June 11, 2009
Under Authority in the Marketplace
For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. (John 12:49)
Jesus faithfully represented His Father to the world. Consider two implications of that for Christians today:
(1) As believers, we are to live under Christ’s authority, and therefore, we are responsible for faithfully representing Christ in our places at work. To do so we must be intimately familiar with Jesus – what He said, what His commands are, what His purposes are. That means serious and continuous exploration of the Scriptures.
(2) As employees under human authorities, we are responsible for faithfully representing our organizations in general and our superiors in particular to other people. To do so we must be intimately familiar with the values, goals, policies, and procedures of our employers.
Neither of these is an easy assignment. It’s all too common to misrepresent the statements of the Lord or our superiors to suit our own purposes. It’s also easy to hear from them only what we want to hear.
Are there any checks and balances to guard against those temptations? Jesus modeled two principles for us. First, He asked questions and listened to answers: for example, with Nicodemus (3:1-21) and with the woman at the well (4:1-26). Furthermore, He was clear about His mission and secure in His position. As a result, He never felt compelled to prove or promote Himself. In this He differed from many of the leaders of His day, who “loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (12:43).
As a believer under authority - are you not only faithfully representing Christ in your place of work - but also your organization and superior?
For the kingdom,
City Bible Business Ministry | 
