Christians in the Workplace 3 of 5 (Dr. Rick Sessoms)

You’re in a restaurant and a woman forgets her cell phone. The waiter, in cleaning the table later, finds the phone and simply puts it in his pocket. What would you do? Rick Sessoms will provide some answers today on MemCare by Radio.

Hi I’m Scott Hollinger and I’d like to welcome you to another edition of MemCare by Radio. The scenario I just described for you at the beginning of our program just recently happened to my wife and me. We were in a restaurant and three women were eating dinner at the table across from us. They finished and left. The waiter, in cleaning the table, found a cell phone in between the cushions. My wife saw him put it in his pocket. A short time later one of the women came back visibly upset and we could hear her ask the waiter if he had found a cell phone. He said he hadn’t and proceeded to make a big display of looking for it. I had not seen the waiter hide the phone but my wife had and she really struggled with what to do. Later she approached the woman who had lost her phone and told her the waiter had found it and put it in his pocket. To be honest, we didn’t wait to see what happened next. It was obvious that waiter was about to have a very unpleasant time of it. Today Rick is going to look at the issue of Evil in the Workplace.

Today I want to talk about the problem of evil in the workplace.  I don’t have to convince those of you who work day in and day out that there is evil in the places where you work.  All of us have a story to tell about unjust politics or dishonest deals or sloppy procedures or sheer incompetence.  Most of us have seen the result of somebody’s evil behaviour that has damaged other people.

I’m not immune from that tendency myself.  I too am tempted to display greed or deception or laziness or insensitivity or any one of a hundred other sins.  We are capable of evil too. 

So then, faced with evil within others and within ourselves, we sometimes feel like giving up.  "There's nothing I can do."  "It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.  What can one person possibly do?" 

Well, there’s a great deal you can do as a follower of Jesus Christ to confront the evil in your workplace.  Here are few suggestions:

First, expect evil.  Ecclesiastes 5:8 says, "If you see the oppression of the poor, and the violent

perversion of justice and righteousness in a province, do not marvel at the matter ..." 

In other words, "Don't be shocked" when you see evil.  Those are really sad words, but they point to reality.  You can anticipate conflict in our world.  You may serve a different Lord than most of your associates. This world is not fair.  This world is not loving.  We live with casualties. 

Second, be reminded that GOD uses evil to bring about good.  James 1:2-4, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces 

endurance..." I know people who have been through the wars of the workplace, and have been scarred, hurt, stepped on, and yet, have come through proven and seasoned. God uses evil because He is sovereign. 

Third, ACT AGAINST evil.  As followers of Christ, we do not have the option of throwing up our hands in despair.  God expects us to take action to appropriately deal with evil.

The Old Testament records the remarkable story of Daniel.  He and a number of Hebrew youths were taken captive by the Babylonians in about 605 B.C.  Eventually, through a chain of events, Daniel ended up as the prime minister of this evil empire.  All along the way, though, he remembered his allegiance to the God of Israel.  He not only survived the evil system, but he actually accomplished his work to the glory of God.

Fourth, know WHEN TO ACT.  When Nebuchadnezzar required Daniel to bow down to idols, Daniel said, “Let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up." In the workplace, if you are ordered to do something that is clearly contrary to the teaching of Scripture – lying to a customer, cheating the government, stealing from an employer or a vendor, ignoring the laws of industry – remember that those behaviours the Bible clearly rules out.   

Fifth, it’s important to act according to the POWER you have to AVOID evil. I sometimes hear people say they can do nothing about the evil in their workplace because they have no power.  It may be true that you may not have the power of some, but God has given to each of us a sphere of control.  Your sphere of control may extend no further than your work station or your desk. But as long as we have responsibility for what goes on there, we can claim that territory for God.  To the extent that you have control, use your positions with integrity to avoid evil, to act when you see a threat of evil on someone who has no ability to protect himself.  God is not pleased when we stand idly by while innocent people suffer. 

You may not be able to change the practices of an entire industry, but you can do something.  Just because you're limited doesn't mean there's nothing you can do.  In a world that often works by the rules of negotiation, be creative.  Providing a shrewd alternative will often make the difference between some progress and no progress at all. 

Sixth, COUNT the COST.  Those who stand up for the right often find themselves staring down the barrel of a political shotgun by a society that do not like to be reminded about what is right. You could get fired or blacklisted within the organization. Soberly weigh the cost to follow Christ.  That's a word straight from the lips of Jesus Himself. 

And finally, use a strategy of PRAYER.  In his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, Daniel knelt down on his knees three times a day and prayed.  Recognize that you are in a spiritual battle, and spiritual battles are not won with mere earthly weapons.  Find one or two other Christians in your workplace to meet with and pray and then rest in the confidence that

the resources of our infinite God are at work to overcome evil with good.

The story of Daniel demonstrates that we can probably do far more than we realize.  If each one of us pursues Christ-likeness on the job, together we put a great deal of evil on the run. Ultimately God will have to deal with evil, but let us diligently do all we can now for the glory of Christ.

I would like to thank you for allowing us to share these very important thoughts on Christians In The Workplace. Rick has shared some very important principles with us and I trust God will continue to guide you in your work. If you would like to listen to this program again or check out the other programs offered by MemCare, on the web you can check us out at  www.membercareradio.org.  I’m Scott Hollinger and on behalf of Rick Sessoms I would like to thank you for listening to MemCare by Radio.