Surviving the Workday

Dear Ms. Theologian:

One of my co-workers and I discuss our Christian faith with each other in the work place. Other co-workers know I am a Christian. She is new to the faith and can talk about it with other co-workers to the point where it annoys them. As proselytizing is discouraged in our offices, I try to encourage her to talk to me anytime, but be aware that some people aren’t really open to her sharing. Any suggestions on what she can do to “share” without “sharing”?

–Shared Enough

Dear Shared Enough:

Do you know what happened when I discovered the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser? I wanted to tell everyone. It worked so well. It made cleaning the bathroom a joy. I wanted everyone to have one. I had never felt this way about a cleaning product before. I was ecstatic.

This is how people feel right before they proselitize. They feel they have their hands on something so good, so right, so perfect, that everyone needs to know about it.

But not very many people wanted to hear about my sponge. My mother didn’t. My husband didn’t either. Friends and neighbors thought I was a lunatic. Ah, but they did want to use my sparkling clean bathroom. Oh yes! I ended up bonding with other women who had found the sponge and appreciated it as I did.

Christianity affirms the common dignity of every human being,

And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth (Acts 17:26 RSV).

This is something that immediately translates into a workplace value. Encourage her to treat all people with respect regardless of their religious beliefs.

Not everyone has to use the same sponge. Remember that. Some people already have a sponge that works just fine. They like their sponge. It makes them ecstatic too.

You’ve heard the expression, “Actions speak louder than words”? Remind your coworker of this. Encourage your coworker to demonstrate her values, but not necessarily talk about her beliefs to those who do not welcome the dialogue (I’m assuming this is a dialogue and not a lecture).

Off to buy more sponges,

Ms. Theologian

This entry was posted by Ms. Theologian on Wednesday, January 18th, 2006 at 4:04 pm and is filed under letters You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.