Politics, Work Place Ethics and Christianity

A new job, new faces and even more challenges to Christianity. I recently started work for a small software company not too far from my wife's workplace. She's an accountant and I'm a software application support specialist. We are both Christians. I reported for my first day of work the first week in December and was told that there was no real probation period. During the interview process I had a chance to meet with everyone I would be working with and, during the first interview, I met the owner of the company. He seemed to be a very gentle man with traditional ideas and a very old fashioned work ethic. His focus, and indeed the focus of everyone there, was a family atmosphere. It was very important and stressed at every interview that the right person would "fit in" this family. This point was further shown when, once hired, the first order of business was to attend the company Christmas party. He party was held at the owner's home on a Saturday evening. My wife and I planned to attend.

As anyone who lives in the Chicago land area knows, the weather can change in an instant! This was the case the night of the party. The prior week leading up to the party we had temperatures near record breaking highs which made it feel like spring. This however would not be the case Saturday December 15^th. On that day we were hit with a major snow storm that left most streets and highways impassable! None the less, we had made the commitment and took to the roads on our way to the party. We left an hour earlier than planned to allow for the bad weather. When we arrived we were surprised to see that, despite the treacherous driving conditions, just about everyone was already there! In fact, one of my co workers was involved in an accident on his way to the party and still got there on time! We went in and I introduced my wife to my new "family" of co-workers and the owner of the company. As the evening went on we found out there was a contest for prizes that everyone would participate in. "He does this every year", we were told. "He always makes sure that there are enough gift certificates, prizes for everyone"! My wife and I were delighted! Not because of the gifts we won but because we felt this was finally the opportunity I had been waiting for! To work for an employer of a small company that was Christian! We have always thought that one of the biggest blessings from God was to be able to do what you love to do, in my case anything with computers, and to do that in a Christian environment!

As the evening continued the owner sat with us at one of the tables he and his wife prepared for the event. My wife had a long conversation with him and discovered that, in fact, he was not a Christian but a Buddhist. Further, she discovered that he was married to a woman from Thailand. This did not shock me or my wife since we are an interracial couple but what was shocking was his view of women and why he married his wife. He went on to tell Julie that his first marriage was unhappy. He wanted to be with someone more subservient and thought that a Thai woman was the right choice for him. He and his wife have two children together and live very comfortably.

In any relationship it's important to be honest and sincere. I say this for a reason. Prior to meeting Julie, in fact prior to any relationship I had, I was a very angry person. I have always been a person of large stature standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 290 pounds! My temper was out of control as a youth to the point that I nearly beat a man to death with my bear hands! One of the biggest steps on my way to becoming a Christian was to get that anger under control. With lots of prayer, a little counseling and lots of desire, God showed me the answer! I learned the power that came in "being still". I learned the peace in the knowledge that my Christianity, my faith in God could conquer anything I encountered in this life. I have clung to this as a cornerstone of my very being and further learned to embrace that anger as a part of who I am. I have become non-confrontational and found the solution to all of my problems in a quiet calmness that baffles people. It even baffles my wife, Julie! She is a confrontational person and doesn't understand how someone like me can remain still when faced with some of the challenges of this life. As I stated earlier in this writing, Julie and I are an interracial couple. As a result our faith is challenged almost daily by those who are less than kind. Still I maintain the quiet calmness and allow God to work in me for the best results. It's difficult sometimes but I just have to stop my anger and make room for God to work his miracles in me. A weekend trip to New Buffalo Michigan with Julie proved to be one of those times. We stopped at a recommend restaurant for breakfast and I heard one of the older waitresses stating that she refused to wait on us! My immediate reaction was anger! God graced me with reminders of the lessons of my past and instead, by the time we did get served by another waitress, I decided to show her what it meant to be a Christian. We finished our meal and we called over the new waitress. The cost of the meal was only around $9 and we gave her a $20.00 tip! The younger, more accepting waitress was delighted. We further told the restaurant owner what a wonderful job she did serving us.

For the first time in my life I was about to experience a different kind of discrimination. Not because of the color of my skin or the fact that I married interracially but because I didn't agree with a system. I didn't conform to the ideas and manipulation of one man in order to feel secure in collecting a paycheck!

I've been working a couple of months now but during the first week on the job I was very sick with the flu. I called in sick to work one day and there was concern on the part of the owner. He wasn't sure that he had made the right decision. That flu turned into something worse and, as a result, I've been through three courses of super antibiotics and several doctors' visits, a CT scan of my sinuses and a chest x-ray. Still my doctor is not sure what the problem is. He has written it off to a bad sinus infection or allergy. As part of the "family" atmosphere at the new job every Friday we eat lunch together as a group. We set up two large folding tables and chairs and discuss the week's events. What I have noticed is that the owner uses this opportunity and also a Wednesday morning weekly meeting to voice his opinions regarding politics, his personal fitness etc. He even goes as far as to ask individuals their views and "who are you voting for"? This makes me very uncomfortable but I notice that my more senior co-workers are just as uncomfortable. It seems that they have made a decision, however, to get on whatever bandwagon the owner speaks of in order to maintain a non-confrontational front. In other words, they say and act accordingly out of fear or manipulation! It doesn't matter if they agree or disagree with his statements it's just easier to get along with the boss.

Recently the Chicago land area has been hit with two consecutive major snow storms over the course of two weeks. Both times I have had to call in to work and explain we could not drive, or even get our car out of the garage, in order to be at work. When I did return to work the following day I learned that several of the other co-workers were unable to make it in as well. One of those who didn't make it in is my direct supervisor. He, however, is allowed to work from home. The owner had a problem with his computer that I attempted to repair but was unable to fix. I sent an e-mail to my supervisor explaining the details and waited for a response. This was his second day working from home but everyone else managed to come in. I never got a response and the following day he came in late and seemed upset. He abruptly asked me about the computer problem and I reminded him it was the same issue we had dealt with earlier in the month. His tone was abrasive and almost combative! I stepped away from my desk, went to the owner's pc and installed a workaround to the problem. My supervisor left the office and met with the owner briefly. He returned and closed the door to our office. He then proceeded to explain, in a less abrasive tone, that the owner was upset that I had missed so many days. He told me that the owner said "he's only been here a few months and already he's missed more days than I have in the past twenty six years"! He went on to say that it was ok that everyone else in the office missed days or worked from home but, since I was the new guy, I needed to make a better impression! I could feel my skin begin to get warm, my hands begin to clinch and my teeth begin to grind! I opened my mouth to speak and became very aware of God's hand on my shoulder holding me in the chair! I wanted to say that "I thought this was a family?" "I thought everybody was on the same level since we had no policy or procedure regarding new hires or any employee handbook?" Instead, what came out was, "I understand his concern and if you're asking me to choose between me and my wife's safety, our health and well being and this job then the job will loose every time!" I further explained that the snowstorms, my sickness and just life as it happens cannot be predicted!" He agreed and said "just manage to get here on time and under any conditions until the owner has had a chance to cool down." I agreed without hesitation. Later, after realizing his computer was fixed, my supervisor asked me if the owner was aware that I fixed his problem. I told him no and that he was not in the office when I fixed it. As it turned out he was running a little late because of the weather. My supervisor told me that he would make him aware that I fixed the problem and his computer didn't "just start working again." He also explained that this would be a good opportunity to show the owner a little more about my skills and level of dedication. I reflected for a few moments and again God showed me the power in knowledge and silence. I thought "if they did fire me there was quite a legal battle at hand!" "There was no handbook, no guidelines no write-up which meant that everyone was entitled to the same level of benefits weather a 21 year veteran or the new guy!" As I continued down my legal rights path God touched me again. It occurred to me that if I was fired it would mean this was not the place I was meant to work! Things are so simple with Quiet

Because I have a different work ethic and I am non-confrontational God has put into place especially for me and others like me an overflow of mechanisms to deal with adversity. Not always conventional and, certainly not always expected, but always present are the Christian tools for combating evil. Because evil can show itself in a multitude of forms it's important to have this toolkit every available to us! In my quiet calmness, at 6 feet 4 inches, 290 pounds, there is little I have to or need to say most times in order to deliver God's message. Yet in other times, when the evil is not as apparent, quiet calmness works just as well. I still my thoughts and my tongue and give God the controls to put the right thought in my heart and the right words on my lips! There is no evil formed against man that can stand a chance against that kind of power!