Gary Smith is a retired accountant and business coach, specializing in the distressed business environment. He is also a church elder at New Life Church Montagu and an exceptional Bible teacher.
If you are worried about your business or your finances in this time of lockdown, allow the following questions to guide you into a time of Bible study and reflection on what Jesus expects from us in seasons of economic strain.
Here are 8 questions for Christians currently in the marketplace (well, you will hopefully still be there after the lockdown!). While you are sitting at home, thinking about your job and the economic situation, consider these questions.
Feel free to share your answers honestly and even to ask questions that aren’t here, but which have been troubling you about jobs, work and working
1. There are 14 verses in the book of Proverbs (ESV), which use the word “sluggard”. The dictionary definition of this word is “lazy”. It is clear from these Proverbs that laziness will only lead to poverty.
Find as many of these verses as you can, and using three of them, write down what you think the Holy Spirit is saying to you through them.
2. By contrast, Proverbs 14:23 addresses the issue from a different perspective:
“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”
If one combines all the verses on laziness with this one, it seems clear that the bible is firmly behind the concept of working. In other words, work is a good thing. However, in South Africa, where the unofficial unemployment rate could be as high as 40%, how does one get to “work” if one simply cannot get a job?
Consider this: you have been unemployed for over a year and unable to find any form of sustainable work. Apart from praying and trusting God, which one assumes you will be doing if you’re a Christian, write down some of the things that you could do?
3. Imagine this scenario: you have just been appointed by your employer as a manager of ten people, some of whom are older and more experienced than you. You are technically qualified for the job and will be held accountable for the success, or otherwise, of your team.
You are a Christian. What is your underlying motive in all that you do? Which verse/s of scripture guides you in this regard?
4. Using the same scenario, what is your main strategy in all you do? Which verse/s of scripture guides you in this regard?
5. Using the same scenario, answer questions 3 and 4 again, but this time, imagine that you are one of those team members, and not the manager. Has anything changed, and if so, what? Which scriptures are now applicable?
6. Your employer is not a Christian, and does not allow any form of ‘worship’ in the work premises, even during lunch and tea breaks. Some of your co-workers are Christians and together, you would like an opportunity to witness to those who don’t know the Lord Jesus.
Remembering the great commission given to his disciples by Jesus, do you obey this instruction?
Depending on your answer, how do you think your actions will be viewed by your employer, by your unbelieving co-workers, and most importantly, by God.
7. Should a Christian join a trade union? If so, how should you conduct yourself, in the event of a strike? Write down as many scriptural references as you can, which speak to this situation? (Eg. Honouring your employer; respecting the law; working hard; caring for your family, standing against injustice, etc.)
8. You are in a position of trust, working for the government. This applies to a very large percentage of our population. Your salary is alright but not great. You are offered a substantial amount of money as an ‘incentive’ to award a large tender to a certain firm. It will be enough to buy you a lovely home for your family. The tender value is not excessive and it will not cost the government any extra, so technically, you are not taking taxpayers’ funds.
Should you go ahead and do this? For your family’s sake? Remember: if you don’t do it, someone else will probably do it anyway! Which scriptural references speak to this situation?
Gary Smith
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