Workmatters Blog

When I think of the word integrity, I think of honesty and authenticity. Of course, we should be asking ourselves, “Am I being honest and truthful to those I work with?” But when was the last time you wondered if you were being truthful and honest with yourself?  

In Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul explains that our differences are not to divide us, and that Jesus broke down the barriers between us with His death and resurrection and that now all are joined as the body of Christ regardless of our differences. Let’s walk through these verses together and discern through Paul’s instructions to the Ephesians, which we’ll bring into our day-to-day work.  

“The armor we use to try to protect ourselves.” This is how researcher and author, Brené Brown refers to perfectionism. It’s the thought that, if I can be perfect enough, if I can say just the right thing, if I can be attractive enough, smart enough, productive enough, wealthy enough, then I can protect myself. But nowhere in the Bible are we encouraged to be perfect.

Conflict can lead to low productivity, high employee turnover, burnout, low net promoter scores, and a lack of connection and engagement in our work. Therefore, how we address and resolve conflict is extremely important. 

I recently finished a great read, Dane C. Ortlund’s “Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers.” I learned so much from this work, not just for my own personal walk with Christ, but also in the way that I treat and interact with others. 

Balance matters in our work, and because our work is biblical, so should our pursuit of balance.

As someone who worked all of my professional life in a secular job, that sounded like an HR nightmare. But if we are to truly and fully integrate our faith and work, and love is at the foundation of our faith – it only makes sense for it to be at the foundation of our work as well.

Like salt preserves foods, as Christian leaders in the workplace, we are called to protect the goodness of our work and, more specifically, our company’s culture.

Like salt preserves foods, as Christian leaders in the workplace, we are called to protect the goodness of our work and, more specifically, our company’s culture.

Jesus was full of both grace and truth. He wasn’t 50% grace and 50% truth. He was 100% grace and 100% truth. He always had exactly the right balance in his response to people and situations. But this perfect balance doesn’t come natural to us in this world and so we must act with intention and purpose when seeking to respond with both grace and truth.