Let’s take another look at these two excerpts, quoted in the
previous reflection:
“The limits are
reached wherever there is a clash between the space the body of Christ claims
and occupies in this world for worship, offices, and the civic life of its
members, and the world’s own claim for space” (page 228).
“That this state
of affairs has been reached becomes at the same time evident in two ways.
First, it becomes necessary for members of the church-community to make a
visible and public confession of faith in Christ. Second, it becomes necessary
for the world either wisely to withdraw or to resort to violence” (page 228).
I would like to
ask Bonhoeffer what he means by it becoming “necessary for members of the church-community
to make a visible and public confession of faith in Christ.” I’d like to ask
him about this because I think what he has written can be misunderstood.
Does he mean
that we wait until there is a conflict to make a public confession? While
perhaps it can be taken this way, this doesn’t seem to align with Bonhoeffer’s
own life nor with the body of his teaching. I will not presume to know just
what Bonhoeffer means, other than there will be times when our public
confession must be unambiguous…with emphasis on the word “public.”
My own sense is
that our confession in the workplace begins on the first day of employment, the
sooner the better. The way relationships begin typically sets their trajectory.
When a professing Christian thinks, “I’ll wait until I have been here a while
and then let people know that I am a Christian,” that Christian often never
gets around to sharing Jesus, to sharing his or her life in Christ, never
becomes a blessing to others, a source of encouragement to others in Christ.
One reason this happens
is that to hide our relationship with Jesus we must lie about who we are. This
is like a married person who takes his or her wedding ring off before going
into the workplace, never mentions their spouse, and gives everyone the
impression that he or she isn’t married. It is impossible for people not to
know we are Christians unless we deceive them and deny knowing Jesus.
People in the
workplace always talk about weekends, they want to know what you are going to
do and what you did. Active Christians typically gather on weekends, worship
and fellowship form a core element of our lives, if we act as if our gatherings
do not exist, as if we don’t participate in them, then we are deceiving those
around us.
People in the
workplace often talk about entertainment, about television, about movies. Most of
this world is poison, it is unwholesome and without moral virtue. Do we ask
thoughtful questions when these subjects are discussed, or do we try to blend
in? We ought not to be ashamed that we do not know what people are talking
about when it comes to some things, anymore than we should be ashamed that we
don’t sprinkle rat poison on our pasta but rather parmesan cheese.
Gossip is often
a disease in the workplace, and being silent in an atmosphere of gossip is a
sign of approval. Furthermore, as Christians, let us remind ourselves that the
devil slanders others, while Jesus Christ came to cover our sins.
Sadly, there are
work environments where prejudice and lying and deceit and cheating and
inequity are practiced. There are work situations where employees are not
treated equally. There are businesses that do not treat their customers with
respect and honesty. There are employees who do not give their employers an
honest day’s work. There are employees who steal.
My point is that
the world is in darkness, and if we are going to live in the Light of Christ
that we cannot but help to confess Him as our Way of Life; we have opportunity
after opportunity.
Another facet to
our confession is that people are hurting. Life is hard, life can be painful,
Are we going to pay attention to those around us, listening to them, caring
about them, praying for them, or are we going to ignore our coworkers? As we
show people we care, we will have many opportunities to pray for them, to
encourage them, and to share Christ with them. Listening to others and
remembering what they share with us is often the beginning of meaningful
witness and relationship.
Our work ethic,
the quality of our work, our enthusiasm, our willingness to do whatever is
needed, our desire to contribute to the success of others, all this ought to be
characteristic of the members of the visible church-community in the workplace.
As Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather
than for men…It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Colossians 3:23 – 24).
The nature of
the world and the Nature of Jesus Christ are so opposite, that it is impossible
to be faithful to Christ in the workplace, in the civic arena, in academics, in
recreation, and not be a witness to Him – both in word and in deed.
If we are
accustomed to sharing Jesus Christ with fellow believers, if praying with other
Christians is woven into the fabric of our lives, then sharing Christ in the
workplace is much less of a leap than otherwise because it is already the way
we live. If, however, we do not pray with other Christians one to one or in
small groups, and if we don’t share the life of Christ, share out of our
relationship with Jesus with other disciples, if we aren’t sharing from the
Scriptures as our way of life, then we are less likely to share with people in
the workplace…or anyplace.
I’m not sure why
we expect folks to share Jesus outside our churches if we don’t give them the opportunity
to share Jesus with one another within our congregations. I don’t see how we
can pray with folks in the workplace if we don’t pray with those with whom we
gather on Sundays, if we don’t have relationships with them throughout the
week.
When my wife and
I moved to a new area some years ago, she had a challenging time finding a job.
Vickie was getting interviews and offers, for she was well-qualified in her
field. However, every offer came from an organization that promoted policies
that were contrary to Biblical standards. Since I was a fulltime student, we
really needed the income. The area we moved to was much more expensive than
where we had moved from, and we were feeling the financial pressure. Yet, we
both knew that we couldn’t trade our obedience to Christ, and our trust in Him,
for an ungodly job. There was never any doubt in our minds about her violating
her conscience by taking a job that would be displeasing to Jesus.
After seeking on
the one hand, and waiting for God on the other, our Father provided Vickie with
a wonderful job; one that was fulfilling, was financially rewarding, and was
with encouraging people. Vickie and I have both had times in which we’ve had to
say “No” to the world, to organizations, to jobs in order to remain faithful to
Jesus. Some of these times have been more painful than others, but I can tell
you that I am thankful, by God’s grace, that we did not sell ourselves to the
highest bidder…for after all…Jesus had already purchased us and we belonged to
Him.
I will also hasten
to say that throughout our pilgrimage as husband and wife, we have had dear friends
who have stood with us and been part of our lives. Our relationships with them
have meant that we have not been alone…even when physically separated by
distance, we’ve never been alone.
The support of
the visible church-community is critical to each of us, the question is whether
we have it, whether it is accessible to us, whether it is nurtured.
The Lord
willing, we’ll continue working with the above quotations from Bonhoeffer in our
next reflection in this series.
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