CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 869

“A Letter from Christ”

…you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:3)

A coworker mistakenly thought that my department would be a good place to ‘hide out’ and wait out the clock until closing time the other night. He left after I explained to him how his actions constituted theft of time. Sadly, this coworker is one that proclaims his Christian faith to others. What do others think when they compare his words to his actions? How does his ‘letter from Christ’ read to his coworkers and employer?

It is interesting to note how employees disciplined or terminated for such actions become angry with their employer for holding them accountable. In a high accountability work environment where terminations occur it is surprisingly easy for other employees to become concerned and fearful for their jobs. God’s Word provides wisdom and guidance for His children in the workplace that we should all take heed of.

First, don’t be counted among the wicked. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence… (Proverbs 3:25) Serve the authorities over you as you would serve Jesus. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23).

Second, make your work ethic – your character a letter from Christ. Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3-4). Let’s unpack this proverb.

The term ‘steadfast love’ is from the Hebrew ‘chesed’ which conveys the twin ideas of love and loyalty. The Word of God exhorts us to never let them go. To bind them is to intertwine and weave them together. The idea of wearing them around our neck is to make them a visible and treasured part of our character. The binding of love and loyalty is a testimony to the abiding presence of God in us. …God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16)

God’s Word exhorts us to go further and to ‘write them on the tablet of our heart’. This is not a pen and paper type of writing. This conveys the idea of engraving and carving in stone. Our ‘heart’ is our center of emotional, intellectual, and moral activity. Love and loyalty and faithfulness are to be permanently engraved into the character of our moral center. We must not act one way when the boss is looking and another way when they are not. We must be ‘rock-solid’ in the integrity of our character and work ethic.

May your letter from Christ read true. May you find favor and a good repute in the sight of God and man. May the abiding presence of God in your heart drive out all fear and give you peace.