| Influences of Others The Company We Keep  Q. My work environment is awful. Several people are having affairs and I feel like I’m caught in the middle. I don’t feel there is any room for advancement. Yet, I can’t really go elsewhere due to the poor economy. Do you have any suggestions for Christians who find themselves in situations like these? Answer: A Common Story Your story is similar to others we hear frequently – even in church! You might be shocked by the number of congregants who are living sinful lives. We can’t always escape by leaving our present jobs, either, although it doesn’t mean we should never walk away. Sometimes we should leave. Locked In A Box? It appears you have locked yourself into a box. It is not entirely true that you can’t do anything else. For example, you may want to look into jobs offered by your boss’s competitors although it may seem counter-intuitive. If you are good at something there are likely other jobs in your field. In addition, you may wish to deliberately lower your standard of living so that you can take a large salary cut. For example, we know one family who sold their home and moved into a trailer on a one-acre plot of land where they grow their own fruits and vegetables and raise pygmy goats. Their children love it! Christians “Stink” to Unbelievers Sometimes bosses who are unbelievers keep certain employees around because they make him or her feel as if their own failures are OK. The apostle Paul told us, “We are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life” (2 Cor. 2:15-16, ESV). In other words, we are a “stench” to unbelievers! We stink! Bless Enemies – But Don’t Partner With Evil Jesus told us to love our enemies and do good to those who persecute us. Yet, Paul also told us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers in 2 Corinthians 6:14. How do we reconcile these passages? Avoid Certain Categories of People Although it seems like a contradiction, it really isn’t. Paul’s writings tell Christians to avoid people who are arrogant, conceited, angry, abusive, greedy, gossipers, slanderous, adulterers, murderers, drunkards and so forth (2 Tim. 3:1-5, Eph. 5:3-9, Galatians 5:19-21, 2 Cor. 6:14-18). We are to avoid this class of people if – IF – they are believers. Unbelievers Avoid certain People, Too Many of our unbelieving friends avoid this category of people, too. They avoid murderers, drug addicts, alcoholics, and people who are destructive to them – whether they are believers or not. Avoid Legal & Business Contracts With Unbelievers However, Christians are not to form partnerships in business, or to marry people who are unbelievers. These are considered legal contracts which can become problematic for Christians partnering with unbelievers. Paul says, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever” (2 Cor. 6:14-15, NASB). Immoral People Drag Us Down In general we need to clearly understand that associating with people who do immoral, dishonest things drag us down. They drag us down whether they are Christians or not. Paul advises, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals'” (1 Corinthians 15:33).  Be a Witness & Letter to Unbelievers If we are Christians, however, we are to be a good witness to unbelievers as best we can. Often we are the only “Bibles” they will ever read. We are the closest to the Lord they will ever see. “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men, being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3, NASB). Lead a Quiet Life & Mind Our Own Business Finally, 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 tells us “to seek to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, so that you may walk properly in the presence of outsiders and not be dependent on anyone.” This is good, general advice. We may have to work next to someone who is having an illicit affair or to someone who is getting drunk every night. Perhaps it is better if we just mind our own business in most cases. Although you may stay in your present job if you choose, it may be a better choice for you to remove yourself from a clearly ungodly situation over which you have no control. After all, Paul advises us: “Look carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15, ESV). If you cannot do a good job in your work environment, you have the freedom to go elsewhere.  General Principles Summarized: Avoid: Drug Addicts, Alcoholics, Adulterers God’s Word tells believers to avoid other Christians who are disruptive in their behaviors. This would include drug addicts, alcoholics, adulterers, people engaged in sexually immoral behaviors, and people involved in sexual, drunken orgies. Hateful, Angry, Greedy It would include avoiding church members who are murderers, given to angry outbursts and those who are hateful, greedy, and materialistic. We are to avoid believers given to jealous rages and envy and those who are extremely selfish. Proud, Argumentative, Easily Offended We are to avoid abusive believers and those who are arrogant and proud. This includes church members who are heartless and unappeasable – those who take offense and can’t be reasoned with. Occult Dabblers We are also to avoid those who make a fetish of consulting horoscopes, engaging in seances, consulting tarot cards and other tools of what the bible calls “sorcery.” A list of these disruptive people and behaviors to avoid in church is found in Galatians and Ephesians – chapter five in each book, and 2 Timothy 3:1-5.  Be A Witness: However, believers are encouraged to be a witness to those who are unbelievers. We may remain in situations where we may be the only “Bible” they will ever “read.” Paul clearly defined this for us: “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people. I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler – not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13, NASB). _________________________________ References: Freeman, Criswell. 2004. God’s survival guide. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. Life Application Study Bible, NLT. 2005. Large-print edition. Carol Stream, ILL: Tyndale. TouchPoints for Hurting People.2003. Wheaton, ILL: Tyndale. TouchPoints for Troubled Times. 2004. Wheaton, ILL: Tyndale. |
