BYOB: Speaking the Truth at Work
Jeremiah 1:4-10
January 28, 2001
St. John United Methodist Church
David Beckett, D.Min.

{Jeremiah 1:1} The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

{2} to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. {3} It came also in the days of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah son of Josiah of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

{4} Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, {5} "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."

{6} Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy." {7} But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, {8} Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."

{9} Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. {10} See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

This story contains several themes. It is about God knowing us better than we know ourselves. It is about God calling us to speak the truth. It is about making excuses when God has called us to say or do something. It is about trusting God to give us the words when we speak the truth. What I would like to do is focus on the workplace. How can we take our faith into our jobs? How can we speak the truth when doing so may get us into trouble?

I was shocked some time ago when one of our St. John staff members told me that one of the aspects she liked about working here was that she did not have to compromise her Christian values. Since then I have listened to many of you talk about how difficult it is to be a Christian in your place of work. Some of you work in places where Christian values are not respected, but even ridiculed.

There are many factors that go in to making our work satisfying and one of them is the values of the organization we work for. Researchers estimate that 50% of working Americans are not happy with their jobs. Some of us are doing things that are not in the area of our spiritual gifts or our talents. Whenever we do something that is outside the realm of our gifts life energy is drained from our lives. I’d like to make a plug for our Spiritual Gifts workshop starting soon. Discovering your spiritual gifts can help you understand what job tasks will give you life energy.

Another reason we are not happy with our jobs has to do with the work climate. How well do we get along with our co-workers? Is there pressure to be political and say and do the "right" things? Do supervisors ever tell us to do something that is unscrupulous? Is lying condoned in your work place? What about foul language? Sexual harrassment? These are real problems that are not so easily solved.

If you ever feel overworked, over-regulated, under-leisured, under-benefited, then take heart. This notice was found in the ruins of a London office building in 1852.

1. This firm has reduced the hours of work, and the clerical staff will now only have to be present between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.

2. Clothing must be of a sober nature. The clerical staff will not disport themselves in raiment of bright colors.

3. A stove is provided for the benefit of the clerical staff. Coal and wood must be kept in the locker. It is recommended that each member of the clerical staff bring four pounds of coal each day during the cold weather.

4. No member of the clerical staff may leave the room without permission from the supervisor.

5. No talking is allowed during business hours.

6. The craving for tobacco, wine, or spirits is a human weakness, and as such is forbidden to all members of the clerical staff.

7. Now that the hours of business have been drastically reduced, the partaking of food is allowed between 11:30 and noon, but work will not on any account cease.

8. Members of the clerical staff will provide their own pens. A new sharpener is available on application to the supervisor.

9. The owners recognize the generosity of the new labor laws, but will expect a great rise in output of work to compensate for these near Utopian conditions.

I suspect that you have a job description for your work, except if you happen to be a stay-at-home parent. Jeremiah’s job description did not contain a whole lot of detail. Here it is: "You shall go wherever I shall send you, and speak whatever I command you." Jeremiah must have been sure that this job came from God. How many of us would be willing to take on a job with that little detail? Jeremiah didn’t want the job either, at least at first. He tried to make excuses. "I’m not a good speaker." Okay, that didn’t work. Let’s try this one, "I’m only a boy!"

What kind of excuses do you hear in your work place? Here’s a list of the ten most used excuses.

1. I forgot.
2. No one told me to go ahead.
3. I didn't think it was that important.
4. Wait until the boss comes back and ask him.
5. I didn't know you were in a hurry for it.
6. That's the way we've always done it.
7. That's not in my department.
8. How was I to know this was different?
9. I'm waiting for an O.K.
10. That's his job--not mine.

A radio news series about honesty in America talked about excuses. The commentator said that people use three types of excuses when guilty of wrongdoing. The first is outright denial of any involvement. Sometimes this is done even though the person is obviously guilty. The second is the "It's not my fault" excuse. The person looks around for someone he can blame. (Often it is a loved one - a husband or wife or parent. Sometimes it's the boss.) A third form of excuse is the "I did it, but...." approach. In this instance the person blames circumstances for his shortcoming. Either he's been struggling with some illness or the assignment wasn't clear or the car's been giving him trouble.

No doubt you’ve read some actual excuses submitted to insurance companies. The Metropolitan Insurance Company received some unusual explanations for accidents from its automobile policyholders. The following are just few:

1. An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car, and vanished.
2. I had been driving my car for 40 years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had the accident.
3. As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision.
4. I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.
5. The pedestrian had no idea which direction to go, so I ran over him.
6. The telephone pole was approaching fast. I attempted to swerve out of its path when it struck my front end.
7. The indirect cause of this accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

Jeremiah tried to offer a few excuses why he couldn’t do what God wanted him to do but it didn’t work. And it won’t work with us. The reason is that God has a mission that involves your work place. God wants the people where you work to be loving and kind and peaceful. If this mission is not being realized then God may be calling you to speak the truth. Your work place may need some plucking up. It may need some planting and building up. But it is clear that God needs a voice in the work place. And that voice may need to be yours. If so, remember this. Do not be afraid. God will give you the words to say. Not only that, but God will be with you and will deliver you. Jeremiah felt God touching his mouth. So too, will God touch us when we need love and assurance.

It is vitally important that we see our work as God’s work. Before I entered seminary to become a pastor I was a teacher in the public schools. There were people who believed that this was a special calling. But my calling to become a pastor was no better than my calling to be a teacher. It was only different.

About six years ago, Susan, a Christian woman was speaking at a luncheon held in the civic auditorium of a city in Oklahoma. She picked up her fork and noticed that two rose-petaled radishes adorned her salad plate. Someone had taken the time to pretty up two radishes, just for her. Then she noticed that each salad at the head table had two neatly curled radishes. Then she noticed that everyone in the room had them. She commented to a woman sitting next to her about how nice the radishes were. "Oh, Marietta does those." "All of them?" She knew the head count in the room and was astonished. "That's almost eight hundred radishes!" "Yes, but Marietta wants to do it. Would you like to meet her? She's in the kitchen."

So the two of them went into the kitchen where they met Marietta, the lady of the radishes. After Susan’s speech a few women lingered to speak with her. It was raining heavily when she hurried across the parking lot to the car. Through the rain she could see a lady, carrying a large polka-dot umbrella that had collapsed on one side waiting by their car. It was Marietta! She was smiling as though it was a sunny day. "I had to see you. I heard your speech. It was good!"

Susan thanked her and slipped inside the car. Marietta crouched down close to the window and said, "Just remember this. You keep telling people about Jesus, and I'll keep curling the radishes." Susan felt a flood of emotion well up inside her. The rain and her tears splattered the picture of her face as she started to back out of the driveway. What wisdom. We are all called to do our jobs in the love of God who does all things well.

I pray that when you return to work today or tomorrow that you will feel the presence of God in a fresh way. And may God grant you the boldness to be God’s hands and voice, speaking the truth in love at work.

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