Having something to believe in goes far beyond being religious or spiritual; every single human being carries with them a set of beliefs, whether those beliefs are good, bad or ugly. Those beliefs can come from a religious book or set of teachings, morals and values passed down by your parents, cultural norms, or even a set of your own ideas. Your belief system is always grounded in something or governed by a particular ideology whether you realize it or not. Yet the challenge comes as we encounter other people whose belief systems are different from ours, and then we are forced to question and confront why we view things the way they do.
In today’s world it has become increasingly difficult to hold onto what you believe. There is always some force or social pressure trying to mold you to suit other people. Many people actually do give in and compromise their standards daily, sometimes just to avoid conflict. But there are also many that don’t, digging their heels into the dirt and simply refusing to be moved. These are the movers and the shakers, those that go against the grain and defy the status quo. Often branded as the rebels, the misfits and the renegades, interestingly enough these are the names we see in the history books.
As Christians in the marketplace we can relate all too well with some of these challenges and the pressure that comes with being young and perceived as naive and malleable by other people in the industry. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with change and we will always be growing and evolving as we mature, but into whose image? To look and sound like who exactly?
It’s an uncomfortable process and the expectations for us are high, we are expected to conduct each day with a smile on our face and a “God Bless You” on our tongues. God help some of us with the unreasonable bosses, insubordinate coworkers and disrespectful customers we may deal with on a daily basis. Dealing with them calls for a lot of grace, teeth gritting and psalm reciting but that’s another story for a different day.
One of my favourite Bible stories is that of Joseph (Genesis 37, 39-50 – check it out if you’ve never read it). Joseph was a class act and a stellar example of Christianity in the marketplace. Although a slave Joseph was determined not to let his lack of legal rights and freedoms make him compromise his beliefs. Joseph walked – no, ran – right out of a cushy job environment and straight into prison simply because he refused to sleep with his master’s wife. This may seem ludicrous to some of you and no this does not mean we can all run off the job when hard times hit. (Although in this case by all means run). But what is remarkable about Joseph is that he did not tolerate what his God would not allow. As privileged as he was to be a slave with such a position of honour in his master’s house, Joseph knew there was a greater Master he served and would have to answer to.
Like Joseph we all have to come to that place where we cannot be bought. No matter what they tell us, no matter what they throw at us we have to stand our ground. Although Joseph was purchased with a physical price on his head, he determined in his heart that no amount of money (moola, dinero, dough) could ever buy his soul. Of course we will be tempted to take what seems like the easy way out and will feel compelled to bow on many an occasion. Many of us will do WHATEVER it takes just to get a job, keep our job, please our boss or not make our coworkers dislike us. This is where the problem lies. It sounds real cute to stand in church and say what we would or wouldn’t do but then when crunch time comes we figure Potiphar’s wife ain’t that bad of a looker after all. Maybe just this once.
But as always we have to ask ourselves, is it worth it? Is this job really worth me sacrificing my time with God for? Is the money really worth my salvation? How will this decision affect my ability to minister to these people later? It doesn’t matter that I miss church every Sunday once I’m getting paid though, right? The ugly truth remains, we cannot serve both God and money and we cannot always please both God and man. The time will come where we must choose.
Today as we ask ourselves the tough questions and check our hearts to really see where we are at, let’s be reminded of the end of the story. In Genesis 41 we see a drastic transformation take place in Joseph’s life. God remembered Joseph (as if He could ever forget). In the midst of all his suffering and his sacrifice, the Most High remembered him and gave him the promotion of a lifetime far greater than anything he could ask or imagine. Pharoah chose Joseph (now an ex-con but with God these things don’t matter) to be second in command in all Egypt because he stood for something and could be counted as faithful (to God) and a man of integrity (in the eyes of men). Pharoah wanted Joseph in his company because there was something about this man that was extraordinary.
This is the kind of guy you would want to sit next to in class because you know he won’t copy off your book. The kind of guy you would want to hire in your organization because you can trust him not to fudge your accounts just to make you look good or bad (this is a criminal offence by the way). You could go to sleep at night peacefully knowing a man like Joseph was sitting in government running the country. You could vote for him without batting an eyelash (this is very very rare nowadays). More than anything Joseph was the kind of man God could trust to lead his people into a place of rest and spare them from the harsh famine around them.
Can people say the same about you?
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