Resist the Peer Pressure of a Secular Job

Since I started working in a secular environment, I have started struggling as a Christian. Help!

If you’re employed, your work environment may occupy the largest portion of your time. So it’s wise to pause and analyze the effect that environment has on you and your ability to faithfully live out the Christian life.

Before we look at a few causes for struggle in the secular work environment, it’s important to check our understanding of what it means to be a Christian in every area of life.

I’m often reaching for a better descriptive word than “secular,” which we use to label the many vocations that exist outside of church walls. For a place to truly be secular, it has to be void of all things spiritual. That doesn’t make sense for a Christian, does it? We belong to God everywhere we go, and we take his indwelling Holy Spirit with us. No space we enter is truly secular.

We belong to God everywhere we go, and we take his indwelling Holy Spirit with us. No space we enter is truly secular.

Even so, I know from both personal experience and conversations with other working Christians that workplace struggles can challenge our faith and the depth of our relationship with God. Because this is such a broad topic, let’s look at a few common reasons Christians may struggle in their work environment. The nature of your difficulties will often determine the path forward.

4 Workplace Challenges

Because this is such a broad topic, let’s look at a few common reasons Christians may struggle in their work environment. The nature of your difficulties will often determine the path forward.

1. Conflicting Values or Ethical Dilemmas

In some workplaces, the prevailing worldview is far from biblical. You may face consistent challenges to your obedience to God and your commitment to his laws.

Perhaps you work in marketing and you’re being asked to design a campaign that celebrates sin. Maybe you’re on a sales team that consistently bends the truth to win the sale, and you’re being asked to do the same with your prospects.

If you’re in such a space, the biblical response is clear. We aren’t only to turn away from our sin (Acts 3:19) but also to avoid any appearance of it (1 Thess. 5:22, KJV). Take steps to ensure you aren’t participating in or appearing to support sin.

This can require courage and boldness. You may need to ask to be removed from a project that doesn’t align with your biblical values. You may need to request changes to the wording in a sales pitch before you can attach your name to it.

I’ve seen many cases where these moments of courage have been met with respect and accommodations. If that isn’t the case in your work environment, it may be worth asking yourself if you can remain there while faithfully walking the Christian life and honoring God’s laws and standards.

2. Weariness Caused by Continuous Exposure to Darkness

Maybe you aren’t facing ethical dilemmas at work, but you’re surrounded by individuals celebrating sin or walking in darkness. Maybe Jim makes crude jokes and even pokes fun at Christianity. Maybe Erica’s behavior is marked by gossip, bitterness, and dishonesty.

This can sometimes lead to feelings of helplessness (I wish they knew there was a better way to live, but what can I do?). Other times, it leads to a general feeling of weariness (How many more days can I sit and listen to all this?).

Think not only about how your environment affects you but also about how Christ can affect your environment through you.

If this is your story, think not only about how your environment affects you but also about how Christ can affect your environment through you. Instead of seeing your coworkers as people who are making work more difficult for you, try to view them as fellow image-bearers in deep need of a Savior and the hope he provides.

As Christians, we’re called to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:13–16). Pray. Ask his Holy Spirit to guide you in showing up well at work. Influence your surroundings by living in contrast to them and reflecting Jesus’s love.

3. Conviction as a Result of Acclimating to Darkness

You might be feeling uncomfortable because the Holy Spirit is at work in your heart, convicting you. Maybe you haven’t been showing up as a light. Instead, you’ve acclimated to the darkness. Over time, you decided it was easier and less disruptive to go with the flow.

• What began as quietly listening in on crude conversations turned into laughing at crude jokes and, eventually, sharing a few of your own.
• The projects or initiatives that used to make you feel uneasy now feel comfortable.
• After months of noticing a culture of unhealthy competition and putting others down to get ahead, you start to play the game yourself.

If you’ve been slowly adjusting to your surroundings, it’s time to realign with the Father. Repent of any sin you’ve fallen into and seek his wisdom and guidance in thriving as a Christian in a challenging environment. It might be worth pulling in a Christian mentor to hold you accountable.

4. Your Relationship with Your Career Is Starving Your Relationship with God

Sometimes, the struggle is less about sin and more about the sheer amount of time and energy your career requires of you. Maybe you have little margin in your day left after work and all of life’s other commitments. Your faith is becoming lukewarm because you’re no longer rooted in prayer or time in the Word.

If this is the case for you, focus on reassessing your priorities and protecting time to nurture core spiritual disciplines.

3 Spiritual Solutions

We can meet these workplace challenges with spiritual solutions. Consider three important ones.

1. Prayer

Start your day with focused prayer and get into the rhythm of praying without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). Integrate prayer into your workday. Pray for teammates. Pray over meetings. Pray over decisions. Those quiet prayers lifted up from your desk take little time and keep you rooted in God throughout the day.

Praying regularly reminds you of your need to depend on Christ in all situations, especially in the hard dynamics of your workplace.

2. Scripture Study

Identify when in your day you can realistically spend time in God’s Word. Get creative. Where do you see flexible pockets in your schedule? Could you read while eating your lunch? Could you listen to an audio Bible during your commute? Could you replace some of your television time or social media time?

Intentional, regular Bible study will give you the tools you need to navigate ethical challenges with God’s wisdom.

3. Fellowship

Time with other believers will help hold you accountable to your Christian walk. Make sure you’re engaged in a local church for weekly worship. Find other Christians in your workplace. Join a Bible study group or church life group. Seek out and actively nurture Christian fellowship.

Honest conversations with other believers will help you better diagnose your workplace challenges and brainstorm ways to approach them. Not only that, but Christian friends can pray for you during the week, encourage you after a rough day, or check up on you in a difficult season.

Your spiritual health is more important than your career. Ask the Lord to use your secular workplace to sanctify you and bring you (and hopefully others) closer to him.