Our Witness in the Workplace

by Oct 15, 2018Workplace Evangelism

Your workplace is not merely your job; it is your ministry. It is not only the means of putting food on your table but also an opportunity to introduce those you work with to the Savior through our words and actions.

Our words and actions work hand-in-hand as our actions provide the foundation for the credibility of our words. They can cause a non-Christian to ask, “I wonder what it is that makes him behave the way he does. I’m impressed.”

It includes anything and everything people may observe about us—the integrity we exhibit by the promises we make and keep, the way we treat people we dislike or who dislike us, and even the patience we exhibit at meetings or during times of stress.

Here are some questions for reflection about your witness at work:

  1. Am I a good worker? Good, competent workers are hard to find. As employees, each of us needs to examine our own job performance, remembering that God is our ultimate supervisor. We should live and work each day as if we are accountable to Him because we are. This includes how we spend our time at work, even in evangelism. We are paid by our employers to work, not to witness. After hours or break times can be great opportunities for that, but we need to be careful not to steal time from our employers.

  2. Do I act and react with self-control? You cannot always control what happens to you, but you can control how you respond to it. Our reactions to circumstances catch people’s attention. The way we react to countless stresses and conflicts in the workplace are evident every day—in conferences, lunchroom conversations, client negotiations, budget planning, service calls, sales meetings, and on the factory line. Every day our reactions are on display.

  3. Do I tell the truth? Hard work and proper reactions need to be accompanied by truth. When someone says “the truth,” we instinctively think about the issue of lying versus telling the truth. Truth needs to be seen in sales reports, endorsements, expense reports, budget analyses, client negotiations, and the way we repeat what others say. However, it also means what we say and why we say it. If we say something as simple as, “I appreciate you” to a co-worker, are we saying it out of honesty or as a way to manipulate the other person? What we say should be consistent with our true motives.

  4. Do I live consistently? Do you work as hard one month after your evaluation and pay increase as you did the five months leading up to it? Does everyone get the same Christ-like treatment from you or only those who might help you climb the corporate ladder? Are your actions just as honest when the boss is not looking? Consistency should be the flavor of our lives, living every moment of every day in submission to and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Answer these questions honestly and make the necessary changes. The results could be life changing, not just for yourself, but also for the people you work with every day.