5 Ways Christians Can Navigate a Challenging Workplace
Christians working in secular professions and spaces often need to navigate obstacles as they seek to live out an active faith. Proximity to the lost world can be advantageous for laborers of the harvest (Luke 10:2), but it can also be an intimidating environment that threatens to dampen our witness. Here are five ways Christians can have a healthy approach to challenging workplaces.
1. Foster a missions mindset.
Mission fields are not simply places abroad. If you do not perceive yourself to be on mission at your workplace, it’s unlikely that you will consistently engage in gospel efforts there. Take ownership of your workplace community as a people group to whom you have been sent to serve. In your daily interactions with colleagues, customers, and clients, you have the privilege of representing Jesus to people in need of a great Savior.
Trust that God has placed you in your workplace for a reason. No matter how gifted an evangelist your pastor may be, he probably won’t have access to the offices or jobsites where you spend your days. God has given you this unique sphere of influence—use it for His glory. Pray for and engage your people group.
2. Be sensitive to where God is already at work.
Some of the best workplace advice I ever received was, “Keep your antennae up.” As an introvert, my workplace tendency is to keep my head down and my earbuds in, navigating each day as quietly and efficiently as possible. But in doing so, I often miss out on the good work the Lord is doing around me. I close myself off to the people He is bringing into my life, oblivious to their needs and unaware of opportunities to care for them. To counteract that tendency, I pray each day that God would increase my sensitivity and awareness of how He is moving in my workplace and help me set my agenda aside to join in His work. My spiritual antennae are up, and I approach each day as an opportunity to show the love of Jesus.
As followers of Jesus, we are to be a model of good works, integrity, dignity, and sound speech, living in good faith with a general respect for those around us.
Even if your environment is openly hostile to expressions of Christian belief, trust that God is at work under the surface and be on the lookout for where that might be. Just as pioneering missionaries who proclaim the gospel among unreached people groups will often find evidence of God already moving within the hearts of the people, we are likely to find that He is already stirring in unexpected ways within even the most challenging workplace environments. As you work, keep your antennae up, sensitive to where those opportunities might be.
3. Work with excellence.
In Titus 2:7–10, Paul encourages us to “adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” by the way we carry ourselves in the world. As followers of Jesus, we are to be a model of good works, integrity, dignity, and sound speech, living in good faith with a general respect for those around us. In the context of our workplaces, Paul is simply urging us to be good coworkers. We should strive to be excellent in everything we do because it points to the gospel and, ultimately, it shows our underlying motivation: We are working as for the Lord (Col. 3:23). In some sense, our good reputation demonstrates love for God and for the people around us. As an expression of that love, we build good relationships with colleagues and put ourselves in a good position to serve them well (including the ultimate service: pointing them to Christ).
4. Look for the peacemakers.
Sharing your faith at work may seem like a daunting task. You might immediately think of antagonistic colleagues or imagined repercussions. It’s that thought process that so often paralyzes our witness, and understandably so. But even in a setting where many people are known to be hostile to Christianity, not every person is equally so. There are always people who remain open to spiritual conversations, even if they are not followers of Christ. Identify those persons of peace within your workplace circles, begin developing safe relationships with them, and look for opportunities to engage in spiritual conversations. Peaceful, open-minded people can be an open door to gospel conversations in a difficult place.
5. Sew gospel threads.
As you navigate a challenging workplace, having a missions mindset, spiritual sensitivity, occupational excellence, and peaceful relationships will go a long way. They are not the endpoint, though. We should not lose sight of our primary calling as Christ-followers. At some point, gospel-shaped living should lead to actual gospel proclamation. Yes, secular workplaces can present inherent challenges to our witness, but we can still find ways to share the good news of Jesus with boldness and wisdom. If your workplace feels particularly closed off to evangelism opportunities, the prospect of presenting a coworker with a five-minute gospel presentation may not seem realistic. But we cannot choose silence as the alternative. Even in closed settings, trust that God will open gospel doors and be ready to walk through them when you sense them. As you build relationships with those around you, look for ways to intertwine the themes of the gospel in your normal conversations. Sew small threads of gospel truth in your everyday speech and then look for opportune moments to weave those threads together into a larger tapestry of grace.
