More Than Conquerors: Who's Afraid of the Big, Bully Boss? Not You!

So, for a variety of reasons, I’ve been thinking a lot about fear, and particularly about the role fear plays in the workplace.

For you see, your typical workplace is simply chock full of fearful folks at all levels and within all types of positions.

Fear of:

• Being found out;
• Losing face;
• Losing power/position;
• Being ostracized;
• Losing the ability to provide for oneself and/or one’s family;
• Losing approval

And probably some stuff I haven’t thought of.

And it’s too bad.

Because evil people use fear to keep good people “in their place.”  To keep good people from:

• Talking;
• Thinking;
• Questioning;
• Challenging, and

 … even, reaching out to other good people, if only to provide comfort or validation.

Well, the whole thing makes me angry, I won’t lie.

And so, while I don’t normally (on this blog anyway) mix my faith in Jesus and my views about work, today I will.

Today, I’d like to remind every Christian toiling in a crappy workplace that 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

One commentary on this scripture says that “It is a grave reminder to Christians of every age and degree that all cowardice, all dread of danger, all shrinking from doing one’s duty for fear of man’s displeasure, proceeds not from the Spirit of God.”

So be encouraged. If you’re a Christian, and you’re (for example) suffering under a self-loving boss who uses intimidation, confusion, and fear to advance her dirty work, there’s no reason for you to fear (even if you’ve been caught in the cross hairs).

Your boss is the one who should be quaking in her boots, if only she had a clue about whom she’s pitted herself against. (That would be God, not you—just wanted to make that clear.)

And let’s face it. If you, as a Christian, are as fearful as the unbelievers in your midst, then what good is your faith? I’m just asking. 

Listen, I know it’s hard. Fear is a very powerful emotion. That’s why it works so well as an intimidation tactic.

But what did Mathew say?

He said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

So again, please be encouraged. God truly is a God of justice. And like Paul said (Romans 8: 31): “What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

Not your nasty boss, that’s for sure.

A Fool For You

Earlier this month, Personality and Social Psychology Review published an article titled, “The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations,” which concluded that religious people are less intelligent than atheists.

According to the Huffington Post, lead author Professor Miron Zuckerman of the University of Rochester and team drew from sixty-three scientific studies going back to 1928 to form their conclusion.

For purposes of the study, intelligence was defined as the “ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly and learn from experience.”

Well, that sounds like a pretty good definition. I won’t quibble about it.

And I won’t even quibble about the focus on what the authors call “religiosity,” which is defined as “involvement in some (or all) facets of religion, which includes belief in the supernatural, offering gifts to this supernatural, and performing rituals affirming their beliefs” although I know for a fact there’s a marked difference between someone like myself—who professes to have a personal relationship with Jesus—and someone who is merely “religious.” (Go ahead and get mad if you disagree. That’s your prerogative.)

But I’ll say this. While reading the various reviews of the study, two things immediately come to mind.

The first is 2 Timothy 3: 7, in which Paul describes a type of person in the last days who is “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

The second is the song "Fool For You," by Nicole Nordeman, which contains the lyrics:

I’d be a fool for you
Oh because you asked me to
A simpleton who’s seemingly naïve
I do believe
You came and made yourself a fool for me

So, while there may be those who think they've got "religious folks" like myself all figured out, they haven’t. 

And I honestly don’t care who thinks I’m less than bright for wanting to “chant a dead man’s name” or for believing that he can “walk on waves,” to quote two other lines from Nordeman’s song. So be it.

It’s an interesting study, though.