THE CHRISTIAN AT WORK

                                  THE CHRISTIAN WORKER

 "...and  there was not a man to till the ground...and the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." Genesis 2:5,15

INDEX:
-THE CALL TO SERVE
-THE CHRISTIAN IN THE WORKPLACE
-WHAT ABOUT INJUSTICES AND WRONGS IN THE WORKPLACE?
-THE CHRISTIAN BUSINESSMAN
-CONCLUSION

THE CALL TO SERVE

 Everyone who comes to Christ is also called to serve Him "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve." Matthew 4:10, but not everyone who comes to Christ is called into the "Ministry"... apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, Ephesians 4:11-12 If not, how do I serve Him. We know that the answer is obvious, we serve Him in and with everything we do. "And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him...And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." Colossians 3:17,23

 All this is understood, but we do not always grasp some of  the implications. Remember, all that we do for God is to be out of faith, and love for Him and for people. This is where it gets exciting, because that will take all our activities into a whole new dimension. In this arena, almost everything, no matter how seemingly unrelated, is spiritual, has eternal value, will glorify Him, and be an opportunity to share His love with others, yet all the while it is as natural as breathing. How cool is that!

 It has been said that your occupation is your service to God. That being true, then we are all ministers of Christ. Most every work and occupation has significance and value to your fellow man. So if you are a baker, you serve your fellow man by making their bread. If you are a carpenter, you build their homes. If you are a computer technician people need your skills  to facilitate their world. A doctor, nurse, lawyer, teacher, janitor, barber... and perhaps the most important of all, a mother and father, you are serving people that will spent eternity somewhere (as my pastor would say), and you get to assist them on the way to heaven - hopefully. Your life, your work, your efforts are not in any way insignificant, and if that is what God has called you to do, do it with all your heart and let the love of Jesus shine through you and praise Him for the opportunity. Serving in the Kingdom of God in this way everything is an adventure and you never know what He will do through you. It can turn your perhaps menial or even mundane work into a station for the Kingdom of God, and you its conductor
 
 - THE CHRISTIAN IN THE WORK PLACE –

“…but be an example of the believers, in word, in conversation (conduct), charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

 First let us set something straight here. This behaviour is and should be more spontaneous than deliberate if we are yielded to the Holy Spirit. We do not try and be “CHRISTIANS”, we are Christians if Christ is in us. True, we need to be conscientious of our words and actions at all times lest we let the flesh rule our actions, but as we walk in faith, His nature and character is already working in us by His Holy Spirit. We then cannot brag or take the credit for any well-mannered action since that is Christ working in us. 
 Here are some examples of what it should look like at work:

- We put our heart into the work because we are really working for the Lord and not people. Our work is ours to tend to.

- We do not give ourselves over to complaining , Philippians 2:14

- We obey our bosses Ephesians 6:5-8

- We are kind and helpful to our fellow workers

- We do not pilfer (take things of little value) “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” Luke 16:10

- Have the attitude that our work is not only for an income, but our way of serving our fellow man. If you feel your work has no value to your fellow man, but you feel obligated to the job, pray that the Lord can use you to bring His salvation and Kingdom into your place of employment. That should always be a concern regardless.

 

- Have an attitude of thankfulness. Being able to work is a privilege.
 

- Be teachable and correctable.
 

WHAT ABOUT INJUSTICES AND WRONGS IN THE WORK PLACE
 

- We do not participate in corrupt talk or behaviour, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Ephesians 5:11
 

- Bring attention to injustices in the spirit of humility, but do not join the rebellious, Proverbs 24:21. Pray for wisdom and direction.

- “Speak evil of no man…”  Titus 3:2, but, “…speaking the truth in love.” Ephesians 4:15, There are times to speak, and times to remain silent, and the Lord will give you the wisdom.

- Pray for the prosperity of your work place, the employer, and your fellow workers. That is profitable for all, even you. God places us in key places to be His salt and light.

THE CHRISTIAN BUSINESS MAN
 

 Some of these suggestions many Christian Business Men may firmly and ‘Biblically’ disagree with, and they may very well be right. What I am writing here are perspectives I have gleaned from my few years of becoming a small businessman (I am not referring to my height). The very last thing in the world I had any interest of doing was to become a business man of any kind. I trained to be a missionary, but Jesus thus redirected me in these latter years. I have worked for some very excellent bosses who are perhaps not Christians, but who practiced many of these principles.
 

- As a disciple of Jesus Christ, the number one motive of our business should not be to make money, but to serve our society as unto the Lord to the best of our ability. This clearly means that our motives should never be to get money out of people, but rather to provide them the best product/service, that they can afford. There can be a fine line between trying to make money and , "Thou shalt not covet."

- If you are working for someone else, serving the Lord is still your number one responsibility, and you obey your boss as unto the Lord. His demand is to make money, of course, and you put your whole heart into it and can do so without losing integrity by providing  service and or products at reasonable prices that will not only be of value to your customer, but also for your boss. His prosperity is also yours.

- Follow Jesus’ ‘Golden Rule’ to do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31). Do not sell something to someone when you know that they do not need it or will not help them, unless of course they are insisting on having it. That is their right. In this topic I am not referring to nick-knacks at a box store, but a needed product for a service or task which they are attempting to provide or undertake.

- If you cannot provide the product or service, point them to someone who can, even if it is you fierce competition (be very careful before you make such a move). Your issue is not your customer's concern, but they will surely appreciate your earnest care and help (though probably your competition will too).

- UPSELLING is fine if you know they can use what you are directing them to, especially if you know they will go somewhere else to get it.

- The best price you are offering your customer may not be the cheapest in the market or industry, but the cheapest that you can offer but still keep your business safe and healthy.

- There is a difference of between greed and making a healthy profit for your business. Times change, and hard times come. Woe be to your business if your profits cannot cover unexpected loss.  Note how Joseph served the Pharaoh in Genesis 47. (I personally find some of the things he did a touch scary, but the Lord gave him the wisdom).

- The worker is worthy of their hire (Matthew 10:10). Do not despise giving them a good wage and benefits. The success of your business depends on their skills, abilities, and dedication. Again, keep the Golden Rule as your guide for their treatment.

- Beware of treating your employees as your puppets or objects for manipulation to do with as you please. There is a fine line between being  stern, and cruel. "And you masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening, knowing that your Master also is in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with Him." Ephesians 6:9. All terms and conditions of their employment should be clearly established and agreed upon before they are employed. If they do not agree they can work elsewhere.  This is perhaps very circumstantial, but an ideal employer/employee relationship is when your employees can almost be regarded by you as sub-contractors (one does not push contractors around, but recognizes and relies on their capabilities).

- As with that which becomes Christ, lying and cheating is totally unacceptable and evil.

- Beware of cruelty in business dealings, especially with the expression,

“It’s nothing personal, just business.” Sometimes that is justly applicable, but remember, God will call you to give account.

- The good you may do does not negate the evil you may have undertaken to get there. God is Judge.
 

  There are areas that I cannot touch. The business world can be very ruthless and from my perspective I find it difficult to justify some decisions that are made by even some well meaning Christians. No doubt they can challenge me Biblically. Joseph, while serving the Pharaoh, used the blessings of God to, in the end and though not stated in the Scriptures that that was the will of God, to purchase all the people of Egypt and their lands for the Pharaoh. They sold all they had and themselves to Pharaoh for the grain that he had obtained from them prior to the famine. Joseph orchestrated it all and took advantage of the situation to benefit Pharaoh who was his boss. Genesis 47:13-26 Through this, Joseph levied one fifth of their income for Pharaoh. This made the Pharaohs very wealthy. I leave that this to God.

CONCLUSION - The Scriptures teach that whatever we do we do all to the Glory of God, and that includes our life in the work place - wherever the Lord has placed you. "And whatsoever you do in word or deed, od all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father By Him." Colossians3:17