WEBVTT 00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:05.259 Today's scripture reading is a selection of passages from the letters of the Apostle Paul. 00:00:05.700 --> 00:00:08.759 Please follow along in the bulletin or on the screen. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:16.519 Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:22.240 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:25.359 You are serving the Lord Christ. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:33.859 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:39.719 You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:42.519 So glorify God in your body. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:50.420 Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:53.960 And try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:03.299 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:12.439 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God and Christ forgave you. 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:14.640 This is the word of God. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:24.939 Thank you, Annabelle. 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:27.400 And thank you for reading God's word. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:31.340 Thank you also for the welcome, Kevin. 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:40.560 And it's always a great privilege and joy and honor to speak to any gathering of people about God's word. 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:44.960 So let's pray before we do that, asking for God's help. 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:51.260 Our Heavenly Father, it's your word, and we want to come under its authority and listen to it. 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:56.760 Holy Spirit, we want you to illuminate our minds and our hearts. 00:01:57.520 --> 00:02:06.420 Help us to understand your word and take these words of Christ and apply them in our lives and in our hearts, 00:02:06.420 --> 00:02:10.240 that we may live lives that are pleasing to you. 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:12.640 We pray in our Lord Jesus' name. 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:13.060 Amen. 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:20.699 So today is the last of four talks on faith and work. 00:02:20.699 --> 00:02:27.719 And throughout, we've been asking ourselves the question about the relevance of our Christian faith to our work. 00:02:28.699 --> 00:02:33.560 If the good news of Christ, the good news about Christ, changes everything, 00:02:34.079 --> 00:02:41.339 then in what way does it change where I spend 60 or 70% of my waking hours? 00:02:41.340 --> 00:02:48.420 The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, answered that question when he said, 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:51.340 and we've already heard the words, but worth hearing again, 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:56.080 whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, 00:02:56.280 --> 00:03:00.140 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 00:03:00.719 --> 00:03:02.900 You are serving the Lord Christ. 00:03:03.920 --> 00:03:09.180 We approach our work heartily as unto the Lord, as for the Lord. 00:03:09.180 --> 00:03:14.240 The first century bond slaves that heard those words, the first to hear those words, 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:16.960 were told that they were serving the Lord. 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:25.780 So with that as our headline today, that work, our work are 24-7, if you like, 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:31.439 throughout our entire lives, but the time we spend at the workplace is serving the Lord. 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:36.560 We're going to use that as our headline as we look at work through three different lenses. 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:44.319 Those lenses are our work and identity, our work and mission, and our work and conflict. 00:03:44.979 --> 00:03:48.400 So first of all, the first of these lenses is identity. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:55.599 When we meet someone for the first time, we usually figure out or try to figure out what they do. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:02.439 They may be project managers or bus drivers or the head of something or account managers, 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:06.840 assistant engineers, environmental officers, or bank workers. 00:04:07.139 --> 00:04:10.419 People often identify themselves by their jobs. 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:11.979 It's who they are. 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:13.280 I'm a teacher. 00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:14.400 I'm a brand manager. 00:04:14.699 --> 00:04:15.740 I'm an electrician. 00:04:15.859 --> 00:04:16.480 I'm a nurse. 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:17.620 I'm a homemaker. 00:04:18.019 --> 00:04:19.019 That's who I am. 00:04:19.339 --> 00:04:20.560 It identifies them. 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:21.839 It defines the person. 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:26.300 A few years ago, a Christian friend of mine here in Hong Kong 00:04:26.300 --> 00:04:29.939 lost his management job with a well-known international company. 00:04:29.939 --> 00:04:35.959 It happened while he was out of Hong Kong, and the emotional shock was so deep 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:39.519 that as he was flying back to Hong Kong, he wanted to die. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:45.180 In the moment, he even thought that it would be good if his plane crashed. 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:50.579 Then he wouldn't have to deal with all the fallout of the redundancy. 00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:54.699 I was stunned when he told me this. 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:59.680 He believed that he would be better off dead than not have his job. 00:05:00.599 --> 00:05:02.579 Let's just pause for a moment there. 00:05:03.099 --> 00:05:04.120 What was going on? 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:07.719 Where did this Christian friend find his identity? 00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:14.279 He found it in his job, his career, his role, his position. 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:16.800 His work was his idol. 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:22.240 Of course, it is a massive shock for people who lose their jobs and are made redundant. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:26.840 Of course, there is distress associated with that. 00:05:27.379 --> 00:05:30.720 But when a Christian thinks that they've lost their reason for living 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:35.220 because they've been made redundant, then something much more is wrong. 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:40.460 They're worshiping their work, not the God who made them and the God who loves them. 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:48.439 And so as Christians, we are not primarily bankers or teachers or architects or managers 00:05:48.439 --> 00:05:51.400 or office workers or students or chefs. 00:05:51.399 --> 00:05:54.259 That is not our first point of distinctiveness. 00:05:55.620 --> 00:06:01.000 A better way of looking at it is how someone answered the question of who he was by saying, 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:05.399 I'm a Christian thinly disguised as an accountant. 00:06:09.099 --> 00:06:18.399 In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul uses a phrase regularly, frequently that helps to explain this. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:21.939 It really encapsulates his theology and his teaching. 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:25.979 And that phrase I know you're very familiar with is in Christ. 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:28.339 It speaks to our identity. 00:06:28.859 --> 00:06:32.599 It speaks to who we really are, that we are Jesus' people. 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:34.599 We belong to him. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:36.339 That's who we really are. 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:37.919 That's who defines us. 00:06:38.039 --> 00:06:39.060 We are in Christ. 00:06:40.179 --> 00:06:44.620 For example, Paul writes that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:47.519 The old is gone and everything is new. 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:55.699 So unlike others who define themselves by their careers, Christians are first and foremost in Christ. 00:06:56.340 --> 00:07:06.740 Our whole demeanor, our attitudes, our practice, our language, our ethics, our integrity is based on belonging to Jesus Christ. 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:09.660 Later in the same paragraph, Paul said, 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:15.079 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. 00:07:15.560 --> 00:07:17.019 And in another place he wrote, 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:19.920 You are not your own, for you are bought with a price. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:22.259 We're not our own. 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:24.220 We're not our own people. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:29.400 We don't belong primarily to ourselves or our own agenda. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.960 In our lives and in our workplace, we are Christ's ambassadors. 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:37.620 We represent him, what he cares about. 00:07:37.919 --> 00:07:39.919 It's his agenda, not ours. 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:41.079 It's his causes. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:50.159 It's for the sake of his kingdom, his values, and not our own, unless we have absorbed his values as our own. 00:07:51.919 --> 00:07:55.500 I was at a work meeting once when I made some kind of offhand remark. 00:07:55.659 --> 00:07:57.819 I can't really remember what it was. 00:07:57.899 --> 00:07:59.959 I don't think it was anything I should be ashamed of. 00:07:59.959 --> 00:08:04.719 But my colleague said, Henry, I didn't think I would ever hear you say something like that. 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:09.680 Well, as I say, it wasn't something I was ashamed of. 00:08:09.799 --> 00:08:11.299 But it got me thinking. 00:08:11.799 --> 00:08:14.459 It got me thinking, I'm being observed here. 00:08:14.740 --> 00:08:15.859 I'm being watched. 00:08:17.379 --> 00:08:20.279 And we are ambassadors for Christ. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:25.599 We are personal representatives of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the workplace. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:38.259 And so in our working environment, our language, our attitudes, our comments, our truthfulness, our stress levels, our reactions, they're all out there for everybody to see. 00:08:38.560 --> 00:08:41.840 And that incident helped me to realize people are looking. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:42.920 I'm taking note. 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:50.940 Perhaps you've heard the quote, preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words. 00:08:50.940 --> 00:08:57.360 Well, it's actually to fully preach the gospel, it's always necessary to use words. 00:08:57.560 --> 00:09:09.440 But when we're not using words, remember that our actions and our attitudes, our demeanor, and my children would say the expression on my face, are also on display. 00:09:10.500 --> 00:09:19.700 And are those nonverbals also proclaiming the gospel of Christ, the good news that Christ is on the throne, that he is king? 00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:28.100 Are those, are our attitudes and actions proclaiming the claims of the gospel or tarnishing it in our workplace? 00:09:29.680 --> 00:09:33.080 At work, Christians should be different and they should make a difference. 00:09:33.740 --> 00:09:38.360 For example, our words and our language distinguish us, as I've already said. 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:40.680 No expletives, please. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:42.440 No anger. 00:09:43.160 --> 00:09:44.020 No gossip. 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:50.759 Is it obvious from the words that we use and the language that we use that we belong to Jesus in the workplace? 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:53.039 What words do we use? 00:09:53.899 --> 00:09:58.860 Let's just pause for a moment here because, actually, it's a very big distinctive for a Christian. 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:02.439 People take note. 00:10:02.440 --> 00:10:16.340 You know, just as an aside, I don't think it's appropriate for Christians to use the word Jesus and God unless they're talking to Jesus or God or talking about Jesus or God. 00:10:17.880 --> 00:10:21.260 I don't think OMG is a good thing to put in a text. 00:10:22.380 --> 00:10:24.080 I think our language matters. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:25.400 What words do we use? 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:29.319 In the workplace, we should have very little time for office politics. 00:10:29.659 --> 00:10:30.819 Let others deal with that. 00:10:31.279 --> 00:10:34.419 Let's be a way, take a step back from office politics. 00:10:35.459 --> 00:10:39.840 We should have no interest in the water cooler game of standing around criticizing the boss. 00:10:40.939 --> 00:10:41.980 How do I know about that? 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:42.799 Because I've done it. 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:45.480 Done it too often to my shame. 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:53.480 This is what Mark Green, the executive director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, has said. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:54.939 This is how he puts it. 00:10:54.940 --> 00:11:07.200 The one place where non-Christians can actually see the difference that Christ can make in a life over 20, 30, 40, 50 hours a week over a number of years is the workplace. 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:13.660 Christians, fellow Christians, in the workplace, you are being watched. 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:17.860 Does this change how you think about Monday mornings? 00:11:19.220 --> 00:11:21.340 You see, church might be here on Sunday. 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:31.340 But on Monday, church, this church is in offices and classrooms and shops and surgeries and restaurants and homes. 00:11:32.420 --> 00:11:42.780 Our identity isn't in our job title or in our position, but that we represent Jesus, our King and Savior. 00:11:43.340 --> 00:11:45.900 We're ambassadors of a different kingdom. 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:53.319 And a colleague who once said to me, after hours, after work, can you just let your hair down for once, Henry? 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:59.919 And the answer is, no, I can't because I'm not representing me. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:07.299 The words I use, the places I go, the amount of alcohol I drink, or the places I don't go. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:11.219 I'm an ambassador for Christ. 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:18.420 The value of my work, my behavior, all come under this rubric, I am in Christ. 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:19.680 I'm not my own. 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:20.940 I've been bought with a price. 00:12:21.040 --> 00:12:22.019 I belong to Christ. 00:12:22.160 --> 00:12:23.220 I am his ambassador. 00:12:23.660 --> 00:12:25.200 Of course, I work for my employer. 00:12:25.879 --> 00:12:29.080 Of course, I work for my boss and my customers. 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:32.980 But primarily, I am working as for the Lord. 00:12:36.139 --> 00:12:36.620 Identity. 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:41.080 Our second filter, second lens that we're looking at is mission. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:50.940 Many Christians pigeonhole their lives and they live out their Christianity very well in front of other Christians, 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:55.340 but not quite so well in other places. 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:59.500 My Christianity needs to be on show at work as well. 00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:07.240 And so, by now, three and a half talks into faith and work, you might say, okay, okay, I get it. 00:13:07.740 --> 00:13:15.419 Okay, I understand my life is not meant to be compartmentalized and I'm supposed to be a Christian in the workplace as well. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:22.460 Okay, you know, after Kevin and Niels have preached for the last three Sundays, I understand I'm to be a Christian at work. 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:23.820 So, what does that actually mean? 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:27.460 Does that mean I share the gospel all the time? 00:13:28.280 --> 00:13:32.560 That I'm some sort of missionary at work? 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:40.160 Well, yes, I do believe that Christians ought to take opportunities to share the gospel with their colleagues, their non-Christian friends. 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:47.420 But it's very important to recognize that in the workplace, boundaries for sharing the gospel should be observed. 00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:53.799 What other things should Christians be at work in terms of your mission? 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:55.159 We should serve people. 00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:58.019 We should minister to them as opportunities permit. 00:13:58.779 --> 00:14:05.360 A compassionate and caring attitude, a word that is spoken in kindness should reflect how we relate to our colleagues. 00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:13.559 There will definitely be times for us to pass on some of God's grace and God's love to our fellow workers. 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:18.539 And as Christians, we must pray for our work. 00:14:19.559 --> 00:14:24.659 Pray for your work at your desk before you switch on your computer and look at your emails. 00:14:25.979 --> 00:14:35.659 Make that a first priority for the day, for the stuff that's going to be ahead of you, for the people that you're going to be dealing with, and for the situations that will arise. 00:14:35.859 --> 00:14:36.579 Pray for it. 00:14:36.580 --> 00:15:06.560 Pray for it. 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:08.379 That's what I should be concentrating on. 00:15:09.080 --> 00:15:13.940 When Jesus worked as a carpenter, his first duty was to make good tables and chairs. 00:15:15.139 --> 00:15:16.180 Is that shocking? 00:15:16.800 --> 00:15:17.580 It shouldn't be. 00:15:18.280 --> 00:15:19.360 Let me explain further. 00:15:20.560 --> 00:15:31.580 Many years ago, a very good friend of mine, a Christian pilot working for an international airline, perhaps was over keen to evangelize some of his pilot colleagues. 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:39.320 And on one occasion, the captain turned to him in the cockpit and said, wouldn't it be better if you were concentrating on your operations manuals than your Bible? 00:15:39.320 --> 00:15:40.320 It was a rebuke to him. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:45.180 It was a lesson for me to learn as well. 00:15:45.180 --> 00:15:54.300 It's true that over the years, I've had many opportunities to speak to colleagues about my faith in Jesus and tell them about the Lord Jesus. 00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:58.479 But I've always been very careful to respect the time and the place. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:09.340 For example, a number of years ago, a younger colleague came into my office and he said, you know, some of the guys say that you're some sort of Christian. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:12.720 And so I was interested in what that might mean. 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:14.039 And I Googled your name. 00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:17.320 And I came up with some talks and some sermons that you have given. 00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:18.620 And I listened to them. 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:21.340 And actually, they resonate with me quite a lot. 00:16:21.899 --> 00:16:23.419 Can we talk about this? 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:25.259 And I said, sure. 00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:26.820 I'd love to talk about this. 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:29.620 What are you doing tomorrow morning for breakfast? 00:16:29.820 --> 00:16:31.580 Can we meet at 7 o'clock tomorrow? 00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:33.960 And we'll talk a lot about this. 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:35.100 And I did. 00:16:35.340 --> 00:16:39.399 And over the next weeks and months, I spent quite a lot of time with him. 00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:46.220 Fruitful discussions outside office hours until sometime later, he entrusted his life to Jesus. 00:16:46.220 --> 00:16:50.920 And so, what does the Bible say about our mission? 00:16:51.680 --> 00:16:54.379 It says, to walk as children of light. 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:59.379 For the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true. 00:17:00.139 --> 00:17:02.259 And try to discern what is pleasing the Lord. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.900 This is a good summary of our mission in the workplace. 00:17:06.539 --> 00:17:13.700 Our mission at work is to bring the light of the gospel, the implications of the gospel to bear on the workplace. 00:17:13.700 --> 00:17:16.279 On our relationships at work. 00:17:16.360 --> 00:17:17.640 On our stresses at work. 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.100 Our expectations. 00:17:20.120 --> 00:17:29.920 And overarching all of this, we are to discern, to discover, to look out for how we might please the Lord in our place of work. 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:36.900 Dorothy Sayers, I know that Kevin quoted her as well in the first talk. 00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:41.960 She says that work is not primarily a thing one does to live, but a thing one lives to do. 00:17:42.320 --> 00:17:48.600 In other words, as we learned from Genesis 1 and 2 in that first talk, work is good. 00:17:48.840 --> 00:17:51.600 Good quality work has dignity and purpose. 00:17:52.280 --> 00:17:54.280 In itself, it's mandated by God. 00:17:54.540 --> 00:17:56.120 We're made in God's image. 00:17:56.360 --> 00:17:59.380 And we are replicating some of God's work in our work. 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:13.260 And it is actually flawed thinking to think that the pastor's work is more holy or more important than your work in the office or in the hospital or the classroom or the kitchen. 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:28.100 Our task is to draw God's values into the workplace, making the most of how God has gifted us at work to bring the light of the gospel to our work and please the Lord in our work. 00:18:28.099 --> 00:18:40.799 And so if you're a journalist, unlike the journalists and Fox News, you should bring truthfulness and integrity rather than just be looking at the ratings and make up stories. 00:18:42.019 --> 00:18:55.959 If you're a doctor, you should know about the latest medications and developments so that you can enrich and enhance the health of your patients. 00:18:55.960 --> 00:19:10.539 If you're a businesswoman, will you bring the implications of a gospel worldview into the office, into your work life, into your organization, so that you look for ways that you can benefit the whole community? 00:19:11.960 --> 00:19:16.039 If you're an artist, will you depict the hope of the gospel? 00:19:16.299 --> 00:19:21.019 We live in a fragmented, broken, dark, messed up, complicated world. 00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:24.779 The gospel offers hope and joy. 00:19:25.299 --> 00:19:28.839 If you're an artist, show some of that in your work. 00:19:29.819 --> 00:19:44.460 But the work of the boardroom and the classroom, the laboratory and the courtroom, the emails, the meetings, the spreadsheets and balance sheets, consulting and managing, they all matter to God. 00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:45.879 Those things matter to God. 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:47.520 Our lives matter to God. 00:19:47.620 --> 00:19:49.140 Our work lives matter to God. 00:19:49.340 --> 00:19:56.500 And our mission is to bring out the light of the gospel, the implications of the gospel into the workplace. 00:19:57.780 --> 00:20:01.800 Find out how we can please the Lord in our work. 00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:08.740 Some people that preach say it's not a proper sermon unless we've had a quote from C.S. Lewis. 00:20:10.639 --> 00:20:17.700 I don't have a quote from C.S. Lewis, but I have a quote from somebody else that gets quoted quite a lot in sermons these days, and that's Timothy Keller. 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:20.039 So let's see what he has to say about this. 00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:50.019 He said, 00:20:50.039 --> 00:21:04.379 When I was leading a team of managers at work in my past life, I emphasized that we should work out of the principle of being fair, consistent, and transparent. 00:21:04.380 --> 00:21:09.040 I wanted to see those attitudes demonstrated within the team and by the team. 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:13.280 Fairness meant seeking to do what was right and what was seen to be right. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:16.380 Consistency meant that we wouldn't show favoritism. 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:25.820 And transparency meant that we would be open and honest and not be devious or underhanded in any way, that we would be honest. 00:21:25.900 --> 00:21:26.680 What was I doing? 00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:31.700 I was simply bringing some gospel principles into the workplace. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:37.180 Jesus told his followers to let their yes be yes and their no be no. 00:21:37.900 --> 00:21:41.840 In other words, be fair, transparent, and consistent. 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:46.160 Through you, the gospel can change your workplace. 00:21:47.600 --> 00:21:48.200 Mission. 00:21:49.500 --> 00:21:53.420 The third of the lenses that we're going to look at is conflict. 00:21:53.420 --> 00:21:59.500 I know conflict in the workplace is an area that causes many of us distress. 00:22:00.060 --> 00:22:00.860 We've all had it. 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:06.420 But today I'm only going to talk on one very narrow aspect of conflict at work. 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:17.080 I'm not going to look at the macro issues of national worker unrest or conflict between employer and employee in labor relations. 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:23.699 No, I'm just going to concentrate on clashes between fellow workers, between colleagues, colleague-to-colleague clashes. 00:22:25.619 --> 00:22:35.079 Our premise in these four talks on faith and work is that the Bible has relevance for our work and workplace concerns. 00:22:36.859 --> 00:22:40.059 We matter to God and so does our work. 00:22:40.059 --> 00:22:55.339 Work, as Kevin pointed out, is the crucible where life happens, where there's jealousy and fear and greed and confusion and friction and disappointment and backstabbing and gossip and stress. 00:22:56.500 --> 00:22:59.319 Does that seem like your work tomorrow morning? 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:02.000 So what does the Bible say? 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:10.519 I think the Bible says stop, pause, take a deep breath. 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:30.019 When your blood pressure rises or when your blood boils, Paul would tell us to let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. 00:23:30.019 --> 00:23:30.099 Be kind to God. 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:37.839 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you. 00:23:39.579 --> 00:23:44.599 We've already seen today that as Christians we don't really belong to ourselves but to God. 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:48.180 We don't have our own agenda but we are ambassadors for Christ. 00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:50.779 It's not about me, me, me. 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:54.339 It's about him, him, him. 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:55.920 It's about Jesus. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:24:01.519 Our mission at work and in our lives is to find out what pleases him. 00:24:01.620 --> 00:24:08.060 So take away the bitterness and the wrath and the anger and the slander and the malice and put them to one side. 00:24:09.220 --> 00:24:15.500 Don't let that describe your workplace attitude. 00:24:16.580 --> 00:24:17.360 Get rid of it. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:20.019 Offload those attitudes. 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:24.240 Instead, be kind and tenderhearted and forgiving. 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:31.220 And why would I be like that in the workplace when I'm getting so much grief and it's so stressful and you don't know what pressure I'm under? 00:24:32.519 --> 00:24:35.639 Because God in Christ has forgiven you. 00:24:36.619 --> 00:24:38.680 Because I'm not so wonderful either. 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:40.139 I make plenty of mistakes. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.460 Because I'm a sinner saved by grace. 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:45.880 Because I'm not so perfect. 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:55.980 I have my faults but Christ has saved me and is transforming me into the image of his son and I want others to know about that and to find his son. 00:24:56.319 --> 00:24:57.120 To find Jesus. 00:24:58.380 --> 00:25:06.160 Close to the end of his life, John Newton said that he was losing his mind, his memory was failing but he remembered two things. 00:25:06.840 --> 00:25:12.220 That I am a great sinner and Christ is a great savior. 00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:18.460 That's the context in which to handle relationship conflicts at work. 00:25:21.380 --> 00:25:25.640 Just in case you're thinking, I have not said that we should be pushovers. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:28.900 I have not said that we should be doormats. 00:25:29.579 --> 00:25:33.579 I have not said that we should be shrinking violets in the workplace. 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:35.920 Matters of justice should be heard. 00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:37.319 Ethics are important. 00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:38.059 They're essential. 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:43.319 Sometimes opinions and decisions that are made are wrong and they should be called out. 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:51.339 Yes, the workplace has plenty of issues like harassment and racism and intimidation and aggression and conflict. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:52.859 And they need to be addressed. 00:25:53.079 --> 00:26:00.759 But often those bigger ticket items, if you like, there are formal channels for dealing with those in the workplace. 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:13.500 I'm talking about the put-downs, the unfairness, the competition, the personality clashes and disputes, the getting overlooked, the flashes of anger, the intolerances, the insensitivities. 00:26:13.500 --> 00:26:18.980 I can't imagine every conflict that you feel, every emotion that you feel in the workplace. 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:22.900 But there are principles to apply. 00:26:22.900 --> 00:26:35.180 Recently in our CGs, our community groups, we were looking through a nine-study book called The Gospel-Centered Life. 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:38.640 And it included the last chapter was a chapter on conflict. 00:26:39.160 --> 00:26:41.240 So I'm not going to reinvent any wheels here. 00:26:41.300 --> 00:26:44.540 I'm going to take some of the principles from that book and apply them here. 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:51.560 The study suggested that the common default behavior in dealing with conflict normally falls into one of two categories. 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:57.599 Either some people are attackers or some people are withdrawers. 00:26:58.179 --> 00:27:00.240 The attackers go on the offensive. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:07.799 They need to show who is right and that they're right and they're not wrong and that the other person is wrong and there's blame spread everywhere. 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:12.000 Then other people are withdrawers. 00:27:14.179 --> 00:27:15.419 They're on the defensive. 00:27:15.819 --> 00:27:17.839 Invariably, they run away from conflict. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:22.659 They seek harmony, possibly at the expense of justice and truth. 00:27:23.599 --> 00:27:27.259 So are you an attacker or are you a withdrawer? 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:33.959 But more importantly, let me ask, are either of those the right way to behave as a Christian? 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:35.919 Or is there a third way? 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:39.839 Does your modus operandi in the workplace bring God glory? 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:43.119 Does it look for the good of the other person? 00:27:44.639 --> 00:27:51.379 And will somehow your behavior rise above your natural tendency? 00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:54.519 The gospel-centered life puts it like this. 00:27:54.859 --> 00:28:00.639 If the gospel is not affecting the way we deal with conflict, then it's probably not touching us very deeply. 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:07.500 So if you've got conflict in the workplace, this may be your answer right here. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:16.540 The gospel, the Lord of the gospel, the God of heaven, the Savior of the world is addressing this in your life. 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:21.320 I think Kevin handled that last Sunday very well, talking about the crucible. 00:28:21.319 --> 00:28:30.240 So the study in the gospel-centered life produced a chart to analyze and contrast the difference between behavioral characteristics, 00:28:30.740 --> 00:28:33.359 contrasting them with gospel or Christ-centered behavior. 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.379 So let's look at the chart that I have modified slightly. 00:28:38.159 --> 00:28:42.299 Aspects of conflict like the source of behavior, the direction, the result. 00:28:42.919 --> 00:28:44.960 Are you an attacker or a withdrawer? 00:28:45.659 --> 00:28:48.439 Are you arrogant or do you seek to avoid conflict? 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:51.200 Are you aggressive or an appeaser? 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:53.159 What's the result? 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:54.019 Hurt and division? 00:28:54.819 --> 00:28:55.700 Bitterness and separation? 00:28:56.460 --> 00:29:01.700 Or do you seek repentance and forgiveness to understand other people, 00:29:02.460 --> 00:29:08.299 knowing that it's not easy, but that you seek reconciliation and healing? 00:29:09.879 --> 00:29:13.299 Attackers are arrogant and they would rather win the argument than be winsome. 00:29:14.439 --> 00:29:17.759 They're aggressive because they place a high value on justice 00:29:17.759 --> 00:29:20.740 and want to prove who's right and who's wrong. 00:29:20.740 --> 00:29:23.380 But in the end, it's hurt and division. 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:30.380 Withdrawers tend to be defensive, who often shrink and become silent or passive in disagreements. 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:33.660 They want to just keep the peace, just calm everything down, 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:36.140 just sweep it under the rug. 00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:40.020 And then they distance themselves from the debate or the other person. 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:44.100 But the result there is also bitterness and separation. 00:29:45.320 --> 00:29:50.980 Those are the typical ways to respond to disagreement and frustration and conflict at work. 00:29:50.980 --> 00:29:53.380 But neither is the right approach. 00:29:53.380 --> 00:30:03.960 The third way, the gospel-centered approach, is to repent or to seek forgiveness or to give forgiveness. 00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:05.980 To engage. 00:30:05.980 --> 00:30:10.860 And we need God's Spirit to do this because it's not easy and it's not natural. 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:12.259 And it needs a lot of prayer. 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:16.579 Otherwise, we just remain as attackers or withdrawers. 00:30:17.120 --> 00:30:18.120 The path isn't easy. 00:30:18.220 --> 00:30:21.400 It takes courage and patience, understanding. 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:29.700 Yes, we must pray about it, as I've said, because the gospel-centered way is rooted in love for God and love for the other person. 00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:32.480 We're seeking their good and God's glory. 00:30:35.540 --> 00:30:38.220 And so let's just summarize this. 00:30:38.440 --> 00:30:42.180 Let's wrap up what we've looked at and what we've seen this morning. 00:30:42.360 --> 00:30:44.500 Let's come to an end in a conclusion here. 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:50.140 We've looked at work through three lenses of identity, mission, and conflict. 00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:55.140 Of course, all of this applies to all of our lives, not just the nine to five. 00:30:55.779 --> 00:31:02.480 But we spend such a large proportion of our waking hours in the workplace that that's where it's put to the test. 00:31:04.140 --> 00:31:07.839 Living out our lives, our Christian faith in front of our colleagues. 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:13.579 And let's admit, let's be honest, we don't get it 100% right 100% of the time. 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:16.619 You can decide in the percentage for you. 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:18.880 I know what it is for me. 00:31:20.039 --> 00:31:28.099 But when it comes to our identity, our primary distinctiveness isn't our job title or our profession, but that we belong to Christ. 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:29.519 We are in Christ. 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:32.619 We are his ambassadors working on his behalf. 00:31:32.619 --> 00:31:50.019 Our mission is to seek God's glory, to serve others, to be the best worker, the best nurse, the best solicitor, the best engineer, or teacher, or homemaker, or student that you possibly could be as a child of light, bringing the light of the gospel into the workplace. 00:31:50.019 --> 00:32:05.980 And because we've been forgiven and because Jesus loves us and continues to love us when we're unlovely, we can address conflict as an opportunity to show a third way, one of engagement and repentance and understanding. 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:19.279 And so, finally, a verse that I think really is the banner verse for faith and work for Christians in the workplace are those words from Paul in Ephesians. 00:32:19.860 --> 00:32:23.880 Sorry, Colossians 3, 23 and 24, putting them up again. 00:32:23.880 --> 00:32:39.540 Let's pray. 00:32:44.540 --> 00:32:51.720 Our Father, may we understand that our primary identity as your children is that we are in Christ. 00:32:51.720 --> 00:32:58.740 That you have loved us and forgiven us through what Christ has done for us and that we belong to him. 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:05.299 We want to glorify him and honor him and live for him, for his agenda and not ours. 00:33:05.819 --> 00:33:16.100 And so, may we realize deeply in our lives, may we apply it to everything in our lives and especially in the workplace. 00:33:16.099 --> 00:33:21.259 May we work heartily as for the Lord. 00:33:22.179 --> 00:33:26.439 May we recognize and realize that we are serving the Lord Christ. 00:33:27.179 --> 00:33:27.480 Amen.