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How To Be A Christian At Work

How to Be A Christian At Work

Let me begin with a fact that might not be obvious to all. Work consumes the time of most Christians and non- Christians alike. Most of us spend 60% to 80% of each weekday in some work-related activity. We are either going to work, working, or coming from work. And if you have a job you don’t like, you can hardly enjoy the weekend for thinking of Monday morning.

Given the amount of time that Christians spend at work, you’d think the church would offer more training on how Christians should conduct themselves in the workplace. Nope. The church will provide regular training for members who sing, pray, and teach for a 2-hour worship service one day a week. But the same church will provide little guidance on how to best function as a Christian from 9 to 5, five days a week.

So, let’s explore a few important keys to being a good Christian at work

Be Excellent

It’s important to remember that when Christians go to work…. they go to WORK! They don’t go to preach, to pray, or to proselytize. Do that on your own time. The greatest witness to the faith that you have, is the job that you do. Do it with excellence and it will reflect the excellent God you serve. People will notice.

Be On Time

That’s the first step to an effective witness in the workplace. Make sure you set a tone of excellence by being punctual. It will endear you to your supervisor and set a great example for your coworkers.

Be Nice

This one falls under the banner of common sense, but common sense is not as common as it used to be. It’s impossible to be a good witness with a bad attitude. Remember that your unseen employer is God himself. So, act right, even when you don’t feel right.

Be Dependable

You should attempt to set the standard for dependability at your job. The willingness to do a good job, when no one is around. You might not be the most gifted person in your workplace, but you can be the most dependable. Develop a reputation for follow through and dependability. A lazy worker is a bad witness.

Be Ethical

Stealing office supplies and removing copy paper might be ok for a child of the world, but it’s off limits for a child of God. Clocking in on time but then relaxing in the locker room might be fine for others but it’s not fine for God’s children. Covering up for dishonest co-workers might be a sign of loyalty to your buddies, but it’s a slap in the face of a righteous God.

It’s not easy living ethically in an unethical world, and sometimes things are not always crystal clear. But it’s worth the struggle. For years surveys have shown that the quality that most people desire in leaders, is integrity. Same for the marketplace.

Be Prayerful

“As long as there are tests there will be prayer in the schools.” That old saying is true. You can’t prevent private prayer in schools and it can’t be stopped at work. Private prayer is powerful prayer. I Thessalonians 5:7 says that we should pray continually. In the sanctuary of your heart you can send up prayers for your co-workers and workplace every chance you get.

Be Quiet

James was right when he wrote that the tongue is a small but it’s out of control. More damage has been done by the tongue to churches and workplaces than we can every imagine. Develop a reputation for a tame tongue at your job. Develop a reputation for confidentiality. Develop a reputation as an encourager. Resist the temptation to speak and spread gossip. The best approach is to: limit what you say, watch what you say, and do what you say.

Be Prepared

You might not be able to publicly share your faith at work, but you can answer questions. People are watching you and the Spirit is moving on them. If you pray, God will make your paths cross with people who need your witness. The more prepared you are, the more competent and comfortable you are when your respond.

So, there you have it. Some ways to be a good Christian at work. What do you think? Is it harder or easier these days for Christians in the workplace? Has anyone ever asked you a spiritual question at work?

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How To Save Your Relatives

How To Save Your Family! Evange-Living Series

Question. How can I save my family? Answer. You can’t. But since it’s probably not a good thing to end a blog after just 10 words, let’s talk about it.

Nothing is more heart-wrenching and helpless than looking at a loved one who seems to be wasting life away. Disconnected from God and themselves.  But one thing is absolutely certain. As much as much as we love our family members, God loves them more. Matthew 7:11; Psalm 27:10.

That’s a good word for that loved one whose life seems to have run off the rails. Not only does God love them, but God is chasing them. No, you can’t save your family, that’s God’s job. And He’s working on it as we speak. John 6:44 says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” God is drawing, pulling, pursuing.

David acknowledged as much in Psalm 139:1, 2 and 7. “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away…I can never get away from your presence!” Frances Thompson called Him, The Hound of Heaven!

Matthew 18 puts it another way. It’s clear that God has no problem “leaving” 99 safe saints to search for that one lost cousin, or mother, or aunt, or grandparent of yours. And Luke 15:4 says he pursues, “until He finds it!”  That’s good news.

Now the fact that God is both pursuing and protecting our unsaved loved ones, provides comfort, but it’s no panacea for the pain. It helps to understand the role God gives us to play.

Pray Every-day!

Nothing focuses our prayer life like praying for relatives that are in trouble. Pray with the confidence that God hears and answers prayer. He also understands tears and wails and groans and anger and laments. So come straight. Because when you pray, things happen.

And get other folk involved also.  “If any 2 of you agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19,20.

This is powerful counsel. Don’t stop at your prayer closet but enlist others to pray for your family. If you have a prayer team at your church, get them involved. When other ideas fail, you can be sure that prayer makes a difference. It might not work as we planned, and it might ignore our time tables, but prayer always works.

Be Consistent

One of the reasons relatives seem reluctant to follow us to God is because our Christianity can be painfully inconsistent. It’s not easy to be at your best all the time, but we must recognize how important a consistent lifestyle is to a non-believing relative.

It’s not fair, but often they are looking for any flaw they can find in our Christianity, to give them an excuse to continue their lifestyle. They are desperately trying to ignore the pleas of the Spirit to change their ways, and they will pounce on any inconsistency they see.

Peter’s counsel to wives is good advice for anyone trying to reach a reluctant family member: “Wives in the same way submit yourselves to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.” 1 Peter 3:1-2.

But here’s a little secret. Your lost relatives generally know the difference between consistency and perfection. Don’t hold yourself to an impossible, man-made standard that you can’t keep now, and they won’t keep later. Let the word of God, not someone else’s books, sermons, or opinions be your guide.

Don’t Give Up!

Pray and keep on praying is the message of Matthew 7:7-11. The rescue process can seem painfully slow. At times it doesn’t seem to be moving at all.  Years can pass with no change or hope in sight. That’s why Paul encourages us in Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Don’t Give Up!

So, what do you think? Are you praying for your loved ones and relatives?