Unity at Work
by Jared Johnson
Unity can be difficult even in a friendly environment. On a church staff (or Christian non-profit), where we all do our best to follow Jesus daily, unity can still be a challenge. Priorities or preferences might not quite align. We get tired or have an off day and a conversation doesn’t go well. Sometimes, a fellow worshiper drops a verbal hand grenade Sunday and we continue dealing with shrapnel the rest of the week.
But what about those environments where we’re not all following the King?
Pursuing unity where the boss has it out for “church people,” where coworkers constantly insult, denigrate and dismiss our chosen faith, where our value of truth is unwelcome in the CFO’s eyes and our value of grace antithetical to HR, man, that feels like a whole different ballgame.
How can we be unified with such people in such a hostile environment?
First, I am “such people.” That’s probably the biggest factor in the equation, ‘least in my experience. When I remember that I’m difficult, my patience with others’ difficulty instantly intensifies.
Beyond that, I decided long ago I had to hang my hopes on Peter’s words of wisdom from his first letter. He discusses suffering throughout his letter, using “suffer/ing/ed” about a dozen and a half times. I’m especially mindful of his few verses about slaves and masters at the end of chapter 2. While I’m no slave and slavery is an ugly way to relate to another human, verses 18-25 of 1 Peter 2 frame working relationships in ways I’d rather they not be framed. Below, I liberally substitute a few words (“slave,” “master,” “beaten”) in New Living Translation.
You who are workers must submit to your bosses with all respect. Do what they tell you – not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are penalized for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering…
(1 Peter 2.18-21)
I need to submit and do what I’m told, even if my boss is “cruel.” Somehow, evidently, it’s good in God’s eyes that I “patiently endure unjust treatment.” That is not what we’re told in an indulgent, entitled, self-actualized culture. And thankfully, in our current employment landscape of more vacancies than people to fill ‘em, “underemployment” seems to be less prevalent than in years past. I can certainly be wrong on that front, but I do know undoubtedly we’re more job-mobile than the people to whom Peter was speaking! If we suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased. If the CFO makes work life really uncomfortable because we didn’t “play along,” God is pleased. If we show grace because the situation warrants it but the HR Assistant VP interferes in our annual review and we don’t get the raise or promotion, God’s pleased that we did the right thing instead of the convenient thing.
I can still be unified with my coworkers in the mission of the company even if some of the people around me are chumps in going about it. Very few businesses are, by their very nature, unholy. In the strength of the Spirit, I can let a great many nasty circumstances “roll off my back” while still relating to my coworkers in grace and truth. Wasn’t God radically, indescribably good to me in the first place? It was His kindness that won me over (Romans 2.4), so I can’t expect a reluctant attitude or withdrawn spirit – or outright hostility, for that matter – to be an appropriate witness to an unbelieving coworker. I can still work for the company’s commercial goals while, interpersonally, being gracious and truthful.
We don’t need uniformity to still enjoy a sense of unity with someone else. And while we patiently endure, we just might be granted some rich opportunities to be salt and light.
