CHAPTER ONE
WHY YOU MAY HAVE LOST YOUR JOB
When a Christian loses their job, the first step to restoration is introspection. I must determine at the moment of my release that I will make an effort to find the reason of loss of employment. It is highly possible that it was not my fault but the possibility exists that it was my fault., and this must be determined so we can repair any breaches in our Christian walk. I have listed some possible causes of why a Christian may lose their job. I have classified them in two categories, the negative and the positive. As Christians it is imperative that we walk circumspectly. There may be other reasons but these are sufficient to give us general principles for a guideline.
THE NEGATIVE SIDE
MURMURING
(Exo 15:24) And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
The definition of murmuring is "a muttered or mumbling complaint." The Israelites were barely on the other side of the Red Sea and already they were complaining. How long after your date of hire was your first complaint? Complaining is nothing more than an indirect form of rebellion. The Scriptures teach that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, in other words it is hated by God. (1 Sam 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.) When we complain we are stating that God's provision is inadequate or below our desired standards. We could be exhibiting pride and not realize it. We could be saying that we know better than God how our need should be met or how things should run. Murmuring shows a rebellious attitude. The Bible tells us to be thankful in all things, even rough work situations. Believe me a rough work situation is much better than a rough unemployed situation.
GOSSIP
(Lev 19:16) Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
(Prov 11:13) A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
(Prov 18:8 & 26:22) The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
(Prov 20:19) He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
(Prov 26:20) Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
A gossiping person is defined as "a person who chatters or repeats idle talk and rumors about others." As the Bible teaches us, the tongue is very hard to control. It is quite easy to slander someone, whether planned or on the spur of a moment. A gossip is one who can never be a true friend because this heinous sin seeks to fulfill itself at anyone's expense. Office and plant gossip have wrecked and ruined many lives. For a Christian to engage in gossip is a terrible sin because when the gossip group is brought to light, the one who will be focused on will be the Christian. As Christians we should be building people up and being examples to the unbelieving world. Gossip is probably the easiest work place sin to become involved in because it sneaks up on you and gets a hold on you without you realizing it. We can honestly get to the point where we believe we are passing on pertinent information rather than gossip and this is deception. I know because I became entangled in its evil web more than once. If we gossip without giving it a second thought, then God may have to place us on the sidelines until that sin is dealt with and expunged from our life. When it is gone God may place us back in the workplace but maybe at less than our previous salary. Sin does have its consequences, even for the believer.
A BAD TESTIMONY
(Rom 2:24) For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Owing to bad work ethic, the name Christian has become a bad name in industry. There are many ways we can ruin our testimony, such as: long lunches, long breaks, leaving early, refusal to do menial tasks, refusal of moderate overtime, excessive phone calls, lack of interest in the job, witnessing on company time, etc. I think you receive the message. Now we, along with everyone else, will never become the perfect employee because we still possess the sin nature. We must seek to be a good witness on the job so the name of Christ is not blasphemed by the tongue of the unbeliever. We are sent into the job arena to reach people for Christ. Many people in the workplace never attend church and the only way they will observe practical Christianity is by watching us.
When we project a bad testimony, we are making it hard for the next brother or sister who applies for a job. Your actions and attitudes will be used by the company to judge the Christian applying for a job. If Christians are seen as troublemakers on the job, then many will suffer and ponder the ripple effect of that. A Christian that cannot find employment will be unable to support their family, church, missionaries and ministries. Sin has a very bad side effect and it affects those around us. All one has to do is read Jonah chapter one when Jonah was running from God and God caused a great storm to rock the boat. The sailors that were with Jonah also suffered through that mighty storm and it was all because of Jonah's disobedience. Think about it!
YOUR IDENTIFICATION IS WITH YOUR JOB
(Col 3:4) When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
If our job has become a consuming fire and all we did was live for the job, then we have set that job up as a god in our life. It is easy to judge ourselves to see if we are in that position. If we are working sixteen hours per day and on weekends to the neglect of other areas of our lives, then my job has become my god. This principle also applies to those who have a full time job and then take on two or three part time jobs. For a Christian to trade their family for a job is irrational and opposes the teachings of Scripture. This principle is also applicable to single people because we tend to place a great emphasis on material things when we have no prospective partners. We will neglect our spiritual duties for the job so we may purchase more of what does not satisfy. To try to fill a spiritual void with material things is a form of depression because it is a fruit of a deeper problem, normally centering on the "Big I."
YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD THE JOB
(Mark 7:2) And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
This verse reveals to us that the Scribes and Pharisees found fault with the disciples, not as law breakers but tradition breakers. These religious leaders were always finding fault with Jesus and the disciples. Many times on the job we act the same way. We seek to find something wrong with everyone and everything. We neglect to take into account that everything and everyone on earth are imperfect, including us, and it is not difficult to find something wrong. As Christians our objective is not to find fault but is two-fold: First, we must be a good witness for the Lord Jesus Christ, and secondly, we must give our employer a good days work. It is hard to spend eight hours a day around someone who is always looking for the negative. You will always find what you are looking for.
For example, let us look at a car. The fault finder says, "will it get us there?" and the positive person will say, "we will be there in two hours." Let us look at fellow employees. The fault finder says, "These people are so bad when it comes to getting the job done," but the team player says, "let us look at their good qualifications and capitalize on them." The first statement emphasizes a "me versus them attitude" while the second statement emphasizes a "me with them attitude." This is not an endorsement of Christian compromise but is an endorsement of team effort. Instead of viewing your co-workers as competition, view them as important as you view yourself. (Phil 2:4) Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
JEALOUSY
(Prov 23:17) Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.
You may tend to have a jealous spirit when someone is promoted or receives a raise and you do not. God may choose to keep us at the level we are at for the completion of the work He sent us to do. We are not to focus on the wealth or advancement of others because we are to remain focused on the assignment God has given us. Envying the world's goods is an affront to God because it tells Him that you care more about the things of the world than of Him. Jealousy can destroy the life of a Christian because it causes you to defocus your perspective from Christ to temporal things. It is a root cause of bitterness and to prevent this from going to far, God will detach us from our jobs to get our attention and to refocus our spiritual eyes back on Him. As with all such attitudes, when it is cleared to God's satisfaction, we may re-enter the job market. Jealousy and envy get people into wrenching debt because every time they see something someone else has, they will buy one. Many times Christians are not promoted because of their attitude. Let us not look at someone else, let us look to see if the problem lies with us.
NEGLECT OF CHRIST AND SPIRITUAL DUTIES
(Deu 8:10-11) When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. {11} Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
How many times has the following scenario happened? We have a good job, all the luxuries, and then we play hooky on Sunday from church to do something recreational. Then it becomes two Sunday's per month, then three, until it escalates into coming to church on Easter and Christmas. Now maybe you do not have the type of job which reaps great financial rewards but you do have a steady job. This job requires you to work some overtime, but soon you are in the habit of staying late every night on a voluntary basis hoping to move up the ladder.
Meanwhile, at church on Sunday one of the elders approaches you to teach a Sunday School class, you refuse because you do not have the time. You do not have the time for Wednesday night prayer meeting, Sunday evening service, morning devotions, etc. Your job has crowded out your spiritual life. Maybe you had a job like this and God has removed your job from you and now you have plenty of time. Once you put your spiritual life back on track again, you will re-enter the job market. God will not take a back seat to any worldly thing as He deserves your full attention. The Lord wants to keep His children faithful and the only way this can be accomplished is if he allows nothing to hinder our relationship with Christ. Christians are spiritual creatures and must place our spiritual life first.
A BESETTING SIN
(2 Cor 10:4-5) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) {5} Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Some believers have carried over pet sins from the old life and have not seriously dealt with removing them from their new life. When a person first becomes saved their problems will affect them for a while until they begin to study the Scriptures and learn how to expunge those sins. A true Christian will shed their pet sins in desired obedience to God. Let me give a definition: In the new life something detrimental is called sin, in the old life it could be called a habit. That sin could be anything which has a grip on us which causes us to sin against God. A person may be held in the bondage of gambling. In the old life they may have used a bookie or went to Atlantic City to gamble but now since the lottery has attempted to replace illegal or casino gambling, the method has become respectable and legal but the principle of sin still pervades the believer.
Let me give a personal testimony on this subject how God convicted me. I was mailing in my Reader's Digest Sweepstakes entry and I had put a Bible verse sticker on the envelope. I read the sticker and it was Psalm 56:11 which reads, "In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me." I was instantly convicted and did not send it in because how could I be trusting God if I am putting faith in man's system. The principle behind a besetting sin is that it becomes our god and it does not matter what we are engaged in: gambling, alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, masturbation, TV watching, sports obsession, eating, etc. The bottom line is that if I look to my pet sin as a way of strength or a refuge in tough times, then I am saying that this is my god whom I go to in time of need because the Lord Jesus Christ is not sufficient to comfort or help me. Now we do not say this in a verbal manner but we sure act it out every time we depend on our besetting sin. This is why God must purge it from us because He does not want us living comfortably with a pet sin. So you may have lost your job owing to neglect of mortifying a cherished sin. Believe me, if you have a pet sin, you already know it because it has been bothering you even before you read this.
JUDGMENT OF OUR NATION
(Ezek 1:1) Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
You may have lost your job because God may be judging our nation for its sin and as a believer you were caught up in it. As the verse tells us, Ezekiel was God's prophet but he was also among the captives. He did not escape the physical judgment of the nation because he was God's man. This world will give the Christian a tremendous amount of tribulation and unemployment falls right into that category. We must keep in mind that God does not base His economy on what Wall Street says. As a Christian you are in a better position than the unemployed believer. Now you may it hard as him, but all of Heaven stands behind you, and this is a great comfort. Pray for America! We as Christians, with the understanding the Bible gives us on sin cannot expect our country to escape the judgment of God. We have spurned Him and spit right in His face with our materialism and Anti-Christianism, and as ancient Israel went into captivity, so shall we, but our captivity may be of a different persuasion. We look to money and wealth as our strength, so God will design a judgment to fit our lifestyle and that is "depression." Remember the one of 1929 and the 1930's? Anyway, as we are living in the last days, God may be giving us a final warning to get our spiritual houses in order before the return of Christ on the last day.
FINANCIAL INCOMPETENCE
(Luke 16:11) If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
God emphasizes the proper handling of money. This verse gives us the principle that if you are incapable of handling money properly, which is temporal, then you will also handle improperly the true riches which is salvation and the Word of God. There are many Christians who do not know how to handle finances. We get into wrenching debt, we purchase things impulsively, we buy what we do not need, we do not budget, etc. We do not respect the power and authority of money and what I mean by that is that money itself is neutral but it has the property of being ruled over or ruling over us. When a Christian mishandles money and find themselves in debt, they become a slave to money and it may become the goal of their life. When this happens, people are tempted to do anything to get money even prostitute their principles. God cannot promote or give you a raise if you cannot handle what you have now. It is like those who ask God to increase their faith when they are not using their existing faith. If a Christian does not have the discipline to handle money properly, then I can almost guarantee the rest of their life will be in disarray also. God does not want His children living in confusion and may move us out of our job and stop the flow of money till we gain a healthy respect for it. When we discipline our life to the satisfaction of God, we will then re-enter the job market.
UNTHANKFUL ATTITUDE
(2 Tim 3:2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
One of the more prevalent sins in this nation is the sin of being unthankful. As American Christians we sometimes believe we are entitled to certain things. To possess a "take it for granted" attitude is a pride filled sin. We are entitled to nothing, in fact God could have condemned the whole human race to Hell because of the sin of Adam and Eve, but in His mercy He has chosen to save many from Hell. Everything we own and everything we are is out of the mercy and love of God toward His children. We should not wait till Thanksgiving to give God thanks for all His provisions but every day we should thank God, sincerely, not flippantly as we sometimes do. If you cannot remember the last time you thanked God for all He has given to you and done for you, then you possess an unthankful attitude and maybe God has removed you from your job to show you what He has given you. Sometimes we appreciate things more when they are removed from us. Learn to give genuine thanks every day for what you have, and believe me you will appreciate them much more than you realize.
THE POSITIVE SIDE
You mean there is a positive side to why I may have lost my job? You better believe there is! Not every Christian who loses their job has a sinful problem as the root cause. Many times it is just the opposite. You have displayed very good Christian character. A person with a godly work ethic will scare the "lazy do nothing" and sometimes to remedy that situation the Christian will be fired or "laid off" and the lazy person will be promoted. I have seen this and been a victim of it. There is a blatant anti-Christian attitude in many companies. You are allowed to save the whales, the rain forests or the oceans but don't you dare mention saving babies or souls or else you could be fired for bringing religion on the job. It is permissible to take the name of Christ as swear word, but do not dare speak of Him in a proper manner because that is imposing your views on someone else. When a believer is fired (laid off) for being a good testimony of Christianity it is a positive move and endorsed by God. Take comfort brother or sister, our lives have yet to begin. Let us look at some positive reasons why you may have been released from your job.
YOU HAVE BEEN A GOOD TESTIMONY
(John 15:18-21) If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. {19} If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. {20} Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. {21} But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.
A good Christian testimony in the work place repels the unbeliever. I was once called on the carpet because I spoke of Christ and my little boss told me it sounded like religion and religion is personal, private matter. In the same department there were was a whale fanatic and another one who just about worshipped her dogs. When that man stands before the Lord (unless he becomes saved) on Judgment day, he will see how private it is. The Christians who do a good job or go the extra mile are usually showing up the lazy ones in the department. A good work ethic goes against the grain in many corporations.
When a Christian refuses to become indoctrinated in New Age techniques like Bio-Feedback, meditation, stress relaxation techniques, sensitivity training especially to accept homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle, they are not considered team players. You see companies can impose their subtle Hinduism on you because that is not religion to them. The blindness of management should never be a guide for the Christian. If you stood your ground and did not partake of anything on the job which was contrary to Scripture, then you were probably released because of your solid testimony. Do not worry because you have passed the test and God will fit you into something better. A Christian who takes a stand for the Lord Jesus Christ is never a loser, no matter what financial condition you find yourself in. Keep in mind that the greatest part of Christian life is yet to be revealed. The world lives in darkness, you live in light, and the only way a place can remain dark, is to remove the light. You my brother or sister are that light.
GOD WANTS YOU TO BE AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS
(Job 42:7) And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
In this verse we see that Job was a testimony of his faithfulness to God, while his three counselors were in error concerning the motives and methods of God. You may have been released from your job by divine appointment and you may be a testimony to others as Job was. God may be using you as an example to a weak Christian who may lose their job shortly and you have been chosen to help counsel that person.
There may be another Christian who is prideful about his/her job and God may use your unemployment as a means to show them they could lose their job unless they get their spiritual house in order. God may also use you to show other Christians that happiness in the Christian life is not dependent on material things but a close walk with the Lord. God may be using you to show faith in action to other believers. There may be many in your congregation whose faith is weak and whose walk is unsteady and your testimony during your time of unemployment may be the spiritual boost they need to get back on track.
GOD WANTS YOU TO BE A COMFORT TO SOMEONE
(2 Cor 1:3-4) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; {4} Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
If there is one thing that brings comfort to a believer it is being consoled by one who has been through the same valley. When a person loses their job, they may experience bad feelings and misunderstandings. The Christian who has endured this valley may be very capable of comforting, reassuring, and guiding them back to a place of organization. A person who has been working in the same place for twenty years and gets laid off may suffer some time of disorientation as they must now break in a new routine and pick up the pieces. The one who works with this person will help him/her do just that, pick up the pieces and turn a fragmented situation into a positive circumstance. If God leads you to someone in this position, you must be prepared to give them some time because they are your mission field at that period. As God comforted you during your time of unemployment, you be a comfort to a hurting brother or sister.
GOD IS PREPARING YOU FOR SOMETHING BETTER
(Exo 3:1) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
Believe me, being unemployed is consonant with being on the back side of the desert. You feel left out of the mainstream, you cannot give to the Lord's work like before, you must enact strict cost saving measures which will keep you close to home. I know, during my unemployment I missed going to bible conferences regularly. This verse teaches us that Moses had to go to the back side of the desert for God to prepare him for the calling he was about to receive. We all know the end of the story but how much do we focus on the beginning of the life of Moses, especially the parts which are not so dramatic. We rarely hear about the back side of the desert yet it was here where God spoke with him, prepared him, and commissioned him.
God may be keeping you on the back side of the desert as training in preparation for the next assignment He has for you. More on that in the next section. Look at the others who were in lonely places yet they were under the watchful and preparing hand of God: Joseph, Paul, David, Jesus was in the Judaean Wilderness, and John the Baptist. I have never been to Israel but the pictures of the Judaean wilderness are akin to our own Southwest, beautiful but ominous. View this as a time of preparation.
YOU REACHED THE PERSON GOD WANTED YOU TO REACH
(Jer 38:12-13) And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. {13} So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Have you ever heard of Ebedmelech? His name means "servant of the king." The only recorded deed this man did was to come to the aid of Jeremiah during a dark time. Jeremiah was in a pit and Ebedmelech helped him out of it and as a result he was rewarded by God with the promise that he would not fall into the hands of the enemy because he trusted in God. There is one way we rarely, if ever, view our jobs, and that is as an assignment from the Lord Jesus Christ. We may have been placed in a job to reach an unbeliever for the Lord or to come to the aid of a Christian who is discouraged and ready to quit. We may be sent with a singular purpose as an evangelist. I do not mean standing on a desk and preaching but to bring the gospel to someone in the company. This happened to me.
When I became saved, I was working as a Production Controller in a small company. On January 20, 1981 a Christian was hired as a Project Engineer, his name is Tony Mastro. During a lunch period I was walking past his office and saw him reading his Bible so I walked into his office and struck up a conversation and instantly became friends. Later in the month I met his wife Joan. They set me on the right path, took me under their wings and introduced me to the proper ministries, radio stations and brought me into a men's Bible study where I learned much from older brothers. In August of 1981, Tony was released from that position and as we discussed it, we came to the conclusion that he was hired to meet and disciple me. After his release he received a better job much closer to home. So we must not view our job as only a method of income but an assignment from the Lord which can end anytime because of faithfulness or faithlessness. I was released form a job one month after I purchased a Bible for a Cuban woman who was looking for one in both Spanish and English. Now I do not know if she was my mission field but this I do know, there are no coincidences in the kingdom of God.
GOD IS ALLOWING YOU TO HUNGER SO HE MAY FEED YOU
(Deu 8:3) And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Sometimes God allows us to be unemployed so He can show us how thoroughly He can care for us. You may not have done anything wrong on the job but God is just showing you how much He cares for you while you are in a wilderness experience. God may be showing you that you are never out of His loving and caring hands. You will be experiencing the father heart of God. He allowed Israel to hunger so He could feed them. He conveys a joy in caring for His children.. Many Christians do not think God loves them so He removes a worldly security from them to show that this satanic lie has no basis. Yes God cares for His children and joyfully does it. This type of situation will bring us closer to Christ as we begin to seek Him and thank Him daily for His loving care. You will also learn how sufficient God is in any circumstance you are in.
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We have studied both negative and positive aspects of job loss. In any case, it is a learning experience and we must view this adversity as coming from the hand of God as we have seen in so many cases. As we study this situation and try to analyze where we went wrong, it will make us a stronger Christian, and that is one major goal and result of adversity.