Taking Christ to work

by Dave Jackson

Ed, a sales executive trainee, restrained himself, saying, "Well, I'd like each of those things, but they're not what would matter most. Whether I get all or none of the things you mentioned, I'll still do my best."

Ed got an unlimited expense account and a company car. When he filled out his first expense report, he listed his business and personal mileage accurately. Confused, his boss called him into his office, saying, "There must be some mistake. Your personal mileage exceeds your business mileage."

"That's right," Ed admitted.

"But you don't understand," his boss said. "We salesmen don't think we get paid enough, so we . . . well, we count all our mileage as business mileage, except for the distance between home and work."

Ed didn't respond.

"Look," his boss said, "if I turned in this report, the difference between it and everyone else's could get our department audited. Ed, change the report."

Ed took the report back with him. The next day, he resubmitted it--unchanged.

"You change this, and that's a direct order," his boss snapped.

Ed didn't want to create a problem, so, as respectfully as he could, he explained, "I'm a Christian. I believe that, in the long run, telling the truth will benefit everyone. For instance, if I lied on this report, how would you know that I wasn't lying to you about other things?"

Today, Ed is the field sales manager of national accounts for Blue Cross and Blue Shield. His boss has become a Christian, undoubtedly influenced by Ed's integrity.

Ed's experience pinpoints one of the most important principles of witnessing for Christ in the workplace: The most effective--and in some cases, the only acceptable--witness in the marketplace is meticulous honesty and fairness.

This is not to say that other moral issues don't matter, but in a world of relativity, it's interesting to note that people still want to be treated honestly and fairly--even though they may have rationalized away these standards for themselves or their businesses. As Ed says, "This kind of integrity is so lacking in today's workplace that when you deliver it, it will be obvious. And that often leads to opportunities to share your faith."

Genevieve Caldwell is a successful interior decorator. "I don't overtly witness," she says. "There have been times when I've felt guilty about that, but I've resolved those negative feelings."

Still, Genevieve says that, over the past 20 years, as many as 80% of her employees have become Christians. "This has happened most often when they have seen me struggling to relate to them fairly. Everyone in business wants to make money, and I'm no exception. I could get people to work for me for very low wages, but that would be exploitive."

Clara is one of Genevieve's employees. Several years ago, when she was hired to run errands for the company, Clara had a very poor self-image. She was overweight, hadn't attended high school and had spent years on welfare. But Genevieve started Clara at two dollars above minimum wage--because Genevieve didn't think anyone could live on less.

"I worked Clara hard," Genevieve comments, "but over the years she became more confident". Eventually, Genevieve called a vocational school, arranging for Clara to learn how to type. Today, Clara is doing all the business's financial entries.

During those years, Clara worked through many problems, but Genevieve didn't give up on her. At one point, she gave Clara a paraphrased Bible. Genevieve didn't hear anything about it for some time. Then, one day, Clara came into Genevieve's office to say, "Well, I finally finished the book you gave me."

Clara's comment led to a conversation during which Genevieve felt comfortable sharing the gospel. As a result, Clara accepted Jesus Christ as her Saviour. Genevieve's experience with Clara exemplifies a second principle of sharing our Christian faith on the job: Christian ethics in the workplace must exceed the letter of the law; it must include genuine concern for people.

"It would have been easy for me to take financial advantage of Clara," admits Genevieve, "but if I had, I don't think she would have read the Bible I gave her."

Perry Bigelow, is a leading builder of energy-efficient homes. After receiving his training as a civil engineer and getting his M.B.A., he went to work for a construction company operated by Christians. It wasn't long before he discovered that the gospel didn't affect the way business was conducted there. Perry didn't last long in that job, but it caused him to think seriously about how he wanted his faith to impact his business practices.

"Now, as an employer, I spend a lot of time with my workers discussing biblical, moral and ethical questions," Perry says. He doesn't claim to have all the answers; he only claims that Christ has made a difference in his life.

Every time Perry hires a new employee, he makes a point of talking about the values that he considers important for his company. "For instance," Perry says, "I make it clear that we won't tolerate any of our employees misrepresenting the truth to customers, subcontractors, suppliers, other employees or government officials.<|>.<|>.<|>.<|>Although I can't point to specific people who have come to the Lord as a direct result of our business ethics, our practices have deeply changed the lives of some nominal Christians I've employed."

Perry's method of operating his business suggests a third principle for sharing Christ on the job: Your ethical witness becomes a Christian witness when you identify it as emanating from Christ.

Most people don't assume good business ethics are based on Christ and the Bible. After all, a person could be an ethical Buddhist, New Ager or atheist. For our witness to be Christian, we must tie it to Christ.

Boyd Nixon is vice-president of a commercial real estate investment partnership. For several years, Boyd was meeting with Bob on a business basis. After they conducted their business, they'd have a good time talking together. On some occasions, Boyd used the opportunity to make references to his faith in Christ. Although Boyd's comments were low-key, Bob never expressed any interest in the gospel.

Then, during a phone call, Bob began to share some personal struggles. After indicating that he'd encountered similar situations, Boyd said, "You know, when faced with certain problems, sometimes all I could do was pray."

By that point, Boyd had already built a strong relationship with Bob. His comments were coming from a caring friend. There was no danger that Bob would perceive Boyd's words as insensitive preaching.

Later, Bob stopped by Boyd's office to tell him that things had gotten worse; his business was falling apart. Two key men had left his company, and a third was creating so many problems that Bob was ready to dismiss him. This put Bob under tremendous emotional and financial pressure. In addition, he was having marital problems.

Boyd explains, "After many years of relationship building, I felt that this was a point of need where I could directly share the gospel with Bob. I explained to him how Jesus could help." Later, Bob accepted Christ.

This suggests a fourth principle for sharing Christ in the workplace: Building a strong relationship is usually required before people will become open to the gospel. Patience is necessary. Sometimes proclaiming the plan of salvation to someone and expecting that person to accept it immediately is unrealistic. Instead, pray that God will use your words to plant a seed in someone's heart. Then, let God water that seed through your growing relationship with that person.

If we find creative ways to bring Christ daily into our job situations, we won't feel that we must win people to Christ immediately. Sometimes our task as Christians is simply to demonstrate personal integrity and concern for others. Our lifestyle witness will get others thinking about what makes us different.

Dave Jackson is a writer from Evanston, Ill.