Faith Dilemmas for Marketplace Christians
Time to Share?
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. . . .
—1 Peter 3:15-16, NIV
OVERZEALOUS Christians who ignore Peter’s words on “gentleness and respect” have given witnessing a bad name.
Others have overreacted by muting their verbal witness entirely. Writer Patrick Klingaman confesses that he, like many other Christians, is usually eager to share his political opinions but tends to take a vow of silence when it comes to sharing opinions about Jesus Christ. Perhaps it is time to remind ourselves of the old saying, “When the heart is on fire, sparks will fly out of the mouth.”
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Ian had the problems of Job, but so far his work hadn’t suffered. Though sometimes frazzled, he still completed his projects on time and on target. On the surface everything seemed fine with Doreen’s star employee.
However, it wasn’t. From a reliable source, she learned that Ian’s personal life was a mess. His finances were in shambles. Setbacks seemed to seek him out.
Ian had worn himself out looking after his ailing mother during the last year of her life. His wife, whose own family had never been close, couldn’t understand why. She turned elsewhere for affection. Soon the marriage was over. The divorce was messy . . . and expensive.
Ian clung to the hope that he could at least be a good father to the teenage children. But then there were problems with drugs and sex. Just the other day someone in the office had overheard Ian utter the words “probation officer” on the telephone.
Ian’s life was falling apart. Now he had turned to alcohol, but only on his own time. It hadn’t affected his work. Not yet.
Doreen knew what a great healer Jesus Christ could be. She had become a Christian in her early twenties after a personal crisis pushed her to the edge of despair. At a time when she saw no possibility of love anywhere, a compassionate Christian community had wrapped her in love and given her more support and purpose than she thought possible. Armed with new direction, her life had changed dramatically. She had often shared her new faith with others, but always on her own time and with people who had become close friends. She couldn’t stand pushy Christians.
She wondered how she could share her faith with Ian without seeming pushy herself. After all, she was his department head. She held some of the keys to his professional future, and he knew it. She wanted to be sensitive to his needs as well as to her delicate position as his boss.
How would she come across if she became more assertive about spiritual matters? She had never had a personal relationship with Ian. She was many years his elder and had never so much as had a cup of coffee with him outside the work setting.
Wouldn’t it seem odd for her suddenly to inject spiritual direction into the relationship? Would she be overstepping her bounds?
No doubt he would be embarrassed to learn that his boss knew the extent of his personal problems. Would he feel obligated to respond affirmatively? How she wished she had begun earlier to become closer to this hurting young man. Then she would have had a better foundation for intervening now. But she hadn’t.
Doreen’s own boss was not a Christian. Would he think it improper for her to give spiritual counsel within the company?
Doreen was convinced she had much to offer Ian. She yearned to do so. But how assertively should she share?
Questions to ponder and discuss
1. Missionaries sometimes speak of “rice Christians” who agree to “convert” to gain material benefit. When might people in the workplace be similarly tempted?
2. What experience have you had in giving a forthright Christian testimony without seeming pushy or intrusive? Can witnessing on the job disrupt the workplace atmosphere? Can it be counterproductive?
3. If you owned the company, how would you feel about employees sharing “their gospel” with others on staff? Would it make a difference if the employees were Mormons? If they were Muslims? If they practiced some other religion?
Additional Scripture
See also Ezekiel 3:16-18; Matthew 5:14; James 2:14-17.