I have a job with a great salary and benefits…. Furthermore, it is related to my college career. The problem is that the other employees have bad habits, use curse words and gossip about their coworkers…. My boss is a woman who treats me very badly because I don’t act like everyone else. She screams at me and discriminates against me…. I am a Christian and do my best to stay away from them.
Dear Friend,
How wonderful that you have a job that pays well and is in the career field that you prepared for! However, we understand your frustration with your coworkers.
You say that you are a Christian. That makes us think that you are a follower of Christ. There are at least three kinds of Christ-followers. The first kind are those who have decided to follow Christ, and they have asked Him to forgive their sins, but they haven’t yet studied the Bible, so they don’t understand what it means to follow Christ.
The second kind of Christ-followers are the ones who accepted Christ and became His followers but are still very attracted to their former habits. For example, they may still be tempted to use alcohol to forget their problems.
These first and second types of Christ-followers are the ones that the Apostle Paul wrote about when he said: “I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for solid food.”(1) Paul was comparing those Christ-followers to babies who still need milk and are not ready for food.
The third type of Christ-followers are the ones who read the Bible and put its teachings into practice in their everyday lives. They pray and communicate with God personally and regularly. God is the highest priority in their lives, so they try to live the way His Son Jesus Christ did when He walked on this earth. Christ is their example for everything.
It sounds like you are the third type of Christ-follower and that you want to follow His example. Therefore, let’s look at Christ’s example. He told His followers, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”(2) Christ was letting them know that they should expect to be hated rather than be surprised by it.
Christ ate with and associated with the worst people in society.(3) He explained to His followers that His purpose was to share the Good News of the Gospel with those who were sick spiritually, not those who were well.(4)
Why were those people willing to listen to Christ, to eat meals with Him, and to hang out with Him? Because He showed them so much love. In fact, He said, “If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.”(5) Christ loved with His words and His actions, and that is what He taught His followers to do: love, expect to be hated, and love some more. That is the example Christ gave us.
We wish you well,
Linda
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1 1Co 3:1-2 (Berean Standard Bible)
2 Jn 15:18 (NIV)
3 Mk 2:15
4 Lk 5:31
5 Jn 13:35 (GNT)