Faith and Action in Times of Employment Uncertainty

          We like to characterize the Christian life as a “Walk with the Lord.”  My walk with the Lord involves two elements: Faith and Action.  And when seeking a job, as I currently am, I find my faith and my actions focused in certain ways.

          Let me tell a story about somebody else’s faith.  There was this missionary named Paul.  Paul and his colleagues ran into some life-threatening trouble when they were in a particularly hostile region.  A little while later, Paul wrote about this experience in a letter to a church that he was acquainted with in Greece. 

"I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia.  We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it.  In fact we expected to die.  But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves, but on God who can raise the dead.  And he did deliver us from mortal danger.  And we are confident that he will continue to deliver us.  He will rescue us because you are helping by praying for us.  As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people's prayers for our safety have been answered." (2 Cor. 1:8-11, New Living Translation)

          This illustrates the first focus of my faith when in uncertain times:

1. Trust in the Lord’s resolve to use your life.  These missionaries were in mortal danger in Asia province.  But they trusted God, rather than themselves, and they lived through it.

2. A second focus of my faith in these times is prayer.  When you pray, confess your sinfulness to God.  It could be doubt, animosity, anger, immorality or something else that weighs on your heart.  I have to confess regularly to forgetting that God has a purpose for me, and my current situation is a new beginning in that purpose, something to be excited about.  And worship God when you pray.  Tell Him how great he is.  Thank him for bringing you to this exciting point.

          Only after all that, is it appropriate then to ask God to lead you through this situation to the end.  But bear in mind, as a faithful follower of Christ, you should ask God for anything that you seem to think you need.  As a member of a believing community, it is crucial to remain in strong fellowship with other believers, and to inform them in detail of your situation so that they too can pray for you.

3. A third focus of faith in times of uncertainty is to conduct yourself in a godly manner.  The same missionary, Paul, wrote in a letter to his friend Titus (Titus 2:11-13) “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.  And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures.  We should live in this evil world with self-control, right conduct, and devotion to God, while we look forward to that wonderful event when the glory of our great God and savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”  Godless living and sinful pleasures.  Deliberately living a life without God and being morally bankrupt.

Some painful history here.  The September 11 terrorists mistakenly believed that their deed would earn them automatic entry into heaven.  So, despite their misguided religious convictions, in the years leading up to 9-11 they lived lascivious and morally compromised lives of alcohol and sexual abuse because they believed their salvation was guaranteed.  These men suffered from a broken understanding of salvation.  Salvation comes only by the grace of God, and not by special deeds.  The recipient of salvation has an unmistakable righteousness, because the Holy Spirit is living within him.  So, I can’t present “conduct yourself in a godly manner” as some kind of recipe for success with God, but rather it is a symptom of God’s presence in your life.  On-going, un-reconciled sinfulness is an alarm that something is not right in your walk with the Lord.  In order to have the faith to trust God to use your life, you need to be walking with the Lord.  If you’re hearing the alarm, then you have something to focus on.

          So that is, in a nutshell, how I find my faith focused in uncertain times.

1. Trust that the Lord has resolved to use your life. 

2. Maintain a prayer life, both personally and corporately.  And don’t hesitate to ask the Lord for whatever you think you need.  And,

3. Conduct yourself in a godly manner.

          But I sited two elements: Faith and Action.  Habitat for Humanity, the organization that builds houses for poor people, speaks the motto, “the Lord helps those who help themselves.”  They use this motto, because as part of their program, the recipient of the new house participates in building it.  This is not a Biblical statement, especially since the Lord also helps those who can’t help themselves.  (It’s a statement that's in fact attributed to Benjamin Franklin.)  But, that apostolic missionary, Paul, again wrote, this time to the church in Thessalonica

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from any Christian who lives in idleness and doesn't follow the tradition of hard work we gave you.  For you know that you ought to follow our example.  We were never lazy when we were with you.  We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it.  We worked hard day and night so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  It wasn't that we didn't have the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.  Even while we were with you we gave you this rule: 'Whoever does not work, should not eat.'

"Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and wasting time meddling in other people's business,  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to such people - no, we command them: Settle down and get to work.  Earn your own living.  And I say to the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good."  (2 Thess 3:6-13)

          This balance reminds me that faith is a partnership with God and not a magic spell.  You have to let your faith be your fuel as you do these necessary things:

1. Actually look for a job.

2. Make a strong effort at networking.

          Those are the two key approaches to getting an interview: looking for it and networking for it.  And once you get an interview:

3. Make a strong effort at the interviewing process.

          -prepare your supporting materials. 

When I look for a job, I have a book I call my interview book.  It is a 3-ring binder filled with supporting material including papers I have authored, copies of the front pages of my patents, photos of products I’ve developed, and presentation material from past work that is relevant for this open position.

          -study the employer

Do your homework.  Who is the person you are talking to?  What was his dissertation about?  What papers and patents has he had?  And you will probably talk to several people during your interview.  Try to know things about each of them.  And the company too.  What are the company’s products?  What is its product strategy?  Its market strategy?  Most important: Where can you contribute to these strategies?  This kind of information is available from the company’s annual report, if it’s a public company, or from other available documents if it’s the government.

4. A 4^th necessary action that’s fueled by faith is give cheerfully.

          The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 9:7-8) “You must each make up your own minds as to how much you should give.  Don’t give reluctantly, or in response to pressure.  For God loves the person who gives cheerfully.  And God will generously provide all you need.  Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

God doesn’t abandon those who give in his name.  Giving, whether to evangelism, to Christian education or to mercy ministry, is one of the five basic activities evident in the lifestyles of the saved.  Those being

                   1. Prayer

                   2. Bible study

                   3. Fellowship

                   4. Evangelism, and

                   5. Giving.

          But be careful of your motive for giving.  You cannot give to get.  God always gives first.  And then you give in response to blessings, not in order to be blessed.

          Now, why do I highlight cheerful giving at a time of employment uncertainty?  Because that is when we’re most likely to overlook it.  And that’s probably also the time when your giving gives God the most pleasure.

5. Seek only work that falls within the boundaries of the kingdom.

          There are lots of employment opportunities.  You need to apply your own understanding of Biblical morality when deciding what to do with your life.  I once described to my students an ethical dilemma I was facing when I was presented with an opportunity to work on small-arms weaponry.  I never said “no” to that work, fortunately the proposal was rejected and the dilemma simply vanished.

          I recently saw another opportunity for an electrical engineer.  The work seemed like something that would be suitable for me.  Then I saw that the employer is the leading manufacturer of slot machines and they need someone to work on new slot machine products.  Unlike the last example, in this time of need, I chose to give glory to God and limit my options by not pursuing this opportunity.

          There is a lot of personal reflection in deciding how to make sure your work advances the Kingdom of God.  Many Christians have in fact advanced God’s kingdom while working on weapons, or working in breweries or working in the pop entertainment industry where God is particularly unwelcome.  Who knows, maybe you can even advance the Kingdom while building slot machines.  But if you really can’t see the Kingdom being served by your involvement and you’ve prayed about it, then don’t pursue it.  As long as you limit yourself to advancing the Kingdom, God will provide.

I’d like to close by reading to you what the Bible says about being anxious in times of uncertainty.  These are the very words of Jesus, spoken during his famous Sermon on the Mount. 

"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life - whether you will have enough food, drink and clothes.  Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing?  Look at the birds.  They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them.  And you are more valuable to Him than they are.  Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  Of course not.

"And why worry about your clothes?  Look at the lilies and how they grow.  They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are.  And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't He more surely care for you?  You have so little faith!

"So, don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing.  Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things?  Your heavenly Father already knows all of your needs, and He will give you all you need from day to day, IF YOU LIVE FOR HIM AND MAKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD YOUR PRIMARY CONCERN.  So, don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.  Today's trouble is enough for today." (Matthew 6:25-34)