Welcome to the Workplace, Lord

Heidi Krumenauer, Author, cbn.com.

Corporate America has a way of taking a toll on everyone. Universally, it appears the office environment is all the same – backstabbing, rumor mills, brown-nosing the boss, pushing to get ahead. It’s a wonder any work gets accomplished with all the extracurricular activity among the worker bees.

It had been a particularly grueling day with a high level of anxiety, conflict, arrogance, nastiness and general tension among my co-workers. I had pushed through the day, counting down the hours to call it a week, and I was looking forward to spending the rest of the evening at home with my husband and boys.

I secluded myself from the office activities long enough to pray: Lord, am I the only one here who gets You today? Do these people even know you exist? And if they do, can you please help them see what a mess they are making of my day?

I felt very alone – very isolated from people who show kindness and compassion to each other — Christian people. God knew I needed to feel some inclusion again, so He made the drive home an interesting one.

Just a mile from the office, I pulled up behind a car with the license plate “1ST PRAY”. Once on the Interstate, I changed lanes and ended up behind a car sporting “13 COR 13” (Corinthians 13:13 – “…the greatest of these is love.”)

I was starting to see God’s message in the traffic. A couple miles up the road, a truck pulled in the lane ahead of me – his bumper sticker said: “Jesus Saves”. In the lane next to him, a car displayed the ichthus (fish).

OK, God, I prayed. It’s very clear. Even when I don’t always see it, I’m surrounded by You and people who love You.

I continued to thank God for providing such a clear visual for me. But in my prayer, I wondered how many days I, too, act in an unpleasant manner, just like my co-workers were doing that day? How many times do others wish they could count on me to provide a Christ-like environment, but I don’t offer them one? Were there days my co-workers also felt isolated from kindheartedness, and I was a reason for their pain?

In 1 Peter 3:8 NASB, he lists the characteristics of a believer as

“… harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit.”

I knew how badly I felt that day at work, existing in an environment that reflected none of these qualities. Exodus 23:2 says:

You shall not follow the masses in doing evil …”

And I was sure I had.

For years I’ve driven around with my own ichthus on the trunk, proudly showing other drivers there’s a Christian behind the wheel of my car. And while it gives the impression they’re sharing road space with someone who loves the Lord, it’s not enough. People need, and deserve, to see more than a sign of Christianity.

They need to see Christians living it daily.

“For, the one who desires life, to love and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. He must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer, …” (1 Peter 3:10-12 NASB)