Biblical HR

Applying Eternal Truths to Everyday Work

Brett Billups

• Publisher: Morgan James Faith
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781631956836
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Church

A unique, practical step-by-step guide to deal with specific, employee workplace issues from a biblical perspective.

	Chapter 1
	A Biblical View of Work

The very mention of work stirs a range of emotions within us—everything from anxiety, fear, frustration, anger, pride, satisfaction, disappointment, discouragement, and a host of others. But God did not originally intend it to be this way. God is the author of work. He created it prior to the Fall for His purposes. It was not originally created to be a punishment or a consequence of sinful rebellion. Let us remind ourselves of His original desire for our work.

In the Garden of Eden, God created man to rule and have dominion over His new creation (Genesis 1:26). This was a great responsibility and honor. By introducing the concept of work, God invited us to participate in His creation by enjoying our God-given gifts to not only grow food to eat, but to grow His Kingdom. We are to encourage and build the Body of Christ, to sanctify His people, for the glory of God. Work was good! But after the Fall, because of our sin and rejection of God, our spiritual condition, and ultimately our work environment, changed dramatically. It became impossible for us to have the same working relationship with God. Genesis 3 tells us:

“Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17b-19)

We brought a tough life upon ourselves, which is more than a little discouraging. But Jesus Christ loved us enough to be born into a sinful world, to live and teach us His precepts, and to die on the cross as a penalty for our sins. He provided redemption from the rejection of Him that caused this environment and our spiritual condition. His desire is to regain the perfectly designed relationship He initially shared with us at creation. This redemption should be first and foremost in our minds and provide us a model for how we deal with any situation or issue, even in the workplace. The work of the cross has provided us with grace and mercy to last an eternity, and we are forever free from the burden of sin. The sacrifice of Christ is our only source of hope.

As he ends his book, Knowing God, J.I. Packer describes the only way that we can keep the priority of the gospel first and foremost in our minds.

“Finally, we have been brought to the point where we both can and must get our life’s priorities straight. From our current Christian publications, you might think that the most vital issue for any real or would-be Christian in the world today is church union, or social witness, or dialogue with other Christians and their faiths, or refuting this or that ism, or developing a Christian philosophy and culture, or what have you. But our line of study makes the present-day concentration on these things look like a gigantic conspiracy of misdirection. Of course, it is not that; the issues themselves are real and must be dealt with in their place. But it is tragic that, in paying attention to them, so many in our day seem to have been distracted from what was, is, and always will be the true priority for every human being—that is, learning to know God in Christ.”¹

Our work life and the challenges it brings can easily fall into the category of a distraction. We run toward it or try to escape. It attracts us or repels us. It feeds our worldly desires or drains us spiritually. This turmoil tends to lead us away from God rather than to Him. We have forgotten His original, created desire for us.

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”² This applies to our whole lives. It applies to our church life, our theology, our marriages, our parenting, our relationships, and even our work.

Work was originally intended to strengthen our relationship with our loving God and to enjoy Him forever. We have allowed the difficulty and complexity of secular work to distract us from this objective.

Our Biblical Response to Work

Before we can begin talking about specific workplace issues, it’s important to remind ourselves of a few key biblical principles: God’s sovereignty over all things, His gift of eternal salvation, and the sanctification of His people. These basic principles can ground us to consider God’s original intention of work.

In God’s providence, He orchestrates and sustains every aspect of creation to glorify Himself. In this concept, He has ordained the job you have, the company you work for, and even the boss that has authority over you. How we respond to the workplace situations God has placed in our path reveals much about our heart attitude and belief in God’s sovereignty. C.H. Spurgeon, in his sermon on Matthew 20:15, states:

“There is no attribute more comforting to His children than that of God’s Sovereignty. Under the most adverse circumstances, in the most severe trials, they believe that Sovereignty has ordained their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them, and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all.” ³

The sovereignty of God is a source of comfort in the face of trials or difficult workplace challenges. Learning to rest in His sovereign will for our lives is a lifelong lesson of trust and submission. By offering the eternal gift of salvation, Christ desires for every soul to spend eternity with Him. As Scripture reminds us:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

So, remind yourself daily of the gracious gift of salvation you have been given and treat others as eternal souls precious to Christ. Boldly point others to Him with grace, mercy, forgiveness, and patience. Strive to consistently display this heart and attitude toward your co-workers, your boss, and your customers.

Through His supreme sovereignty and the gift of eternal salvation, God will use worldly circumstances and people to conform us to the image of Christ. This is part of Christ’s sanctification plan for our lives:

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

God has everything on earth at His disposal to mold us into the image of Christ, and loves us enough to use it all, even the most difficult workplace issues.

One important aspect to consider is that these principles are an application of the work of the Trinity in our lives. God has sovereignly designed the plan of salvation; Jesus Christ has performed the work; the Holy Spirit seals it. (We will not elaborate on this correlation here, but to study the work of the Trinity is definitely worthy of our time.) The Trinitarian work in our lives is important to consider lest we think that we have anything of value to contribute to the successful outcome of anything. The principles outlined in this book will not guarantee any resolutions; this work is best left to God alone. We must pray to that end. These suggestions are only a guide to set our hearts on Christ first and foremost as we walk through difficult HR issues.

SECTION 1

RELATIONSHIPS

	Chapter 2
	Being a Godly Leader

Countless books on leadership fill our shelves. They range from effective team leadership to the development of business strategy. There are books on how to lead non-profit businesses and volunteer organizations. There are a multitude of tests to determine your leadership style and development opportunities. Subject-matter experts range from successful leaders of large organizations to motivational speakers. The world offers many leadership programs that claim to ensure success. While the authors and speakers sell a lot of books and are awarded with many speaking engagements, the methods and results vary and are often ineffective long-term.

Most secular leaders and managers latch onto a method they believe works for them and their organization. They evangelize this process with passion, sometimes with impressive results, but again, not long-term. Soon, there will be a different leader with a different method with different objectives and results.

An effective leader is one who thinks and operates on a long-term strategy and develops short-term objectives to achieve that strategy. In a Christian sense, we are to think eternally but live temporally. Christ’s objective is eternal. His desire is for all to be saved and have the gift of eternal life. But this requires humility and submission to God’s glory.

How does this translate into godly leadership?

I have worked for senior leaders from a variety of backgrounds—those with both international and domestic experience, those who have worked in multiple organizations (public and private), family members who inherited the company, and those who have spent their entire leadership career in one organization.

Leadership can be broken down into one of two styles: a leader who thinks his way is the best, or a leader who realizes that his way might not be the best. The first group operates from a position of insecure pride, while the second understands that their position is one of humble servitude. The first leads teams from a hierarchical, directive approach while the second group intentionally fosters a collaborative environment.

Ineffective, Prideful Leadership

Prideful leaders are particularly good at protecting their own reputation. Some are good at short-term leadership roles with a variety of companies, while others grow their career within one organization.

Leaders who hop from one leadership job to another might be exceptional in achieving short-term results but cannot deliver long-term success. The reason that struggling companies hire external leaders or consultants to rebuild or turn around an organization is that they were not effectively led in the past.

Leaders who have been promoted from within the company might understand the historical legacy of their organization, but legacy knowledge alone has limits when it comes to effectively leading a successful company. A good leader understands that leading an organization is more than applying historical or experiential knowledge. While there is value in learning from and not repeating mistakes, effective leadership is more than avoiding mistakes. A leader manages to what lies ahead, not always relating situations to what has historically occurred.

Pride is the enemy of godly, effective leadership. It inhibits good and well-meaning employees from contributing to an organization. It stifles productivity. It blinds leaders to efficient problem resolution. Prideful leaders immediately discount any idea that doesn’t originate within the realm of their own experience, either out of ignorance, or fear of losing power and control.

Prideful, ineffective leaders are also hierarchical rather than collaborative. Based on their inability or failure to recognize necessary change, they dictate mandates in ways that maintain control. Prideful leaders have one style: subordinates are to follow orders. Insecure, prideful leaders believe that the only way to lead is to take command of a situation and tell others what to do. Subordinates are only there to fulfill their agenda. That type of style has its place in war or potentially life-threatening situations, but it unfortunately inhibits business growth.

I realize this may come across as a hyper-critical view of ineffective leaders. But in my experience, ineffective leadership directly impacts the health of an organization and the personal lives of all the employees. Effective leaders humbly recognize their faults and seek to “put to death” their pride for the sake of their organization and employees. I have seen too much organizational damage done and good employees lost under the guise of “leadership” to minimize its impact.

Godly Servant Leadership

The greatest leader who ever lived had something to say about leadership:

“You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But wh...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: A Biblical View of Work
• Section 1: RELATIONSHIPS
• Section 2: EVALUATING
• Section 3: ENVIRONMENT
• Section 4: SELF-DOUBT
• Final Thoughts
• About the Author