Even More About Evangelizing at Work...
We continue our exploration about evangelizing at work with two things that - at least for some of us - present a real challenge
1) When we are asked to do something wrong.
2) When our faith is attacked.
When We Are Asked To Do Something Wrong
At a business meeting one day a colleague, presenting a product our bank wanted us to offer customers, said what our bank was selling was as safe as U.S. treasuries. What he said wasn't true, so I challenged his comment. I didn't challenge him personally. I just pointed out to the group that we should probably come up with another way to express the idea of how "safe" this product might be, because by saying it was as safe as U.S. treasuries, we weren't being accurate. (Note: I didn' say we weren't being honest, just that we weren't being accurate.) Neither the presenter nor my boss, who was in the room, cared for my comments. I suppose they considered it their job to push this product, and thought my comment might derail that effort. I paid a price for my comment, but I stuck to my guns. All I did was speak the truth.
When Our Faith Is Attacked
During a meeting with two professional colleagues, one of them made some comment about the Catholic Church and Pius XII not standing up for the Jews during World War II. I don't remember how the subject arose, but I do remember it seemed out of place, given the context or our meeting. In any event, I confronted him right away and told him - charitably - how that slanderous story got started in the early 1960s, and suggested where he might go to find out the truth. In this case, I felt I had to confront the issue immediately, because I didn't know whether the third individual - whom I didn't know very well - might be swayed by these slanderous comments. I have no idea whether I "straightened out" the thinking of these two individuals, but I was glad I spoke up as I did. By the way, my comments were taken respectfully, and the meeting continued as planned.
I bring up these examples not to pat myself on the back, nor because I'm a great evangelizer. I'm not. But if I could speak up, so can you too. Perhaps these examples will illustrate how we can find opportunities to evangelize simply be being alert to situations like this.
I would assume it's a no-brainer that you ought not comply if you're asked to do something wrong. It may not be easy or pleasant to do so - in fact it could threaten your livelihood in extreme cases. But, really, you know you must not comply. As for defending the Faith, it once seemed daunting to me, but that's because I pictured myself lecturing people on abortion and contraception, but, of course, lecturing people isn't really evangelizing - at least I don't think it is. And making your points charitably may take some doing, depending on the circumstance and the individual or individuals involved. But if you apply some intelligent effort here, I do believe you'll find a way when the time is right.
1) When we are asked to do something wrong.
2) When our faith is attacked.
In the moment we are asked or required to do anything that contradicts our Faith, we must not let this pass. This applies even to criticisms of our Faith, either in the form of criticizing the Catholic Church, or criticisms of any of our beliefs.Let's tackle both of these briefly.
When We Are Asked To Do Something Wrong
At a business meeting one day a colleague, presenting a product our bank wanted us to offer customers, said what our bank was selling was as safe as U.S. treasuries. What he said wasn't true, so I challenged his comment. I didn't challenge him personally. I just pointed out to the group that we should probably come up with another way to express the idea of how "safe" this product might be, because by saying it was as safe as U.S. treasuries, we weren't being accurate. (Note: I didn' say we weren't being honest, just that we weren't being accurate.) Neither the presenter nor my boss, who was in the room, cared for my comments. I suppose they considered it their job to push this product, and thought my comment might derail that effort. I paid a price for my comment, but I stuck to my guns. All I did was speak the truth.
When Our Faith Is Attacked
During a meeting with two professional colleagues, one of them made some comment about the Catholic Church and Pius XII not standing up for the Jews during World War II. I don't remember how the subject arose, but I do remember it seemed out of place, given the context or our meeting. In any event, I confronted him right away and told him - charitably - how that slanderous story got started in the early 1960s, and suggested where he might go to find out the truth. In this case, I felt I had to confront the issue immediately, because I didn't know whether the third individual - whom I didn't know very well - might be swayed by these slanderous comments. I have no idea whether I "straightened out" the thinking of these two individuals, but I was glad I spoke up as I did. By the way, my comments were taken respectfully, and the meeting continued as planned.
I bring up these examples not to pat myself on the back, nor because I'm a great evangelizer. I'm not. But if I could speak up, so can you too. Perhaps these examples will illustrate how we can find opportunities to evangelize simply be being alert to situations like this.
I would assume it's a no-brainer that you ought not comply if you're asked to do something wrong. It may not be easy or pleasant to do so - in fact it could threaten your livelihood in extreme cases. But, really, you know you must not comply. As for defending the Faith, it once seemed daunting to me, but that's because I pictured myself lecturing people on abortion and contraception, but, of course, lecturing people isn't really evangelizing - at least I don't think it is. And making your points charitably may take some doing, depending on the circumstance and the individual or individuals involved. But if you apply some intelligent effort here, I do believe you'll find a way when the time is right.
Comments