The Christian on the Job

IN PRE-REFORMATION times, men held the concept that God could best be served in a religious occupation. To be a man of the cloth or to belong to a religious order was the way to be closest to God. This view held that the role of a monk was, in God's sight, of higher value than that of a cobbler. The work of a priest was more meaningful to God than that of a dyer of cloth.

The Reformers protested this concept of occupation, and developed what became known as the Protestant work ethic—the viewpoint that daily work of whatever kind is a vocation or a calling. By doing his work with fidelity, integrity, and diligence, a person is as truly serving God as he who ministers in the pulpit.

The Christian will retain the traditional work ethic. He will not separate vocation from Christian calling. He will look beyond the monotony and weariness of work and see it as one of the stations of life in which God can be served.

Today absenteeism—skipping work without leave—is a rising habit among many United States employees. At some companies, the surge in the rate of absenteeism is reaching a critical level.

Statistics from the Federal Government show that on a national level, absenteeism climbed from 4.3 per cent of full-time job holders in 1967 to 5 per cent in 1972. This rise means that while 2.8 million full-time workers were absent from work at any one time in 1967, the figure climbed to 3.5 million in 1972. Over that period, the number of such workers rose by 4.9 million.

A considerable number of the unscheduled days off were owing to a variety of "personal reasons." These ranged from a hangover to a decision to go on an outing.

Can a Christian, in good conscience, telephone in to say he is ill when he is not? Should he accept pay for sick leave when he is not sick? Isn't this falsification? And when he accepts pay for such falsification, hasn't he stolen both time and money from his employer?

On-the-Job Theft

Another spreading worry for employers is on-the-job theft. Joblifting has become so prevalent that a considerable share of the high prices that consumers are paying for merchandise is owing to company losses from theft.

One authority stated that approximately three times as much merchandise is stolen by employees as by customers. The value of the stolen goods has been estimated to be at least $5 billion every year and possibly three times that much.

Employees sometimes justify their thievery by saying, "Everybody else is doing it," or "I'm not getting fair wages."

Sam Johnson, an employee who felt he was not getting fair wages, worked in a tool shop. This was at a time when there was considerable unemployment, and his boss took advantage of the situation by paying his employees less than the standard wage.

Fuming inwardly about this, Sam decided he would "lift" as many tools as would equal the amount of pay being withheld from him. When he left the plant after work, he would take with him the property he had appropriated. His theft was detected, and he was arrested. He had overlooked the fact that two wrongs do not make a right. The unfairness of an employer does not justify dishonesty on the part of an employee.

Can a Christian, in good conscience, "lift" the property of his employer? If he does, is he anything less than a common thief? Isn't whatever merchandise he has taken the equivalent of "a goodly Babylonish garment"? Isn't his real name "Achan"?

There is also the temptation for a Christian to look the other way when known wrong is going on. Rather than risk unpopularity with the other workers, Christians sometimes fail to report wrongdoing to responsible authorities. They seem unmindful of the fact that for evils that we might have checked, we are just as responsible as if we were guilty of the acts ourselves. A Christian will choose the right because it is the right, and leave the consequences to God.

Not infrequently employees—and employers—are pressured to compromise principle; to falsify accounts; to make dishonest entries on time sheets; to accept payoffs and to misrepresent products. It is not easy to accept the ill- will and alienation of those who "play the game." By nature men do not want to be rejected by their fellow men. They want to be accepted, approved, and esteemed. However, when the practices of the world and the principles of Christianity are in conflict, the Christian will follow the way of his Master.

Quality of Work

There are other ways by which the Christian indicates whether he is, in actuality, a man of God. He will indicate this in the kind of attitude he has toward the quality of his work.

In the working world today, among the white-collar workers as well as the blue-collar workers, there is a sharp decline in quality and excellence. Slovenly work is appearing in the office, the shop, and the factory. Consequently, there is an increasing amount of inferior and defective merchandise on the market.

Automobile companies have had to recall millions of cars because of defective parts. Food companies have had to remove entire stocks of food from grocery shelves because of faulty processing. Consumer protection agencies are inundated with letters of protest from irate customers who have purchased defective merchandise.

Because man has become secularized, he has lost a sense of personal responsibility to God and man. Having lost his feeling of accountability, he has become apathetic, careless, and indifferent.

But not so with the true Christian. Because he is God-oriented, he is also meaning-oriented. Deeper life meanings have given him enriched job meanings. He has retained the traditional Protestant work ethic: the ethic that affirms the meaning and worth of work; that looks beyond the monotony, drabness, and weariness of labor and sees it as one of the stations of life in which God can be served. And so he strives for quality and excellence, aware that the way he applies himself to an assigned task —and the kind of product he produces while at the task—will do more to advance the cause of Christ than any eloquent words about his beliefs.

Bible Examples

Paul exemplified in his daily life the principles that he taught. Although he was a brilliant scholar, having been "taught according to the perfect manner of the law," he did not feel that common labor was demeaning. He learned the trade of tentmaking and during his ministry often worked at this trade to suport himself and others. While he worked at this trade, he had access to a class of people whom he could not otherwise have reached. He exemplified skill in common labor and taught that even in daily work God is to be honored.

Our finest example of diligence and integrity in daily labor was given to us by Jesus. "The path of toil appointed to the dwellers on earth may be hard and wearisome, but it is honored by the foot prints of the Redeemer, and he is safe who follows in this sacred way. By precept and example, Christ has dignified useful labor. From His earliest years He lived a life of toil. The greater part of His earthly life was spent in patient work in the carpenter's shop at Nazareth. In the garb of a common laborer the Lord of life trod the streets of the little town in which He lived, going to and returning from His humble toil; and ministering angels attended Him as He walked side by side with peasants and laborers, unrecognized and unhonored." —Messages to Young People, p. 214.

These examples challenge the minister not only to teach the members of his congregation how to represent Christ on the job but to exemplify in his daily life the principles that he teaches