Iron Sharpens Iron

“As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

Proverbs 27:17

It was a beautiful fall afternoon. Traffic was bad, but it didn’t matter, I was enjoying listening to the radio and preparing mentally for what was to come that day. As I approached my destination, I felt the cold stares of those around me. I parked the car, grabbed my things and began the long walk. People started to realize what I stood for and entire groups began to point and jeer at me. Soon the glares turned into verbal assaults. My pulse quickened and I began to walk faster hoping to arrive safely. An angry mob began to yell & scream, questioning my intelligence for the allegiance that I was showing.

Even with all of this persecution…I was still proud to be a Washington Redskins fan walking into Carolina Panther Stadium.

Some Christians might believe that this is the reaction they will receive if they were to allow those at work to see their spiritual side. They’re afraid that their faith puts them in the minority and they’re afraid that others will talk negatively about them. The truth is that being a Christian in the American workplace is like being a fan of the home, not visiting team.

According to a survey of over 50,000 American adults, 76% identified themselves as Christians.[1] Over three quarters of the adults that you come into contact with have the same faith in Jesus Christ as you do. The problem is that many believers enter the workplace not wearing the home team colors and unwilling to make their faith known to co-workers. When you think about it, it is pretty ridiculous that we’ll “high-five” someone that we don’t even know at the stadium when our team scores but refuse to speak openly about our Christian faith at work with others who most likely share the same beliefs.

Proverbs 27:17 instructs us on the value of fellow Christian believers sharing, supporting and helping one another. Through this interaction our faith is strengthened. Since we’re human, without this interaction our Christian faith is weakened. I challenge you to openly share your faith this week at work and help strengthen fellow fans of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

[1] American Religious Identification Survey 2008, Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar