Can Faith Work at Work?

Our culture has created a belief that our spiritual lives are disconnected from our real everyday lives.  We are told from a young age that church and state are to stay separate.  Society and well-meaning people remind us that our faith has little to do with our workplace and we should keep them apart.  Today I want to make a case for just the opposite.

Christianity has always swum upstream of the culture it is introduced into.  In the culture of Rome where oppressive leadership demanded obedience, faith was crushed or minimized.  Right in the middle of that, the faith of Christianity spoke of servant-hood life, loving your enemy and blessing those who persecute you.  

(Matthew 5:43-45) “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.    

In this culture of selfish ambition and the high value of individualism, the call of God is to become others minded and love your neighbor.  With the world’s, “every one for themselves” approach, it is my belief that Christ followers should not succumb to cultural norms but rather follow Paul’s instruction to the same issue at Rome.

(Romans 12:2) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.     

So I want to address the area most of us struggle with everyday, WORK.  I believe Christ followers can and should make the best employees and the most extraordinary employers.  I believe that we have living examples in this congregation to the truth that faith and work really do work together.  With your workplace being the single biggest investment of time other than sleep, it makes sense that God wants to empower you to be effective in this arena.

Let’s consider what Jesus says about how we as followers of His truth should carry out our day.

(Colossians 3:23-24) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.    

The Apostle Paul was actually talking to people in forced labor and instructing them on how to act.  It should be even more real to those of us who actually get paid for what we do at work.  We have vacation and sick pay.  We get annual pay adjustments.  Not exactly like slavery.

I believe that Christian employees should be the hardest working people in the company because they are working for God not the boss.  They should be the most punctual, because they hear God instruct us to make our word as solid as conceivably possible.

(Matthew 5:37) Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.    

The Bible talks about the natural by-product of a Christ centered life being like fruit on a plant.

Galatians 5:22-25) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.    

Think about it.  If you had just a few employees where they produced this kind of fruit, what would it be like to work in your office?  So what’s the problem?  The real problem is that people who go to work often leave their faith at home or worse at the last church service, which might have been Easter.  The marketplace is longing for our fruit to be available.  Businesses where real Christianity is being lived out are places where hope is enjoyed by all.  Grace is the watchword and prayer for those in authority takes the place of roasting the boss for lunch.  They are places where forgiveness is offered quickly rather than creating office gossip and politics, which leads to division and drama.

Think about your workplace for a moment.  Are you the source of drama or the one who minimizes the drama?  I’ve heard stories of the workplace where some bible thumper is regularly demanding that fellow employees listen to their rhetoric about faith but they are late for work or using company time to tell their story without the permission of the employer.  I’ve met those who go to work and talk about coworkers and then talk about Jesus, it doesn’t wash.  I’ve seen examples of Christian workers who look for ways to get out of responsibility rather than welcoming trust and leadership.

Employers used to clamor to get a former employee of McDonalds because they were hard working, prompt, neat, committed, diligent workers.  Today it means nothing positive to have one of these burger-flipping businesses on your resume, because many of us have been treated like second-class customers by employees when we’ve entered these fast-food establishments.

The same thing should never be said of Christian employees.  We should never leave tracts sitting around for the boss to pick up unless we have his permission.  We should never abuse our workday, or treat the company as dispensable.  We should be the most ardent workers, the most thoughtful team players and the most resistant to drama.  They should be heart broke to see us move on to another business rather than quick to let us go.

If you are a Christian employer you should be known for being a person of integrity, honesty and character.  You should be willing to be humble when the situation demands it and you should encourage and support your team because they are the ones who are keeping your business moving forward.

Let me be clear.  Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean there will never be drama.  It doesn’t mean you are always guaranteed the best position with the best wages.  It doesn’t mean that you will never be without work or income.  Remember Paul was speaking to slaves.  

So, Can faith work at work?  Yes!  Your faith taken to work with you can affect lives more than you may understand.  Your witness is monumental.  But your witness goes far beyond your words.  People need to find hope in Christ, not judgment.  They need to see the possibility of being forgiven for transgressions, not forced to wear a label for years to come as some type of failure.

The reward for this kind of dangerous Christianity, first of all comes from God himself.

(Colossians 3:23-24) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.   

Second of all, your reward comes in the form of respect and admiration of some of your coworkers after you have demonstrated good fruit for a season.  It is however my experience and belief that the reward for this kind of workplace faith-walk does in fact produce tangible results like promotions and advances.  It has in my life and in the lives of many, been lived out in greater pay and a more secure job environment.  People want you to be on their team because you provide stability, joy or harmony with your contribution.  You are known for resisting positional politics and reducing drama.  These things, you can in fact take to the bank.

So faith at work does work.  Swim upstream with me and let’s change our world. 

Notes from Pastor Pasch’s June 7, 2009 message; to get a free CD of the complete message, contact Christ’s Family Church @ 651.437.2340.