Word for the Week: Like Master, Unlike Servant
Obadiah was in charge of [Ahab’s] palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.)
1 Kings 18:3
Few of us would envy Obadiah, working in a position of responsibility for a godless, corrupt and ruthless master.
But the majority of Christians today are similarly working for ungodly employers – some basically honest and just, others corrupt and tyrannical. Should they resign, and retreat into the comparative safety of ‘Christian employment’? Or – believing that the salt should be applied to the food, the lamp placed on a stand – should they stay where they are and try to make a difference?
How did Obadiah handle the challenge?
First of all, he maintained his faith. How easy it is, in a godless environment, to lose the freshness of our relationship with God, and gradually slip into habits of gossip, complaining and offensive talk, or allow our ethical standards to become fuzzy at the edges, while God seems less and less relevant to our ‘real-life situations’.
But Obadiah also took advantage of the opportunities offered to him by his job, hiding and feeding a hundred prophets during Jezebel’s persecutions. Our jobs may seem to offer little scope for heroism. But all of us have opportunities to live a distinctively Christian life – in the way we behave towards our colleagues, in our conscientiousness and integrity. And many of us, as we attain to positions of responsibility, have real opportunities to change things – to encourage and support younger colleagues, to review investment policies and sales methods, to initiate and support policies that promote justice.
The time came when Obadiah recognised that he must stand up and be counted, and he agreed to act as messenger for Elijah, whom Ahab perceived as his greatest enemy. The time may come for us, too, when the Lord convinces us that we must make a stand on an issue of principle, to challenge – or identify ourselves with those who are challenging – corruption, mismanagement and discrimination, or the inequities of the world’s economic systems.
How we do this is another matter. But we all have an opportunity of making a difference where we are – today and in the year ahead.
Helen Parry
To say that "the majority of Christians today are ...working for ungodly employers" is a strong statement. Is it really true? I suppose that depends on how you define an ungodly employer.
Date:
2010-09-20 20:36:25
Author:
Moira Biggins