What is our response when a boss asks us to cross the road and do something that goes against our moral, ethical, or social boundaries? When we’re asked to decide on loyalty to our company over our faith in God?
Sometimes, Christians consider they need to comply with and do whatever their boss asks them to do, even when it goes against their very own biblical beliefs and convictions.
But it couldn’t be farther from the reality. As Christians, we are called to do what is true, even when it conflicts with what an employer asks us to do. In Leviticus 19:11, God commands, “Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive each other.”
Of course, more often than not, refusing to follow an employer’s direction comes with various risks, resembling suffering the lack of our jobs, our standing in the corporate, being demoted, facing harassment, being devalued as an worker, and being missed for promotions, bonuses, and more.
Still, as 1 Peter 2:19 assures, “For it’s commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they’re conscious of God“Â (1 Peter 2:19).
Choosing Whom to Obey
Early on in my marriage, as a newlywed, I worked for a bunch of psychiatrists and psychologists, answering their phones, scheduling patient appointments, greeting patients, filing medical reports, cleansing up, and making coffee. I also billed insurance firms, including Medicaid and Medicare.
After being there a couple of weeks, the leading psychiatrist approached me and instructed me to bill Medicaid for an hour-long visit for each patient’s half-hour visit, with a purpose to receive the next payment from them. Yet, my prior experience told me that might be a fraudulent act, and my biblical beliefs told me it was deceptive.
As a Christian, I actually had no option but to inform him I couldn’t and wouldn’t do this. Of course, saying “no“Â put my job in danger, but there was no other alternative for me as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Remarkably, I didn’t receive any form of pushback or reprimand, almost certainly because my resistance and refusal to comply put my employers in danger for even asking me to do such a thing if I made a decision to report their request to Medicaid.
Still, most positions haven’t got that kind of safeguard inbuilt for an worker refusing to perform a boss’s instructions. Because they do not, what does an worker do when faced with saying “no“Â to a boss?
6 Responses to a Boss’s Questionable Direction
The following are six responses to contemplate when directed by a boss to cross the road.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/ Yana Iskayeva
