Other people are just jerks… right?

I don’t know about you, but there are times in the workplace where other people are just jerks.

Or, is that one of the lies we tell ourselves?

Caught in the conflict trap

There are so many ways to get caught in a trap with conflict at work, especially when you add multiple personalities with different reaction styles.

In fact, if you zoom out a bit, there are opportunities for conflict everywhere in our lives: Marriage, children, friends, extended family, church, etc.

If we focus for a few minutes on the workplace, what types of situations breed conflict?

• Change
• Low productivity, low sales
• Lack of ownership
• Personal issues
• Cliques or favored employees
• Poor management
• Poor communication
• Lack of development

What is at the root of these situations: Fear? Pride? Insecurity? Failure? Bitterness?

There are winners and losers

Someone has to win and it may as well be me. Right?

In this week’s Maximizers, Matt Meyer suggested that the win/lose paradigm comes from a “scarcity” culture or mentality. Walls go up and creativity and productivity breaks down. Communication gaps grow wider.

With this is mind, is the fear of loss stronger than the desire to win? And when we win in these situations, what exactly do we gain?

Think about that for a minute.

Avoiding the traps of conflict

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about maturing in the ways of Christ so that we can live fully as Christ followers, as explained throughout this text.

There are lots of other passages in the Bible that give instruction for avoiding the traps of conflict; such as avoiding selfish ambition and keeping a grateful heart when others insult you.

What do you think of when you read the words “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs…?”

Or, how about “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.?”

From a man-in-the-mirror perspective, these words may be convicting to many of us reading this post. If this you, consider the following challenge over the next week:

What conflict traps have you recently found yourself in? Are there ways in which you could have reacted differently if you were to take a non-selfish approach?

 

A measure of divine Glory

If you’ve been following along and read the The Image of God in Man post, or have been able to attended the Maximizers meetings, you may remember that we identified the Image of God by four primary distinctions:

• Our manifestation of His attributes
• Our ruling as His regents
• Our ability to relate to him and others
• Our investment with glory from Him, by Him, and for believers, to Him

God invests man with a measure of divine Glory

• Glory in the “likeness” of God – Ezekiel 1:26-27
• What is man that you are mindful of him? – Psalm 8:4
• 1 Cor 11:7; 2 Cor 3:18

Considerations of the Glory of God

• It is universal
  • People of all races, ethnic groups, nationalities, etc. are made in the image of God
  • With regard to the image of God, there is no gender difference
  • Mental and physical ability has no bearing on “imageness”
  •  The Image of God is essential to man, it is not something that can be lost
  • What does this universality mean in the workplace?
    • Equal respect of mankind regardless of ability or appearance
    • Prejudice and glass ceilings have no place
    • Form and Function
      • We are all the same FORM, being made in His image (who we are)
        • This is how Jesus can tell us to love everyone
  • We are all different in FUNCTION(what we do)
    • We do different things, have different levels of contribution
• We mess it up when we confuse (rather than correlate) form and function; when we assign value to people by their function rather than their form

Where do we see the Image of God most clearly?

• In Jesus Christ
  • Wholly directed toward the Father (John 4:34)
  • Wholly directed toward others (John 15:13, Mark 10:45)
  • Ruled over nature (Acts 2:22)
  • Mirrors the three-fold relationship in Gen 1:26-28

How do we accommodate these three axis of relationships in the workplace?

• When we work for someone, we should be stewards of what the employer has given us – and remain wholly directed toward the Father
• If the direction of the company is distressing, you have the ability to speak out in concern while still understanding that we are subject to authority (Colossians 3:22 and 1 Peter 2:13)
• If you are talking out of turn because you cannot align with the direction of the company, then you should move on

Related Posts:

The Image of God in Man

A great master of disguise: greed

Last week, we spent some time talking about a great master of disguise: Greed.

Greed is a funny topic, and somewhat emotionally and politically charged as of late. But, if we set aside our leanings for a minute and look at how greed is defined:

greed

noun: excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions.

What kinds of greed do we see today? As a group, we called out examples such as:

• Monetary gain: WIIFM (what’s in it for me?)
• Get rich quick approach/mentality
• Stepping on others to get ahead
• Market share/monopolize by driving competition out of business
• Squandering of resources

Are any of these examples familiar in your world?

Ever feel guilted into giving?

Why is that we do not make giving decisions in the same way we make spending decisions?

We justify spending for tangible things, even stretch and rearrange our finances to obtain the new car or appliance. But, when it comes to giving, we justify the reasons to hold on to what we have or give just a little.

Why do we do this?

As Christians, do you ever feel guilted into giving to the building campaign or the missions fund? Do you give out of guilt instead of joy?

How do you get your heart engaged so that you are giving out of joy?

Where your treasure goes, you heart follows

Our heart is in the right place – we want to do it right. In fact, if there was a magic prayer to recite that would help us all bypass greed, we’d all recite it, and then we’d call our wives and our friends and have them do that same!

“Watch out – be on your guard against all kinds of greed… a man’s life does not exist on the abundance of his possessions.” – Luke 12:15

If you’re looking at the definition of greed and trying to figure out how to identify it, look no further than your own heart:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)

Ask yourself, not out of guilt, but out of awareness – where is your heart?

 

The Image of God in Man

Over the past few weeks, we’ve continued to explore the concept of a Theology of Work with David Dickinson. Recently, we discussed the Image of God in Man; both before and after the fall. Having been created in God’s image, Adam and Eve had relationship with God while in their perfect form.

Even after the sin of man and the wrath of the Great Flood, we remained in God’s image, yet somewhat separated from him because of sin.

The Four Main Ways

As we look at the four main ways that we can see the image of God in man, there are some definitions, and there some questions.

The questions for each section are intentionally left open-ended, as they were group discussions in the Maximizer’s meeting.

Try to reflect on how you might answer or have an understanding for each one.

You are invited to post your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom.

In Attributes

By our attributes, we mirror the image of God. In this likeness, we have our emotional, mental, and physical capacity. No other creature has all of these attributes at the same level as ours as humans. Believe it or not, there are few direct references or explanation of this in the Old Testament.

If the image of God is reflected in these capacities, what does it mean for us in the workplace? And, is someone with less ability or attribute, are they then any less of the image of God?

In Regency

From the garden, man was given ‘dominion’over the Earth. In regency, ruling in a foreign land on behalf of a King, we can also see the image of God in man.

What does it mean for us in the workplace if it is our role to have ‘dominion’ and to ‘subdue’ the Earth? What does it mean for us in our personal and social relationships?

In Relationship

All living creatures have some form of relationship or companionship with their fellow beings. But where we are like God in relationship is that we can have relationship with each other, and we can have relationship with Him.

What does it mean for us in the workplace if we are unique in our relational ability? What about in other areas of our lives?

In Glory

As a group, we have yet to discuss this way in which you can see the image of God in man. On Friday 2/17, we will cover this final section.

Join us on Friday morning (if you’re in the Michiana area, click here), or subscribe to our posts to stay engaged as we continue our journey through these topics.

Seek the Welfare of the City

Last Friday at Maximizer’s, we were joined by guest speaker Edgar Cabello, Senior Pastor at Southgate Church. Edgar shared his vision as expressed by the local church, and told his own story of impacting the community for the Kingdom.

If it prospers, you too will prosper

Edgar sums it up very simply with one specific verse found in Jeremiah:

“… seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” – Jeremiah 29:7

At Southgate, they have done just that with one specific area of ministry: their partnership with The Crossing Educational Center. The Crossing works with at-risk, drop-out teens. It’s more than just a GED track program.

These are kids that have nothing else – no future – no support system – no family pushing them forward – and sometimes, no real home.

Watch the video here.

Church often does things that matter to the church

Southgate, being large in footprint, had extra space in their facilities. Edgar and his staff “wanted to have a church that does things that matter to the community.” Church often does things that matter to the church… or to the church people. For better or worse, it’s easy for churches to seclude themselves, even when unintentional.

The church was able to lend its unused space and give The Crossing its own permanent home. Every day, these kids are not only learning the necessary scholastics, they are also exposed to the Gospel.

They are experiencing opportunities to serve and even work in their community. Through a partnership with a local tree trimming business, they are learning how to budget for tools and other equipment.

If you ask Edgar what makes this ministry so successful, he will say that being faith-based is the key. Anyone can fund and teach a GED program – but this is more. This is real impact. This is changing lives.

“The role of the church is motion. If we do what Jeremiah wrote to the people, we will make an impact like never before. Don’t look for an escape hatch. Let’s engage wherever we are. The world is desperate for us.” – Edgar Cabello

Our responsibility as Christians in the workplace and in the community is to make it a better place to live.

We are called to seek the welfare of the city.