As women in today’s society, we’ve been given the opportunities to study and to work. But, as Christian women, we must remember that we do not live for academic achievements nor for career opportunities. Instead, we should see our environment whether it be campus or workplace as our mission field and not our home.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:13 that we “are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.” Our workplace is our mission field and we are to ’salt’ our environment. In other words, our presence should bring about an obvious difference amongst our friends/colleagues. In my first job, I was working with a young man about my age, and at one particular time, he was rather upset because he heard that his mother was very ill. I offered him my sympathies but what I also did was offer to pray for him and his mother. I can still remember a sense of wonder on his face. This offer of prayer to our Lord was a little bit of salt shaken onto his life. I can personally testify that trying to live as ’salt’ in my various work places, has led me to numerous opportunities in sharing the gospel to people. Their common question to me was, ‘I can see that your Christian beliefs shapes your life. Why is that?’ We need to believe that in Christ, we can ’salt’ our workplaces and they should be able to taste and see the goodness of Christ through us. The passage also warns us that if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. Have you become un-salty? Do others see you as being different in a good and nourishing way?
In our workplace, we also need to be like them to win them over to Christ. In 1 Cor 9:19-23 the apostle Paul tells us of his approach to winning over the unbelievers. “Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” One thing we must make clear from this passage - the gospel and its blessings are our main priority and we should not be like our unbelieving friends if it causes us to compromise our share in the blessings of the gospel. I remember one time at a work function, my boss in his drunken state asked me ‘If your God told you to lie, would you do it?’. Well, of course the answer to that would be NO because my God is a holy God and He hates sin. So then, what does it mean to be like our friends so that they may be won over? I believe it’s the sharing of common values but the difference being that we do not make those values our idols. One of my work friends values family life. She knows by my personal sharing that I value my family very much. She also knows by my personal sharing that I value my relationship with my Heavenly Father more than my family. I share other similar values with my friend and that is what makes our friendship true. Being like them makes it easier for them to be won over by the gospel.
Then again, we should also not be like them (for they live for themselves). Instead, we are to live a life of such good deeds towards them, that God may be glorified. Another work colleague of mine who was initially very antagonistic towards my Christian faith has since mellowed in his comments. Infact, in the past 10 years of knowing him, seeing my work ethics, he has been telling me to run for mayor in the local council (I find this amusing yet I also give all glory to God). Unbelievers should see our Christian character as described in 1 Peter 2:11,12. Here, Peter the apostle urges us in this manner, “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Sadly, I have known of a Christian friend of mine who is faithful and loves teaching the bible in church but in her work environment, faced many conflicts with a particular work colleague of hers and they could not work together. The challenge for my friend was to live a life of goodness towards this work mate so that he may see her good deeds and glorify God for it. Unbelievers are not turned off by our professing faith in Christ but by our character. Our behaviour towards them speaks a thousand words if we want to share the gospel of Jesus to them. We need to live such good lives that they may glorify God when He visits.
Finally, we must also remember to persevere in the face of ridicules or indifference to our faith. In 2 Cor 2:15,16 we are told that “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.” If we are ridiculed or they are indifferent to our faith, remember that the message of Christ is like the smell of death to them. Our response to ridicules and indifference should be to continue to do good deeds to them, to be like them to win them, and to keep praying for them. And we need to continue to hope for the Holy Spirit to change their lives by God’s sovereign grace.
In conclusion, we should expect to be ridiculed and feel alienated because of our faith. Remember to forgive for they are dead to the faith and speak only out of ignorance. Yet, their negative comments should NOT be directed towards our character because the Holy Scriptures tells us to live good lives, ’salt’ our workplace and do such good deeds to those around us, that they may be won over. Our workplace is not our home. It is our mission field. As our mission field, we need to offer our non-believing friends the hope that we have in Christ our Lord. Amen.