The Christian Working Woman with Mary Lowman exists to encourage, equip and empower workplace Christians in the marketplace.
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So, what is the hymn “Come Thou Fount” referring to with this obscure and unfamiliar phrase about raising an Ebenezer? When you hear the word Ebenezer, you probably think of Scrooge from Dicken’s Christmas Carol. Not too many people name their sons Ebenezer these days. But in Scripture we find this word in 1 Samuel 7:12: Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” Literally the word Ebenezer means “Stone of Help.” Samuel set up—or raised—this stone as a memorial, a marker-stone, to commemorate the Israelite vi
The Bible not only describes foolish behavior for us, but it also gives clear guidance on how we should respond to foolish people. Here’s another principle for dealing with foolish people: Principle #3 – Don’t argue with foolish people. 2 Timothy 2:23-24: Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. You will be tempted to argue with a foolish person. All your emotions will lead you in that direction. They bring out the worst in us,
The important issue we must consider is how we should respond to these foolish people. Our normal response is anger and frustration. But what does God want us to do? Let’s see what the Bible says. How are we to respond to foolish behavior? Pray for them. God can change anybody. Don’t ever give up. You can’t change them, but you can pray for God to change them. Keep the right attitude and motivation toward foolish people. It’s easy to become judgmental and arrogant toward them. Remember, God loves them as much as he loves you. Be prepared to set boundaries and protect yourself from being harmed
The Bible has a lot to say about foolish behavior. For example, they handle money recklessly, they quarrel frequently and pick fights, they tend to be lazy and lack focus and ambition. And sadly, they never seem to learn from past experiences. Proverbs 27:22 says, Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them. With all the trouble they bring on themselves, fools still never seem to learn. No matter how bad the consequences of their behavior are, they repeat the same things again. The Bible also tells us about the conseque
Is there anyone in your life you consider to be a foolish person? I imagine you can think of someone. It’s important for us to recognize foolish behavior and respond to it correctly. Let’s look at how the Bible defines a person who is foolish: Quick-Tempered Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult (Proverbs12:16). It is foolish behavior to lose your temper. A foolish person will say and do all kinds of foolish things because of his/her temper. Their temper is often notorious. Acts Impetuously and Without Regard for Consequences Wise people think before they act;
The Bible clearly describes foolish behavior and warns us about it. Some people behave foolishly on a sporadic basis; others are consistently foolish. As we talk about foolish people, we need to be aware that we could be talking about ourselves as well. None of us is exempt from any of these foolish characteristics. I spent ten years doing my own thing, walking away from my commitment to Jesus Christ, and I shake my head as I think of how foolishly I behaved in those years. We will look to God’s Word to define foolish behavior for ourselves and look again to tell us what our responsibility is
As Fran arrives at her office this Tuesday, she’s just logging in to her computer when her coworker walks in and shuts the door behind him. This signals to Fran that something is up but what? “Hi, John,” Fran says, “have a seat. What’s up?” “Thanks, Fran. Well,” John begins, “this is kinda touchy, and I need to ask you to keep it between you and me if you don’t mind—okay?” “Wow, sounds serious. What is it?” Fran asks. “You know the proposal you helped me with last week for the commercial real estate company? After you helped me figure out what the bid should be, my boss thought my numbers were
Presented by Lauren Stibgen One who waters will himself be watered. Walking in a manner worthy of the Lord is what the Proverbs are all about! Shifting our focus from what God hates in Proverbs six to Proverbs 11:25b which can be summarized by a secular proverb, “what goes around comes around.” I like the biblical version much better, one who waters will himself be watered. This is a beautiful thought to carry with you to work each day as we think about others around us. Watering is not to be left to managers and leaders in the workplace. And, after all, this proverb benefits both the waterer
Presented by Lauren Stibgen The final three things that are listed in Proverbs six are what God hates will likely have you saying, no way! Not me. I surely do not do any of these things. Not at work. Not at all. Devising wicked plans, shedding innocent blood, and running to evil. All of these remind me of an old AC/DC song with the refrain; “I’m on a highway to hell.” Words like wicked, blood ,and evil should not ever belong at work or in our life. And they remind us the wicked surely do not display integrity! Devising wicked plans. Another way to think of this is scheming. Proverbs 24:8: Whoe
Presented by Lauren Stibgen We are looking at seven things that are an abomination to God, and now we will focus on our mouth. More specifically: a lying tongue, a false witness that breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Three of the seven things on the list God hates have to do with how we choose to use our mouth. And all three of these things that God hates us to do with our mouth can show up at work. Clearly if we use our words to lie, we lack integrity. What about a lying tongue? Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is for a moment (Proverbs 12:19). God wa
Presented by Lauren Stibgen Are you doing what God hates at work? Let’s keep in mind that the book of Proverbs is not only instructing us what to do but also what not to do. The following verses in Proverbs six are not actually proverbs as we previously defined but are part of the poems in the first nine chapters of Proverbs. While not “proverbs” in a defined sense, these verses can help us consider things we should not do since God hates them. They can help us with our integrity at work. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tong
Presented by Lauren Stibgen As we dive into integrity, I have been thinking about Proverbs and how they relate to work. They are filled with wisdom, and a good roadmap for working with integrity! I thought it would be helpful to define this book of the Bible that is a home for practical wisdom as a faithful believer in Jesus Christ. In fact, if you take time to read through this book of the Bible, you might be surprised at how much people quote and paraphrase from God’s good book of wisdom! First, some facts. The word proverb is defined as “a short pithy saying in general use, stating a genera
Presented by Lauren Stibgen Integrity is a big word in business. It is found in codes of conduct, employee handbooks, and job descriptions as a catch all word. I was curious about how much the word integrity shows up in job descriptions alone. According to ChatGPT, this word appears one to three times in postings for leadership, finance, healthcare, ministry, nonprofit, and executive roles. But what does it mean? Those who have been around for a while know I love my Merriam-Webster dictionary as a launching point. According to Merriam-Webster, integrity has three definitions1. firm adherence t
How to cope with boredom on your job—that's Fran's dilemma. But she's learned some valuable lessons on practical things she can do when she's feeling unmotivated and bored. Fran took some new approaches to her work and found it put a lot of enthusiasm back into her job. She simply made some changes in her usual routine and did a few things more creatively. That has helped a great deal. It's Saturday now, and she's meeting her friend, Nancy for lunch to ask her advice about being bored with her job. They have a long discussion about boredom, and Nancy agrees it's a challenge everybody has to fa
Fran is struggling with boredom with her job. She is unmotivated to work hard or give it her best effort because it's become routine and unchallenging—and she's bored. Her first challenge is to tackle the slippage of her work habits; that is never right for any reason. She's aware she must do good work regardless of how bored she may feel. Now, she wants to seek some advice to find out if this is just a boring period she will pass through, or if she's truly bored with her job. "I think I'll talk to my Bible study leader, Nancy," Fran decides. "She's bound to have been through this in her own c
How do you battle boredom on the job? That's what our friend, Fran, is trying to figure out. After a few years in her job, she just feels unchallenged and—well—bored. And that is affecting her work habits, not to mention her attitude. Maybe you've had the same problem. Last night she talked with her friend, Laura, who is a teacher, and Laura explained on the days she feels bored, she uses a mental gear-shift technique and tells herself to act the role of a great teacher, like an actress on stage. In that way, she motivates herself to do a good job of teaching even on days when she really doesn
Our friend Fran is finding it a little difficult to go to work because she's feeling very bored and unchallenged. Do you ever have that problem? I sure have. Jesus made Fran aware that boredom can lead to some sloppy work habits. The day finally ends and Fran heads home. After dinner the phone rings and it's her friend Laura, who is a teacher. They chat for a minute, and Fran says to her, "Laura, you've been teaching for eight or nine years, right? Do you ever just get tired of teaching–you know, just plain bored?" "Yeah, sure," Laura says. "Lots of days." "You do? But why do you stay in teach
Do you ever get bored with your job? Boredom is a common problem we all face. Our friend Fran deals with boredom on her job. In case you're not familiar with this series, this is a fictional story of a woman who is learning to practice the presence of Jesus on her job. It's Tuesday afternoon, and Fran is sitting at her desk looking at the clock. "Three o'clock; wow, has this been a long day. I am ready to go home. In fact, I'm ready for the weekend, and it's only Tuesday. How am I going to make it to Friday?" She says out loud to herself. She realizes she hasn’t had much energy in the past few
For many years I traveled around this country teaching business seminars mostly in customer service and communication areas. What I taught were principles based on the Bible. My job was to teach something that would work, and I know from experience that Bible-based principles work. And they work in American business just as effectively as anywhere else. Usually, when we see people who operate without integrity, they have a very short-term perspective, and their lack of integrity will always come back to haunt them long-term. Living our lives by biblical principles allows us to sleep good at ni
Can you and I, as marketplace Christians, maintain high levels of personal integrity without adverse effects on our career? That's the question I'd like to address. The answer to that question is we should never even ask the question. That may sound strange but let me explain. As Christians in the marketplace—or anywhere else for that matter—we should be so committed to doing what is right—pursuing righteousness—that the consequences of that course of action become inconsequential. It simply doesn't matter whether it has adverse effects on our careers or whether it advances them. In either cas
Those of us who daily go to a job know very well what it means to face a world which often does not operate by Christian principles. I've been examining integrity in the marketplace. I'd like to present another ethical case study and see how a Christian should respond. Case #3 A bright lawyer works in a prestigious law firm. She does her work exceptionally well, puts in many hours of overtime, and aspires to a partnership someday. Since she is a Christian and a woman of integrity, she turns in exactly the hours she has worked, which she knows to be more than most, if not all, of the other lawy
We're continuing our look into integrity in the marketplace. I'm going to look at another example of an ethical decision on the job and see how God's Word gives us direction. Case #2 You work for a manager who has a large ego and feels threatened by anyone who makes suggestions for improvement. You have an idea that would improve efficiency, save budget money, and serve the customers better. Your colleagues agree, but you must have your manager's approval to make it work. You're thinking of ways to make him think it's his idea, but you're concerned your plan may border on deceit and dishonesty
When Christians demonstrate lives of integrity on the job, they become that Living Word witness to those around them that is stronger than any words they can ever say. My topic is Integrity in the marketplace. It's become a bottom-line issue for companies and organizations that recognize the benefits of integrity. But for a Christian, a life of integrity is a top-line issue: We are committed to doing the right thing because that's what Jesus would do. Now, what I'd like to do is take two case studies where integrity is at stake and ask what the biblical way is to deal with them. Case #1 Your d
Integrity in the workplace has become a hot topic. Corporate America recognizes the cost when there is lack of integrity on the job, and they’re trying to figure out how they can put values and integrity back in our good 'ole American system. It will only happen as individuals put integrity back into their personal lives and make it a high priority. And that will only happen when we are motivated from within, not from without. All the training courses in the world cannot instill integrity into a person's heart. That must come from a belief system that is committed to doing what's right, regard
Many business schools are hurriedly designing and incorporating courses on ethics. Seminars and management training are focusing on integrity. There seems to be a sudden awareness of our need for integrity in the marketplace. Employee theft is a problem of great magnitude, as well as lack of employee loyalty. But, after all, how can you motivate loyalty if you engage in shady business dealings or treat employees unfairly? And now corporate America says, "How can we put values and integrity back in our good 'ole American system?" Well, it will only happen as individuals put integrity back into
