In the Workplace, Not of the Workplace

How to Reflect Jesus in the Office

By Danielle Thomas

Do you ever struggle to feel like you fit in at work? Maybe you find your coworkers’ borderline jokes distasteful, or you can’t identify with what seems to be the relentless pursuit of more money, authority, and success? When my coworkers tell stories about their wild weekends and booze-filled nights out, I can’t help but feel a tightening in my chest, a twinge that I just can’t shake.

It’s not only because I’m a generally tame person who enjoys a cozy Friday night in that I feel a level of discomfort at these topics and situations. I know in my heart that these things are displeasing to God, and it makes me feel uneasy. Our workplaces are such fascinating microcosms of our world, with people from different backgrounds all holding different values, beliefs, and priorities. In certain ways, though, the workplace atmosphere can amplify our human rejections of God’s goodness and highlight our shortcomings even more clearly. As Christians, it should be no surprise that these experiences feel uncomfortable or wrong, but sometimes the shock of it really hits us!