There it is. It’s the same sarcastic smile you are greeted with every morning. Yuck! The receptionist, who puts on an air of friendliness for everyone else, makes no effort to hide her distaste about you. It’s no mystery as to why she does this. She gave you the same air of friendliness until she found about you and the C-word. That’s right, the day she found out you were a Christian everything changed. Unfortunately it wasn’t just her.
Others began to act funny around you. Then you started getting accused of being ignorant and judgmental. You weren’t consciously judging anyone, but you were labeled because you are Christian. Suddenly, you became a magnet for negativity. Why would people intentionally ostracize you? Why would people go out of their way to tell dirty jokes right in front of you as often as possible? Could it be because you are Christian? Of course.
It can be challenging to balance our spiritual persuasions while working in a secular field. There is no doubt that the easiest thing to do with our religious convictions is to keep them to ourselves. The reason is because when we begin to become vocal with our coworkers about what we believe, people can begin to respond negatively. So what can we do about this?
I have found myself in several awkward situations at the various jobs I have held in the past. I don’t expect this to change for jobs that I will hold in the future. Since I tend to be rather straight forward about my relationship with Jesus, this is something I have simply come to accept. However, I have learned that there is an edge that I will always have over those that seek to create problems for me. I have an awesome prayer life!
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
While I do not discount practical tips and tricks for making peace and keeping friends, there is a very real spiritual element to every situation. On this note we must always remember that our battle is not against people, but against evil spirits in the kingdom of darkness. As a matter of fact, what I have learned is that there are key evil spirits that oversee the activity occurring in just about every business. These spirits are usually things like alcoholism, drug abuse, gossip, revenge, hatred, slander, antichrist, jezebel and so forth. It’s usually very easy to tell what kind of spirits are in operation by simply having a keen eye and picking up on the obvious. If you know what everyone did last weekend (without any specific individual telling you their own story) it is pretty easy to conclude that a spirit of gossip is at work. If there is a strong rebuttal every time the name of Jesus is brought up, there is probably a spirit of antichrist.
“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (1 John 4:3)
In order to circumvent the strategies of the enemy, we must remind ourselves about who we are in Christ. We must then exert the authority that Jesus has given us. In Him we have been given power over the power of the enemy. This is relevant for every setting and situation. It doesn’t matter if we are not in the church building. God intends for us to partner with Him to the end that the works of the devil are destroyed. As it is written:
” Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)
Whenever I am working a secular job I make sure to bind all of the evil spirits and activities I have identified (or that the Lord has pointed out to me). This is not something I do only once on my first day of work. This is something that I do daily during my morning prayers. I have found that when I bind the works of darkness and loose the things of God, my work environment is radically changed in my favor. It actually positions me for favor with my superiors. Moreover, it breaks the spiritual resistance to the testimony of Jesus Christ. This means that it is much easier to engage coworkers, pray with coworkers, and even lead coworkers to Christ. Now that is what I call the ideal work environment!
“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)
