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It's all there in one place, told by the one person best able to understand its' nuance. There's the impetuous-give-it-to-me-right-now insensitive grabber; as well as the I-love-you-more-than-you-understand patient old soul; and the always loveable you-don't-appreciate-what-I've-done-for-you whiner.
Likely you've been there many times before; perhaps you're there even now. Ahead of you are the very things you've longed for, worked for, and even sacrificed a part of yourselves to reach: The joy of the closed deal, the lure of the dream job, the freedom of not having money woes anymore. Or maybe those things are more personal; maybe what you see before you is the comfort of the perfect mate, the settled joy of that dream home, or even just the end to all those lonely or loveless hours.
"I remember!" she said as the nurse from China told me a story nearly five decades old. Her eyes lit up and her words rushed out as she talked about a working Christian whose legacy still echoed in her world.
There are two truths to hold onto when we encounter people who seem to feel they have no need of Christ. First, everyone has a hole in their soul, a place that yearns for solace from nagging or relentless struggle. Circumstances may numb us to it, or pleasure may mask it, but a heart without Christ will never be completely at rest. Second, and perhaps even more pertinent to this study, even the person who senses no need now will one day discover they do need more than what they can muster. What they remember about us and our faith in those moments may govern their response to God in time of need.
The objective of this set of five studies is to move us from the place where we're comfortable with moral relativity to a place where others would describe us as having a steadfast character. Steadfast character honors God, but it also benefits us and serves others well. In the first lesson, we tackled one of the key barriers to making changes in our character: peer pressure, especially criticism and opposition by difficult people. Our second lesson recognized conflict in the workplace is a reality, and we identified ways to resolve conflict that still honored God while being consistent with our faith. This study addresses truth-telling, the most visible and least visible measurement of character.
Let me be even more frank than before. This is a brilliant document brought to its knees by injudicious phrasing and a release process which almost guaranteed a sense of conflict and discord. As we mentioned in yesterday's update, there was hope for An Evangelical Manifesto to become one of the most important documents in the recent history of the church.
This set of five studies is intended to help us move from a place where we tolerate moral relativity in our lives to a place where we reflect steadfast character. Doing this requires concentrated action on our part. In other words, we must be intentional. In the first of the five studies, we examined ways to avoid letting ridicule, threats and criticism distract us from our call to Christ-like character. This study helps us identify when, and how, to handle conflict that arises in our careers.
Perhaps nothing challenges our commitment to our faith more than difficult people, and this is especially true in our workplaces.
Study 5 of 5 on finding God's view of balance

"I'm just so tired." This certainly ranks among the more common phrases we hear when we meet with workplace Christians. In fact, it's a common theme when we meet with any group of workers, whether they are Christians or not. But Christians are often surprised and discouraged by the fact they're tired.
The fourth study in the search for balance.

Christians are required to live life aware of two realities: (1) The tangible world where they live and work, which God created; and (2) the spiritual world with its eternal perspective, which God also created. We are not permitted to retreat permanently from one to meditate on the other; nor are we allowed to compromise the principles of the eternal in order to prosper in the tangible.

In the face of cultural norms that challenge our spiritual principles, we must find ways to adhere to those principles. And, while doing so, we must also serve diligently, competently, and admirably in the workplace and the society at large.
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