HOW DO YOU TREAT YOUR BOSS?

from www.theresurgence.com/

How do you treat your boss? What does submission look like for you at work?

Any discussion of authority is empty without an understanding of how to respond humbly to authority—whether it is your boss or pastor, your parent or teacher, or your coach or doctor. How are Christians supposed to respond to authority?

I’ve talked with many employers, Christian and non-Christian alike, and sadly it isn’t uncommon to hear that Christians are often considered the worst employees. This shouldn’t be the case. It speaks to a failure to recognize and properly understand authority in a way that is biblical and healthy, and a failure to apply that understanding in all aspects of our lives.

There are three options for responding to authority, Christian or not.

1. “I WORK FOR A NON-CHRISTIAN; I CAN’T SUBMIT TO WHAT THEY SAY.”

If your boss is asking you to sin or violate your conscience, this may very well be the case. It may be time for a loving confrontation or a new job.

Sadly, however, far too often this sentiment reveals a false worldview that says, “They don’t understand me because they’re not a Christian. I don’t need to play their corporate idolatry games just to impress them and climb the corporate ladder. I only do what God says.”

Here is what God says in Romans 13:1–2, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” Christian or not, your boss is in authority over you, and God has appointed him or her as your boss. Submission is not an option; it is a command of God. How you respond to your boss who doesn’t know Jesus, might just pave the way for you to one day tell him about Jesus.

2. “I WORK FOR A CHRISTIAN; THEY’LL GIVE ME GRACE.”

As a Christian working for a Christian, we sometimes fall into the trap of expecting grace first and performance second. I’m not arguing for a works-based theology—we are saved by grace through Jesus. But in human interactions, we can’t abdicate our responsibility and abuse the grace extended to us from a Jesus-loving boss.

Receiving grace and abusing grace are two very different things. Don’t abuse the relational leverage gained from a boss who loves Jesus by becoming lazy or disrespectful. If anything, our shared faith calls for a higher level of commitment. This means no comments like, “Hey brother, I missed the deadline again. I’m so thankful you believe in grace.” I hope your boss does give you grace, but not because you demand it. I pray he or she chooses to do so while you are working your tail off. We’re called to be a servant and a blessing to those in leadership over us.

3. “I’LL DEDICATE MYSELF TO GRACE-FILLED, FAITHFUL HARD WORK.”

The gospel calls us to work hard for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). This means relying on grace, which pushes and challenges us to a faithfulness and work ethic that can only come through that grace.

Listen to Paul’s humble, confident description of his work in 1 Corinthians 15:10–11: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.”

At first glance Paul might seem arrogant: “Check me out. No one can work harder than I do.” He does say this, but as we read on we see the source and strength of his hard work: the grace of God.

Set the bar for what it means to work hard.

Paul poured his life out faithfully serving in both the “secular” realm—establishing a presence in the world as one of God’s people—and the “spiritual” realm—as an apostle, leading and shepherding God’s people. He understood the grace of God, his gifting from God, and his call to stewardship. Subsequently, he responded with a faithfulness that is both convicting and inspiring.

This last option is more indicative of a Christian’s response to authority. Whether or not your boss loves Jesus shouldn’t change your commitment and work ethic. Christians should be the ones leading by example, setting the bar for what it means to work hard and honor the authority placed over you.