any of these fit you? If so, focus on how you can honor God in your work this week.

Let Your Light Shine

Yesterday I heard someone talking about Christians being active in the community. He quoted Matthew 5:16, "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." I think that really captures what Monday Morning Christianity is all about. Honoring God at work is not about shoving a Bible at everyone you meet. To be sure, let people know what you believe. But being Christian at work is about living in such a way that people see Jesus in your actions--in the way you treat your supervisor, the way you handle conflicts, and the way you talk.

A Major Milestone

This is my 200th post!

I want to thank everyone who has read this over the last 199 posts. Thank you for the comments, both on the blog and to me personally. I have some posts that I'm really happy with, but there are always a few that felt rushed or uninspired. So thanks for sticking with me through those. I really appreciate everyone's support.

This began because I realized that I don't always think about God throughout the week as much as I should. I have to say that, as much as you may have appreciated the posts, I feel like no one could have grown as much from these as I have. Being committed to posting about Christianity in workplaces three times a week means that I'm almost always thinking about how my faith relates to work. It's given me a very different perspective about a lot of things.

This blog started with the idea that I'd read through the Bible and note passages relating to work. I did that, and since then, I've been posting about things that have occurred to me as I've re-read passages, heard sermons, or come across relevant scriptures. I'm always looking for ideas, so by all means, if you have a question or passage that's particularly meaningful to you at work, please feel free to share.

Thanks again for reading. Here's to the next 200.

Two Perspectives, Both Wrong

I was reading "God on Monday" by Benny Tabalujan, and he made a great point about early views on sacred and secular work. An early church leader, Eusebius, wrote about work in two tiers--religious work was at a higher tier and secular work was at a lower tier. Thus, the truly "good" Christians would leave secular jobs (or never enter them to begin with) and seek out religious work in monastic orders and convents. This was the dominant view until the Reformation (and still persists today).

Martin Luther and other Reformation leaders went to the other extreme. Perhaps you've heard of the "Protestant Work Ethic." They emphasized that all work glorified God. That wasn't inherently bad. The problem was that work became an end in itself, rather than a means to honor God. The truly "good" Christians were those that worked harder and longer than everyone else and thus achieved material success. That attitude is also prevalent today.

The truth is somewhere in between these two positions. There is no distinction between secular and sacred work--both are opportunities to honor God. But work itself isn't the goal. Neither is career success, wealth, or acclaim. The goal of everything in our lives, including work, should be God.

Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

When we read the Beatitudes, we often stop after verse 12. But the next verses are an important point about why Jesus was telling His followers to be different:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city 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."

Being poor in spirit, meek, and peace-making set you apart from those around you. When you show mercy to coworkers, subordinates, or anyone else, you stand out as different. You are being salt and light.

Too often, we hide our faith "under a bowl" at work. We praise God on Sundays but try to fit in with everyone else on Mondays. Don't lose your saltiness. Put your faith on a stand. Let others know what you believe and why Jesus is your Savior.

No One Can Serve Two Masters

Matthew 6:24; Luke 16: 13

I've posted before about the difficulties faced by early Christians as they tried to buy and sell things. Greek and Roman marketplaces often required customers and merchants to pay homage to the local god before they could shop or sell their goods. For the Christian, then, it was either compromise your faith or be completely left out of commerce. But we have it easier, right? We don't have to sacrifice to Zeus in order to keep our jobs, so there's no problem with serving two masters.

But how many times have you compromised your faith in little ways where you work? Maybe you've taken off early but said you worked a full day. Have you participated in office gossip, so as not to be the only one left out? What about taken credit for work that someone else did? And "they won't miss these office supplies, will they?" Or, "sure, that's a legitimate business expense."

There are lots of little things that creep up that can challenge our faith at work. These things don't seem like that big of a deal, but each time we do something that dishonors God, no matter how small it seems to us, we are serving another master.

I really appreciated this post from Godspotting with Sheila. She describes seeing a salesperson probably losing sales because he was more committed to searching the Scriptures with someone than he was to making the sale. What "little" choices do you face where you are tempted to serve another master? Make the right choices today.

Created to Work

Genesis 2:15

God created Adam to work! When God was busy creating the heavens and the earth, His plan was always for humanity to work, taking care of His creation. Adam wasn't put into the garden to live a life of idleness. Genesis 2:15 says "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it." Just a few verses earlier, Genesis notes that, after creation but before humanity, "there was no one to work the ground" (2:5). Adam wasn't created to be lazy--he was made to work!

There are some in our society who see work as a burden. People look forward to the end of the day. Some are "working for the weekend." Others are counting the days until retirement. But God intended us to be doing something rather than sitting idle.

I wonder why. This was before Adam and Eve sinned, so life should be perfect. Why would God want us to work? I think one reason is because He works. The Bible begins with six days of God working and contrasts that with His rest. The rest of the Bible is about God working out our salvation. God is an active god. Since we're created in His image (Genesis 1:26), we too are created to be active.

Today is Monday, a day that has the reputation of being a "downer" day. It's the day that is the furthest from Friday and the weekend. But instead of thinking that you have to make it through the week so that you can rest on the weekend, remember that you are doing what you were created to do. This week, work with purpose--you were made to work.

How to Survive Differentness

On Friday, I wrote about how difficult it was for early Christians to work. Because they wouldn't pay homage to the patron Greek or Roman god of their city, they were excluded from much of the economic, political, and social life of their society. How did they deal with that kind of exclusion? They clung to each other. In Acts 2:42-47, Acts 4:32-36, and a number of other passages describing early Christians, the Bible talks about how they stuck together and depended on each other and on God. Archeological evidence has revealed meeting rooms where Christians assembled. These Christians knew that they couldn't make it on their own, that they had to support each other.

So two questions. First, how are you doing being different? If you're doing it right, you probably need support from others. That may not be monetary support--it may simply be encouragement to continue living for Christ. Second, how are we doing supporting each other? It's tempting to show up on Sundays, say "hi" to everyone, and then leave that community behind as we join our "Monday" community. That's not the support we need to live for Christ in our workplaces. We need the freedom to be authentic, to be able to say, "I'm struggling with what it means to be Christ at work." Pride sometimes gets in our way, that feeling like we have to show people we have it all together. Sometimes business interferes as well, when we don't have time to really listen to people and get to know their needs. But to be truly different, to really reflect Christ at work requires a support community of fellow Christians.

To find that kind of support from others, we first need to be that kind of support. Talk to someone in need today. Find out how you can be someone's support. You'll soon find that you've got others around you, ready for when you need the support.

To Whom Do You Pay Homage?

In ancient Greek and Roman cities, as you entered the Agora or marketplace to do business, you passed an altar. You were expected to take incense and pay homage to the god of that city, whether Athena or Zeus or whomever. And the manager of the marketplace greeted people, probably paying attention to who came to do business in his market. Failing to pay homage to the god was considered a serious offense and would probably get you thrown out, unable to sell whatever it was you came to sell. So imagine the dilemma for early Christians. If they made the decision to follow Christ, they couldn't pay tribute to another god. They really stood out as different, and in many cases, it meant that they could no longer buy and sell goods in the market. For these Christians, the decision to follow Christ meant a fundamental change in the way they worked.

This raises an important question for us in our workplaces. To whom do we pay homage as we go to work? I don't know of anyone who burns incense to Zeus, but I wonder if there are not things that we do to honor the "gods" of our age. Perhaps you throw incense on the altar of careerism. Or maybe it's the altar of your self-worth being measured by accomplishments or status or gossip/sarcasm/course language around a water cooler. As a Christian, you have the opportunity to really stand out for Christ by not paying homage to these gods. It won't be easy. People may make fun of you, they may criticize you. You may lose business, lose promotions, or lose your job completely. But being a Christian means being different than others in the workplace.

God in the Workplace

If you've ever wondered if you are alone in living out your faith in the workplace, this Wall Street Journal article might encourage you. The author describes a growing trend as people make their faith real at work. The cynic in me wonders about people who gain positive attention in doing so, just because the leading institutions in Jesus' day rarely gave Him such positive press. Nevertheless, I think the growing support is part of a generational movement to avoid being one person in one context and another in a different context. I think our society is longing for more authenticity than that. I recognize that we all have different roles and may need to act and think differently in one role than we do in another. The question is, does your faith transcend your role?

The WSJ author, Rob Moll, cites Dale Evans, cofounder of the video game company Electronic Arts as noting that work was never meant to be punishment. Evans says that, from Genesis, we were created to do work. I've posted about that before. The Fall increased our toil and work's unpleasantness, but work has always been part of God's plan.

How are you living out your faith at work? What difference does it make in your work? If a Wall Street Journal article asked you about God in the workplace, how would you respond and could the reporter see evidence in the way you carry out your day to day tasks?

The Greatest Commandments at Work

Matthew 22: 37-39; Mark 12: 26-31

How would you respond if someone asked you what was the most important law in the United States? You might respond with don't murder, which is a pretty serious crime. You might mention our ability to vote or freedom of speech or something from the Bill of Rights. If the person asked you in April, some people might joke that the most important law was to pay your taxes on time. What about your workplace? What the most important policy where you work? Perhaps it's something about being on time. Or maybe it's your company's sexual harassment policy, since a harassment lawsuit is a major cost to an organization (not to mention that harassment demeans and devalues others).

It's hard to drill down to just one or two things that are THE most important things because, usually, laws and policies are written in such a way that they're all important. They guide our behavior, tell us what's acceptable and what's unacceptable.

Jesus faced a situation very similar to the hypothetical one that I gave you. An "expert in the law" was impressed with the way Jesus answered the traps of the Pharisees, so this expert asked Him, "which is the greatest commandment?" The Bible doesn't record any hesitation on Jesus' part--Love God with all that you are. Then Jesus gives the expert more than he asked by explaining the second greatest commandment--Love others just as much as you love yourself. The expert in the law wasn't just asking which of the 10 commandments was the most important. The Jewish leaders had laid out over 600 laws and regulations based on everything God had said to Moses and a few that they thought consistent with those teachings. But look at what Jesus says about why these two are the greatest of those 600--"All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Everything is summed up in this--Love God, Love Others.

I mentioned a few posts ago that the Golden Rule was useful because it was something easy to remember. This may even be easier: Love God, Love Others.

So how do you apply those things at work? First, you have to make sure that everything you do honors God. Are you living for Him at work? Or do you check your faith at the door on Sunday and live for yourself Monday through Friday? If you picture God sitting next to you at work all day, would He be proud of your actions or disappointed? Are you living distinctly for Him? Second, (and related to honoring God), are you showing mercy and love to those around you? Do you give people the benefit of the doubt if something doesn't go the way you'd like it to? Do people know you as the type to give second chances? Do you forgive others? Do you turn the other cheek when someone offends you?

If these are the greatest commandments, then it stands to reason that we need to think very carefully about how to apply them in our workplaces. Everything else depends on these.

Deny Yourself and Follow Me

Matthew 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 9:23-24

This is another one of those passages that really makes a good "theme" verse for what this blog is all about. "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." What does that really mean in the 21st century? What does it mean at work? It's not language we're really used to in every day conversations. Obviously, this verse applies to every part of our lives. But since this blog is about Christianity in the workplace, let me share some of what I think this verse means regarding work.

I think, first and foremost, it means that we need to resist our human nature toward ambition at any cost. I don't think that's a univeral trait because I've seen people who are not overly driven by ambition, but I think it is a common trait. We want to succeed. We want to be the best. And being the best means that others around us are not the best. Sometimes, our winning means they have to lose. But that's ok, because we have to be the best. There is a sense that any sacrifice is ok if it means that we advance, that we are recognized as "the best" or "among the best" at whatever it is that we do. And so relationships, family, integrity, it all may fall prey to the drive to achieve.

As I've posted before, God wants us to be good at what we do, to use our talents to His glory. We need to do quality work. But we're not supposed to be working to achieve our own glory. We're to do quality work because we're working for God's glory, not our own. So that's really the first part of today's passage--deny yourself, which might mean "deny your drive to accomplish your own glory" at work.

Then second, pick up your cross and follow Christ. Being Chrisitan at work makes you different, makes you stand out from the crowd. Your talk is different. You don't lie or gossip. You respect authority, even when the boss is not looking. Those things may make you the subject of ridicule from your coworkers, who laugh at you for being soft and not cut-throat enough. You may miss out on promotions because you turn the other cheek instead of going for the kill. That's why following Christ means picking up a cross.

It's not the easy road. And contrary to some popular wisdom, it won't win you fortunes and fame. So why do it? First, because look at how much you've been loved. That's enough right there. But if you need more motivation, Jesus gives it two verses later: "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" Does your success in your job, at the expense of so many other things, get you anything in the long run? I'm talking about the really long run here. At the end of everything, you won't be taking anything that you've earned with you. It won't matter how many deals you've closed, how much overtime you've logged, or how many people you had to climb over to claw your way to the top. It won't matter whether you had the corner office on the top floor or whether you worked as a clerk in the mail room. The only thing that will matter is Jesus.

He calls to you: "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." What do you say to Him?

Grace

In thinking about the themes of mercy, love, and thankfulness from last week, and forgiveness in the workplace, which I anticipate writing about in the near future, I think that perhaps something very important to remember is that we do these things, we try to honor God in our workplace because of His Grace to us. Even when your subordinates screw up, your coworkers back-stab you, and your supervisors treat you worse than you deserve, remember that they are also sinners in need of a Savior, that they are also imperfect. The parable of the unmerciful servant is convicting. We have been forgiven a debt that can never be repaid, no matter how well our job pays us. That's a powerful perspective to have. We have mercy on others and show love, even to our enemies at work because God has shown such an immense love to us.

I have another purpose for writing about grace. One might look at the last 80+ posts and see them very much as a list of things to do or not do in the workplace. "If I do these things and avoid doing these things, I will honor God in my work." So you try to live by those lists and everything is going well for the first few days until Joe comes in late and you yell at him for messing up your day. Or your coworker Sally tries to double cross you, so you let her have it. "Uh oh, I blew it. I'm not living by the lists." I want to really emphasize this--the ideas about which I'm blogging are in no way lists of do's and don't's. While the Bible is full of commands and admonitions, that's not the "way" to God. Instead, the ideas that I've written in terms of honoring God at work are things to do because God has forgiven you for not being perfect. He knows that you're going to mess up. That's why He sent Jesus to begin with.

I don't want anyone to read this blog as a Pharisaical law of how to act at work. Instead, think of these as ideas about how to honor God because of His wonderful grace.

A Possible Theme Verse

Colossians 3:17

This verse is one of those that might serve as a great theme for this blog in general. Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord. I think that verse really captures a lot of why I want to explore these ideas. Whatever your profession, work at it as if you're working for Christ. The idea is repeated a few verses later after Paul has talked about husband/wife relationships and master/slave relationships. Do everything as if working for God.

If you are new to this blog, here's a post that explains a little bit about the order (or lack of) in terms of going through the Bible as well as three types of passages that seem to be relevant to being Christian at work.

This blog explores what it means to be Christian at work, when "church friends" aren't around and God may not be the first thing that naturally comes to mind. But just because you may not work in a building with a steeple on top doesn't mean that God is any less concerned with you and with how you are acting. In fact, I would say you have an even better opportunity to stand out as a servant of Christ at work, where no one expects you to act different, than you do on Sunday mornings, where people around you are also acting Christ-like. How can you do your job "in the name of the Lord Jesus?" How will the "words" and "deeds" of your work reflect Christ this week? As you begin the week today, think about how you can use the week to serve God, not just at a building during Sunday worship, but every day no matter where you are and who is around you.

Catching Up With Where We've Been

I started this blog over the summer and haven't really promoted it because I wanted a chance to start developing content and ideas before I shared those ideas. However, I'm starting to mention it to more and more people, so I wanted to revisit some of the reasons for writing. I think all too often, we think of our "Christian" identity and our "work" identity as separate. This blog is an attempt to bring together all that the Bible says regarding work in one place. To that end, I am reading through the Bible and blogging about passages that seem particularly applicable to workplaces (although I'm not necessarily going through the Bible in order). These passages seem to be generally one of three types: a) Scriptures that explicitly mention work and business transactions such as Leviticus 19:35-36, b) Scriptures that discuss relationships between masters and slaves such as 1 Timothy 6:1-2, and c) Scriptures that deal generally with Christian living but seem very relavant to workplaces. I admit that some may question the connection between master-slave and work supervisor-employee, but I find most of the admonitions to masters and slaves to be very consistent with what I would expect Paul to say to employers and workers. I also admit that some my question or add to the passages that I reference under "general living," and I certainly welcome those conversations as they relate to workplaces. More than anything, I hope this blog will start dialogues, between you and me, between you and others, and between all of us and God regarding how we can be more Christ-like at work.

Introduction

I teach Organizational Communication at the university level, and I have an active research program looking at how people communicate in workplaces. Recently, someone came to me talking about a workplace communication issue. I was giving advice to this person about what to do and how to say the right thing to make everyone happy. This person, who was a Christian and knew I was also a Christian, asked me, "but what would God think about just trying to tell people what they want to hear?" Ouch. It occurred to me that I don't always think about God as I think about how to communicate in workplaces. Christian values shouldn't be confined to Sunday--they should also affect how we act Monday through Friday.

I have a PhD in organizational communication, and I am a university professor, so that is the lens through which I approach this project. What I am doing is reading through the Bible and noting every passage that could apply to our time at work. Sometimes, when people hear “being Christian at work,” the first thing that comes to mind is proselytizing. But as I read the Bible, that’s really only a part of the bigger pictures.

First, a few disclaimers. I don’t pretend to have all the answers or to have the final word. In fact, just the opposite. I would greatly appreciate your comments, especially if you think I may not be on track with some passage. Also, this is a work in progress. You’re reading my first thoughts (or at least really early ones). I would greatly appreciate your feedback.