God’s sovereign authority is over the good, bad, and ugly in this world, even in the workplace. How can God’s sovereignty encourage, comfort, and rescue us when we face difficult situations or even unjust suffering at work?
I think of the apostle Peter’s instructions to the church in his time. He is writing to Christians who had no recourse to justice, no legal rights or privileges, and no hope apart from the sovereignty of God. In such a context, God calls his people to submission.
He says, “Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1 Pet. 2:18-21).
I have always struggled with the idea of submission. To my modern, educated sensibilities the immediate question in my head is, “Am I to be a doormat?” But these verses are set in the context of the overarching character of God. We need to be clear what it does not mean and what it does mean.
What it Does Not Mean
God is not teaching us to ignore injustice, corruption, or evil practices we witness in the workplace.
In the same chapter Peter says “Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves” (1 Pet. 2:16). We are, in fact, commanded not to ignore any evil; not to just keep our head down and get through life by playing it safe. Quite the opposite! (Eph. 5:11-14)
The fear of God compels us to bring evil to light and fight for justice. But the way to do this is with wisdom. So often I find Christians who are passionate and zealous to do good, but simply lack godly wisdom to deal with conflict and oppression. We must learn to cultivate godly wisdom, roll up our sleeves, and be unafraid to work through conflict (Prov. 13:10, 15:18, 19:11, 29:11).
The Reality of Toxic Work Environments
So often I hear people complain about toxic work environments. In the reality of toxic work environments, the danger of harbouring offence, resentment, and bitterness is so prevalent.
In my first exposure to the work environment, I landed the misfortune of having a Cruella de Vil for a boss. While I did not endure physical beatings per se, I endured ‘emotional beatings’ to my soul.
To my 21-year-old mind, she always seemed unnecessarily cruel and a classic narcissist. Nothing I did was ever good enough, despite working insanely long hours (including random personal errands).
She took all the credit in board-room meetings. She was bullish, insulting, and sowed discord in our small team by gossiping about each person behind their back. Even our salaries and increments were at the mercy of how she felt, instead of a formal review system.
Her unprofessional and erratic behaviour irked me but I never mustered the courage to have an honest conversation and deal with it. Instead, I nursed my wounds by having imaginary conversations in my head, where I told her exactly what I thought; and, of course, I always won the argument.
To be honest, deep down I harboured offence in my heart that slowly turned to resentment. At 21 I did not have the maturity to process this well. The only advice I got was, ‘Welcome to the real world; just suck it up!’
Though there are no “one size fits all” biblical solutions for toxic work environments, I wish someone had told me that it is not always about the situation or the other person. The only thing I have control over is my response and my actions.
What it Does Mean
God is teaching us how to deal with insults and injuries that cause wounds, deep in our souls. In the face of unfair suffering, Peter gives us wisdom to bear up under it, in the likeness of Christ, because we are mindful of God (1 Pet. 2:19).
He points to Jesus Christ as our perfect model, “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds, you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:23-25).
God is not teaching us to ‘suck it up’ or ignore it. He knows the pain of insults and the suffering we endure in unhealthy environments is real. But, like Jesus, he wants us to entrust ourselves to him who judges justly. He wants us to bring our wounds to the Chief shepherd and overseer of our souls; for by his wounds we are healed.
Neither HR nor a therapist can heal your soul. They can shine a light on your pain but they cannot remove it. Soul wounds are healed at the cross. We need to learn to appropriate the victory of the cross to our everyday situations.
In such work environments, we do not have to retaliate in anger because our pride is pricked; nor do we have to cower in fear. By God’s grace, we can be content with Jesus’s opinion of us, which does not change. From that place of security and confidence in our identity, boldness replaces fear and humility replaces pride.
Negative experiences in toxic work environments do not have to define our value. Only Jesus defines our value. When we entrust ourselves to him, he does this marvellous thing of taking the bad and the ugly and somehow crafting something beautiful out of it.
Trusting God’s Redemptive Power
I never thought I would recover from the experience of working with Cruella de Vil 20 years ago. Not only did the Lord redeem that experience, he did more than that. Somehow, I found myself building a small social enterprise. It works to remove exploitative business practices in informal communities and has come to support the income of over 10,000+ marginalised people in south India through trade opportunities.
Every day is a battle against evil on the outside, but I have never lost the love, joy, peace and fellowship of the Holy Spirit in my inner being. So I can testify and say, “Trust him. Trust his Word. Take him up on his promise. He will not let you down.”
