*Edited July 9, 2015*
Just like in many other situations, it is not very easy to act Christlike when things get stressful in the workplace. Having served in the Army, I experienced this far too often, and there were other factours that made it even more difficult to be Christlike in and outside of work. The battle is maintaining a Christlike attitude in the workplace when work gets busy and stressful and the people become a nuisance. Everything that I'll be posting in this two-part series can apply to other things in life such as college, family, social situations, whatever the case may be. Considering the context of this blog entry, I'll be specifically focusing on the workplace with an emphasis on management positions.
Biblical Direction
Fortunately, God's Word gives us direction when this problem arises. Colossians 3:23-25 says, "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord — you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favouritism." This is simply a reminder to maintain your enthusiasm in Christ in everything you do, and that includes your job. But that's exactly the problem, isn't it? It's easier said than done. Some may find this enthusiasm rather odd, but you're not doing it for man; you're doing it for Christ. I myself have a difficult time being enthusiastic at work and school every now and then whether it's because I'm too tired or because my spirit is downcast for whatever unfortunate predicament that besets me. In fact, it was this exact lack of enthusiasm in my calling that caused me to temporarily leave my path to being a pastor. Of course, God corrected my path. We remain enthusiastic because we know by faith that God will reward us with the inheritance of His kingdom, for we are servants and co-heirs of Christ. We don't do this for man because most of the time, man cannot keep a simple promise, but God keeps all of His promises. We can simply know this just by looking at a rainbow — God's promise to Noah that He would not destroy man by flood again. God created a new thing called a rainbow just for Noah. That's pretty amazing. We also know this not only by our faith, but also through the example of many others such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. (see Hebrews 11). We ought to remain enthusiastic for the Lord when things get tough because the alternative — doing wrong — will just come back to pit itself against you. To us, it may not seem wrong for a while, but anything against God's Word is wrong; there is no grey area because there is no partiality with God. Every time we claim that a grey area exists in the Word of God, it is when we are too indolent to distinguish the black from the white.
Encourage Your Co-Workers
Another method to consider is to encourage others in the workplace. First Thessalonians 5:12-15 says, "Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labour among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are lazy, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all." There are a lot of principles listed here, so we'll approach them one-by-one. It's important to give recognition, or appraisal, to people in the workplace, especially those in a lower position than you are. An effective strategy that HR (human resources) personnel use within an organisation is performance appraisal and evaluation. It is a formal system for evaluating an employee's job performance. Appraisal results are used in making decisions about who will be promoted (or demoted), transferred (or dismissed), and the amount of raises given to employees. With this, HR personnel may also utilise what's called the 360ยบ performance appraisal, where every employee is evaluated not just by their supervisor, but also by their peers and subordinates. This is highly effective because your peers and subordinates know more about what you do than your supervisor does because you may hardly interact with him or her. This HR system can give some negative feedback about an employee's performance, but when it is positive, it has an enormously positive effect on the individual. That's just a formal example. Informally, letting someone know every now and then that they're doing a great job, no matter how small or large of a task it is, will mean a lot to them that someone has noticed their efforts, which will ultimately boost their morale.
It doesn't matter whether they're a janitor or hold an executive position at a company. Every single job has its place in society and each organisation, no matter how lowly or glorious. If a job had no purpose, then it simply wouldn't exist. Would you like to clean all the bathrooms and every room in the building you work in? Of course you don't; that's why you're not a janitor. (If you are are janitor, then thank you for what you do for us.) Therefore, they are necessary, and recognising somebody's labour with such a job, or any job, is a way to shine Christ's kindness upon them and possibly even begin to witness to them. If that happens, you can then begin to admonish them when necessary, which is to earnestly warn them about something that is not in line with God's Word. Admonishing is in three basic steps: a warning, correction, and teaching. Basically, if you do what Job's three friends did to him (they failed to rebuke him and instead condemned him), you're doing it wrong. This is out of everybody's comfort zone, but we're not supposed to be comfortable when we live as Christ did. John the Baptiser was certainly not comfortable. He was imprisoned in human filth and was beheaded by the order of King Herod because of an absurd promise he made to his wife. Of course, this doesn't happen to all of us, but the fact remains that living the Christian lifestyle is not always a comfortable one. It's a difficult life! Anyone who walks into Christianity expecting it to make their life easier doesn't understand what Christianity is at all.
Be At Peace Among Yourselves, Warn the Lazy
Moving on, the passage goes on to say that we must be at peace amongst each other. This is a huge topic to discuss, but I won't be getting into that here. But for reference, Romans 12:14-17 gives us a list of principles on how to live in harmony with one another. Anyway, Paul writes here that we must warn the lazy and correct them and guide them into diligence. Proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied." Advise the indolent. Let them know that they lack what they crave because they're lazy — they don't work hard for it, and only then will they become full satisfied in what they desire. Hard work pays off because hard work is the only way to pay for success. You can't succeed if you're lazy. As manager, "know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds..." (Proverbs 27:23). Don't neglect someone from God's grace just because they don't believe; it's just that much more important for them to experience it. Jesus, after all, came not for the righteous, but for sinners (Luke 5:31). Thomas Merton once said, "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners." And we are all sinners, even the "best" Christian (which is a myth). I'm not saying to go right up to them and start spouting verses at them or put your hand on their forehead and begin to pray; that's the wrong approach because it'll just make them uncomfortable. It all begins with your actions, and when they ask questions, then you can bring up God, but don't push it onto them. Be meek (James 3:13).
Comfort the Discouraged
The next thing the passage says is to comfort the discouraged. If someone is discouraged at work or just about his or her abilities in general, then recognition and leadership and guidance are of the utmost importance. If you notice it and do nothing, their work productivity will decrease and they'll end up losing their job. From a business perspective, this could be good for the business because they'll hire somebody who will efficiently and enthusiastically get the work done, but we're in the business of God here, not man. The bustiness we work for as managers may be that of man, but every aspect of our lives belongs to God, including our professional vocation. Therefore, we cannot tolerate discouragement and a lack of self-esteem anywhere, even in the workplace. All they need is simple encouragement, recognition, and direction; it doesn't have to be formal like the HR strategy explained above. Let them know that you notice their work and by this recognition, they become encouraged for the simple fact that somebody noticed them. Give them a reason to believe that what they do makes a difference in the workplace and even peoples' lives. Give them specific examples of things they do well in their job. If there are some things that they do poorly and that gives them plausible reasons to be discouraged, then help them get better! Don't just stand idly by and watch them crumble into disaster. The antithesis of love is not hatred; it is indifference — it is apathy. Hatred is simply the absence of love. Help is the ultimate form of encouragement, and that is exactly what heals their discouragement. The most diligent and successful organisation is one where its employer takes care of its employees and the employees take care of each other.
Before I continue, as a reminder, when you encourage and help people in the workplace, it would be wise not to go around preaching. (This is different if you work for a Christian organisation, in which case spiritual encouragement is necessary.) In a secular business, doing such things will only turn people away from Christianity because they'll find you ignorant of other peoples' beliefs, arrogant of your own beliefs, and forceful on them, even if you're not. As I said earlier, it begins with your actions. Just show them the kindness of Christ and love int he way you act and speak and there is the potential that they will individually come to ask you why you do what you do and how you do it, and that's the opportunity where you can say something along the lines of, "Honestly, it's because of the man [or woman] God transformed me to become by His grace alone." And if they're interested, you can then begin to actually teach them the Word. Be an opportunist; don't be annoying.
Help the Weak
Now, the next thing is to help the weak, and this varies depending on the situation. For you men, where a woman is having difficulty lifting heavy materials, be a gentleman and help her. Also for you men, if a younger and smaller in stature male is having the same difficulty, help him. Don't be a jerk and just stand there and think to yourself, "Oh he'll get it eventually because he's a man!" That has the potential to lead to injuries. Such a situation is exactly what led to my injury when I was in the Army. One particular morning in 2012, my unit was doing PT (physical training). We were working on our upper bodies, so we were lifting a lot of heavy objects. One of the exercises we were doing was lifting a tire that belonged to a 5-ton truck, so you can imagine how heavy that is. During the exercise, I couldn't quite handle the weight anymore (and yes, throughout the entire exercise I was lifting with my legs). I told the NCO in charge that I could't lift it anymore due to pain, but he forced me to keep lifting, and that's when my back went SNAP! and I got injured. The NCOs of that unit at the time learnt a valuable lesson: young people are not superhuman. Now I have lumbar spinal stenosis, which has also caused sciatica. What this means is that I now have a narrow spinal canal and the joints in that part of my spine are really weak. So weak that it caused a disc to slip and puncture my sciatic nerve, which caused my left leg to be in pain all the time. Currently, I'm in the late stages where I can't even stand for more than 30 minutes at a time without feeling extreme pain in my back, feet, and left leg. Also, my sciatic is in the late stages where my left leg will cramp for no reason. Poor management can lead to injuries.
Help the man or woman with a physical condition that prevents them from doing something that you're clearly capable of, whether they're handicapped or temporarily injured (e.g. broken limb, strained muscle, etc.) or something that's more underlying that you can't see, like my injury. My condition is something within my body, which causes me to be unable to lift heavy objects and I can't be on my feet for long periods of time. You can't see this underlying condition, so when my co-workers are aware of it, they are responsible for ensuring that I don't do anything that pushes me beyond my physical limits (especially the supervisor or manager). For everybody, there are tough jobs that require you to come to work in spite of illness (or simply due to one's own stubbornness), which weakens and tires the body as well as the spirit and stresses the immune system even more, so help someone who is ill at work. Or, as manager, if someone calls in sick, don't be a jerk and tell them to come in anyway. They need rest and they could infect other employees. (If they have a strange pattern of illness, however, I believe it's legitimate to suspect they're lying.) These are all simple things to do and it's just simple generosity and compassion. All you have to do is just do it.
Be Patient with Everyone
Next, we have to be patient with everyone. Again, this is easier said than done. Patience is very important when it comes to admonishing someone in the workplace, especially if they're discouraged. Depending on someone's level of discouragement and their psyche, they're not likely to quickly get back on their feet and start working productively and enthusiastically, so it requires a lot of patience. God is very patient with each and every one of us, so we are likewise to be patient with discouraged colleagues and employees to come around, become encouraged and enthusiastic, and hopefully come to Christ in the end, because love "always hopes" (1 Corinthians 13:7). We're human and so we like to dwell on our negative emotions, especially when one is discouraged and/or depressed, so it takes a lot of time — some more than others. This is why patience is so important.
Do not Repay Evil for Evil
Lastly, the passage says to be sure that no one repays evil for evil to anyone. This is what we call vengeance. Things happen in the personal lives of employees after work that will often cause enmity in the workplace, whether it's a trial in their personal lives or is caused by interaction with one another after duty hours (or even during), and that's not healthy for the organisation or the human being. You don't have to be a leader in the workplace to make sure this doesn't happen either (although as manager, you have the most influence). If employees never looked out for each other, then all hell would break loose. So look out for your colleagues. I'm going to repeat what I said earlier: The most diligent and successful organisation is one where its employer takes care of its employees and the employees take care of each other. See that no evil spirit enters the workplace. Evil spirits don't just supernaturally float around as an invisible black orb of smoke and make a man spontaneously go berserk. It is an insidious time bomb that invests in the human mind, heart, and spirit, so it is vital to keep a watchful eye. By paying attention to detail and looking out for your colleagues, you pursue "what is good for one another and for all" (v. 15).
To Be Continued...
Just like in many other situations, it is not very easy to act Christlike when things get stressful in the workplace. Having served in the Army, I experienced this far too often, and there were other factours that made it even more difficult to be Christlike in and outside of work. The battle is maintaining a Christlike attitude in the workplace when work gets busy and stressful and the people become a nuisance. Everything that I'll be posting in this two-part series can apply to other things in life such as college, family, social situations, whatever the case may be. Considering the context of this blog entry, I'll be specifically focusing on the workplace with an emphasis on management positions.
Biblical Direction
Fortunately, God's Word gives us direction when this problem arises. Colossians 3:23-25 says, "Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord — you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favouritism." This is simply a reminder to maintain your enthusiasm in Christ in everything you do, and that includes your job. But that's exactly the problem, isn't it? It's easier said than done. Some may find this enthusiasm rather odd, but you're not doing it for man; you're doing it for Christ. I myself have a difficult time being enthusiastic at work and school every now and then whether it's because I'm too tired or because my spirit is downcast for whatever unfortunate predicament that besets me. In fact, it was this exact lack of enthusiasm in my calling that caused me to temporarily leave my path to being a pastor. Of course, God corrected my path. We remain enthusiastic because we know by faith that God will reward us with the inheritance of His kingdom, for we are servants and co-heirs of Christ. We don't do this for man because most of the time, man cannot keep a simple promise, but God keeps all of His promises. We can simply know this just by looking at a rainbow — God's promise to Noah that He would not destroy man by flood again. God created a new thing called a rainbow just for Noah. That's pretty amazing. We also know this not only by our faith, but also through the example of many others such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, etc. (see Hebrews 11). We ought to remain enthusiastic for the Lord when things get tough because the alternative — doing wrong — will just come back to pit itself against you. To us, it may not seem wrong for a while, but anything against God's Word is wrong; there is no grey area because there is no partiality with God. Every time we claim that a grey area exists in the Word of God, it is when we are too indolent to distinguish the black from the white.
Encourage Your Co-Workers
Another method to consider is to encourage others in the workplace. First Thessalonians 5:12-15 says, "Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labour among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are lazy, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all." There are a lot of principles listed here, so we'll approach them one-by-one. It's important to give recognition, or appraisal, to people in the workplace, especially those in a lower position than you are. An effective strategy that HR (human resources) personnel use within an organisation is performance appraisal and evaluation. It is a formal system for evaluating an employee's job performance. Appraisal results are used in making decisions about who will be promoted (or demoted), transferred (or dismissed), and the amount of raises given to employees. With this, HR personnel may also utilise what's called the 360ยบ performance appraisal, where every employee is evaluated not just by their supervisor, but also by their peers and subordinates. This is highly effective because your peers and subordinates know more about what you do than your supervisor does because you may hardly interact with him or her. This HR system can give some negative feedback about an employee's performance, but when it is positive, it has an enormously positive effect on the individual. That's just a formal example. Informally, letting someone know every now and then that they're doing a great job, no matter how small or large of a task it is, will mean a lot to them that someone has noticed their efforts, which will ultimately boost their morale.
It doesn't matter whether they're a janitor or hold an executive position at a company. Every single job has its place in society and each organisation, no matter how lowly or glorious. If a job had no purpose, then it simply wouldn't exist. Would you like to clean all the bathrooms and every room in the building you work in? Of course you don't; that's why you're not a janitor. (If you are are janitor, then thank you for what you do for us.) Therefore, they are necessary, and recognising somebody's labour with such a job, or any job, is a way to shine Christ's kindness upon them and possibly even begin to witness to them. If that happens, you can then begin to admonish them when necessary, which is to earnestly warn them about something that is not in line with God's Word. Admonishing is in three basic steps: a warning, correction, and teaching. Basically, if you do what Job's three friends did to him (they failed to rebuke him and instead condemned him), you're doing it wrong. This is out of everybody's comfort zone, but we're not supposed to be comfortable when we live as Christ did. John the Baptiser was certainly not comfortable. He was imprisoned in human filth and was beheaded by the order of King Herod because of an absurd promise he made to his wife. Of course, this doesn't happen to all of us, but the fact remains that living the Christian lifestyle is not always a comfortable one. It's a difficult life! Anyone who walks into Christianity expecting it to make their life easier doesn't understand what Christianity is at all.
Be At Peace Among Yourselves, Warn the Lazy
Moving on, the passage goes on to say that we must be at peace amongst each other. This is a huge topic to discuss, but I won't be getting into that here. But for reference, Romans 12:14-17 gives us a list of principles on how to live in harmony with one another. Anyway, Paul writes here that we must warn the lazy and correct them and guide them into diligence. Proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied." Advise the indolent. Let them know that they lack what they crave because they're lazy — they don't work hard for it, and only then will they become full satisfied in what they desire. Hard work pays off because hard work is the only way to pay for success. You can't succeed if you're lazy. As manager, "know well the condition of your flock, and pay attention to your herds..." (Proverbs 27:23). Don't neglect someone from God's grace just because they don't believe; it's just that much more important for them to experience it. Jesus, after all, came not for the righteous, but for sinners (Luke 5:31). Thomas Merton once said, "The church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners." And we are all sinners, even the "best" Christian (which is a myth). I'm not saying to go right up to them and start spouting verses at them or put your hand on their forehead and begin to pray; that's the wrong approach because it'll just make them uncomfortable. It all begins with your actions, and when they ask questions, then you can bring up God, but don't push it onto them. Be meek (James 3:13).
Comfort the Discouraged
The next thing the passage says is to comfort the discouraged. If someone is discouraged at work or just about his or her abilities in general, then recognition and leadership and guidance are of the utmost importance. If you notice it and do nothing, their work productivity will decrease and they'll end up losing their job. From a business perspective, this could be good for the business because they'll hire somebody who will efficiently and enthusiastically get the work done, but we're in the business of God here, not man. The bustiness we work for as managers may be that of man, but every aspect of our lives belongs to God, including our professional vocation. Therefore, we cannot tolerate discouragement and a lack of self-esteem anywhere, even in the workplace. All they need is simple encouragement, recognition, and direction; it doesn't have to be formal like the HR strategy explained above. Let them know that you notice their work and by this recognition, they become encouraged for the simple fact that somebody noticed them. Give them a reason to believe that what they do makes a difference in the workplace and even peoples' lives. Give them specific examples of things they do well in their job. If there are some things that they do poorly and that gives them plausible reasons to be discouraged, then help them get better! Don't just stand idly by and watch them crumble into disaster. The antithesis of love is not hatred; it is indifference — it is apathy. Hatred is simply the absence of love. Help is the ultimate form of encouragement, and that is exactly what heals their discouragement. The most diligent and successful organisation is one where its employer takes care of its employees and the employees take care of each other.
Before I continue, as a reminder, when you encourage and help people in the workplace, it would be wise not to go around preaching. (This is different if you work for a Christian organisation, in which case spiritual encouragement is necessary.) In a secular business, doing such things will only turn people away from Christianity because they'll find you ignorant of other peoples' beliefs, arrogant of your own beliefs, and forceful on them, even if you're not. As I said earlier, it begins with your actions. Just show them the kindness of Christ and love int he way you act and speak and there is the potential that they will individually come to ask you why you do what you do and how you do it, and that's the opportunity where you can say something along the lines of, "Honestly, it's because of the man [or woman] God transformed me to become by His grace alone." And if they're interested, you can then begin to actually teach them the Word. Be an opportunist; don't be annoying.
Help the Weak
Now, the next thing is to help the weak, and this varies depending on the situation. For you men, where a woman is having difficulty lifting heavy materials, be a gentleman and help her. Also for you men, if a younger and smaller in stature male is having the same difficulty, help him. Don't be a jerk and just stand there and think to yourself, "Oh he'll get it eventually because he's a man!" That has the potential to lead to injuries. Such a situation is exactly what led to my injury when I was in the Army. One particular morning in 2012, my unit was doing PT (physical training). We were working on our upper bodies, so we were lifting a lot of heavy objects. One of the exercises we were doing was lifting a tire that belonged to a 5-ton truck, so you can imagine how heavy that is. During the exercise, I couldn't quite handle the weight anymore (and yes, throughout the entire exercise I was lifting with my legs). I told the NCO in charge that I could't lift it anymore due to pain, but he forced me to keep lifting, and that's when my back went SNAP! and I got injured. The NCOs of that unit at the time learnt a valuable lesson: young people are not superhuman. Now I have lumbar spinal stenosis, which has also caused sciatica. What this means is that I now have a narrow spinal canal and the joints in that part of my spine are really weak. So weak that it caused a disc to slip and puncture my sciatic nerve, which caused my left leg to be in pain all the time. Currently, I'm in the late stages where I can't even stand for more than 30 minutes at a time without feeling extreme pain in my back, feet, and left leg. Also, my sciatic is in the late stages where my left leg will cramp for no reason. Poor management can lead to injuries.
Help the man or woman with a physical condition that prevents them from doing something that you're clearly capable of, whether they're handicapped or temporarily injured (e.g. broken limb, strained muscle, etc.) or something that's more underlying that you can't see, like my injury. My condition is something within my body, which causes me to be unable to lift heavy objects and I can't be on my feet for long periods of time. You can't see this underlying condition, so when my co-workers are aware of it, they are responsible for ensuring that I don't do anything that pushes me beyond my physical limits (especially the supervisor or manager). For everybody, there are tough jobs that require you to come to work in spite of illness (or simply due to one's own stubbornness), which weakens and tires the body as well as the spirit and stresses the immune system even more, so help someone who is ill at work. Or, as manager, if someone calls in sick, don't be a jerk and tell them to come in anyway. They need rest and they could infect other employees. (If they have a strange pattern of illness, however, I believe it's legitimate to suspect they're lying.) These are all simple things to do and it's just simple generosity and compassion. All you have to do is just do it.
Be Patient with Everyone
Next, we have to be patient with everyone. Again, this is easier said than done. Patience is very important when it comes to admonishing someone in the workplace, especially if they're discouraged. Depending on someone's level of discouragement and their psyche, they're not likely to quickly get back on their feet and start working productively and enthusiastically, so it requires a lot of patience. God is very patient with each and every one of us, so we are likewise to be patient with discouraged colleagues and employees to come around, become encouraged and enthusiastic, and hopefully come to Christ in the end, because love "always hopes" (1 Corinthians 13:7). We're human and so we like to dwell on our negative emotions, especially when one is discouraged and/or depressed, so it takes a lot of time — some more than others. This is why patience is so important.
Do not Repay Evil for Evil
Lastly, the passage says to be sure that no one repays evil for evil to anyone. This is what we call vengeance. Things happen in the personal lives of employees after work that will often cause enmity in the workplace, whether it's a trial in their personal lives or is caused by interaction with one another after duty hours (or even during), and that's not healthy for the organisation or the human being. You don't have to be a leader in the workplace to make sure this doesn't happen either (although as manager, you have the most influence). If employees never looked out for each other, then all hell would break loose. So look out for your colleagues. I'm going to repeat what I said earlier: The most diligent and successful organisation is one where its employer takes care of its employees and the employees take care of each other. See that no evil spirit enters the workplace. Evil spirits don't just supernaturally float around as an invisible black orb of smoke and make a man spontaneously go berserk. It is an insidious time bomb that invests in the human mind, heart, and spirit, so it is vital to keep a watchful eye. By paying attention to detail and looking out for your colleagues, you pursue "what is good for one another and for all" (v. 15).
To Be Continued...
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