Workplace Wisdom

1st Thessalonians 5, in its concluding verses, gives some brief, but powerful principles that we can
put into practice:
22 Abstain from every form of evil.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

That's the New King James. The King James translation says: "Abstain from all appearance of evil." There are people who will watch us and draw false conclusions about our lives; we just have to make sure that we don't give them ammunition.  Gossip and slander are works of the flesh, and the enemy will use the indiscreet pronouncements to discredit our witness.  So, we have to be so careful that we are seeking to walk in the nature of Christ.  And...we have to guard ourselves about being caught up in spreading rumors and engaging in gossip and slander.

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In 1st Peter 5, we are reminded about the way that the enemy operates, as he seeks to discredit the
children of God:
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Among the faux controversies that has been manufactured by the media during the last few months, the criticism directed toward Vice-President Mike Pence and his position on being alone with a women who is not his wife has certainly generated some discussion, as there have been attempts, documented by Mollie Hemingway at The Federalist, to discredit the Vice-President and make his moral standards some how look out of touch with reality.

Well, it appears that Mr. Pence's moral standard is not that far out of the mainstream.  The website, Hello Christian, reports that:

A new survey indicates that many Americans agree with Vice President Mike Pence when it comes to dining with the opposite sex. Pence came under fire after stating that he does not dine alone with any other woman than his wife. Among 5,282 registered voters, 60 percent of women said it would be inappropriate to have a drink alone with a man who is not their spouse.

48 percent of men surveryed agreed that having drinks would be inappropriate. The marital boundary was coined the "Billy Graham Rule" after the famed evangelist declared that he employed it in his own marriage. Following the ridcule of Pence in the media, Graham's granddaughter, Cissie Graham Lynch, said she was "disgusted" by the media's attempts to "dirty the names of good men."

Lynch went on to criticize the media for its criticism of Pence, whom she said loves his wife, "so much he will do whatever (sic) takes to protect his most cherished relationship." She continued, "We as Christians have to protect our heart and soul form (sic) many things in this world, and we have to set standards so that Satan cannot inch himself into our lives."

The article referred to the Morning Consult poll conducted for the New York Times.  Hemingway published a graphic in her column, which shows that 53% of women and 45% of men found it inappropriate to have dinner with a person of the opposite sex who is not their spouse.  38% of women and 29% of men answered that they found driving in a car with someone of the opposite gender is inappropriate.  And, even about a quarter of women and men found that a meeting at work with someone of the opposite sex was inappropriate.

Hemingway wrote that, "All those many stories about how unforgivably sexist Pence was to protect his marriage? Note that women are even more likely than men to think it inappropriate to have a drink, have dinner, have lunch, drive in a car, or have a work meeting with someone of the opposite sex who is not one’s spouse."  She also points out that:

The New York Times story — which is well-written — notes that women, Republicans, rural voters, Southerners and Midwesterners, and religious people (particularly evangelical Christians) were more likely to show concern about meeting with opposite-sex people who are not spouses.

You’ll also note that women, Republicans, rural voters, Southerners and Midwesterners, and evangelical Christians are far less likely to inhabit newsrooms.

David French, writing at National Review, states that this about the wariness about opposite-sex relationships: "...it’s not just because affairs, harassment, or other inappropriate conduct might occur. The results also demonstrate the extent to which fear of rumors or of even potentially false claims colors human behavior. A single accusation can destroy a reputation and derail a career. Why not keep your office door open? Why not conduct business more in professional settings than in the intimate confines of dinner or drinks?

He also writes:

In my 20-plus years of job experience — in multiple private-sector and public-sector contexts — the influence of private dinners on professional advancement is vastly overstated. At the same time, I’ve seen multiple sexual scandals derail the most promising of careers. Given this reality, caution isn’t extremist or sexist. It’s wise.

I wrote a Front Room blog post about the Pence philosophy, and stated these principles, which I'd like to review.  One is that...

...people who desire to live holy lives are not understood by those who do not possess spiritual understanding. However, it is true that many unbelievers live by a certain moral code - it's just a matter of whose making up the standards. As believers in Christ, we can go to the Scriptures and find principles to which we can adhere.

And, some, like the so-called "Billy Graham rule" on male-female relationships, are not accepted by all believers - it falls in the "preference" category. The point for Graham, like Pence, is to build a "safe zone" around a marriage, to guard against temptation. I think we all can be inspired to fervently and passionately fight to preserve our marriages and not open them up to situations that could be detrimental.

I'd like to add that Randy Carlson stresses how important it is to be intentional about the decisions we make.  This arena of what I would call "workplace wisdom" is so important, because we, as John 10 teaches, recognize that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  We each can be challenged to think about our own personal approach and make sure it's grounded in Scripture.  A marriage is a gift of God, and we have to take the necessary steps to protect it.