09/22/2026
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βDo all that you can to live in peace with
everyone.β
- Romans 12:18 NLT
I hung up the phone, seething mad. For fifteen straight minutes, one of the managers in my company had argued his side of a disciplinary issue in the most condescending of ways. His tone and demeanor were so self-righteous, and he said my name in every other sentence, as though talking to a child rather than a certified professional in human resources. By the time I hung up, not only was I questioning his management decision, but I was also sincerely questioning his decency as a human. And honestly, I was wondering just how on earth this man could claim to follow Jesus. As I replayed the conversation in my mind (as we do), I realized that my tone and delivery had perhaps not been particularly Christ-honoring either. I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit to apologize for my part of the interaction. That is NOT what I wanted to do. I wanted to key his car or kick him in the shin while wearing golf spikes. Gratefully, the Lord makes a way of escape when we are tempted, and the 85 miles between us made those things difficult to pull off. So instead (and only as a second option), I followed the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I called him back and apologized for my tone and for not being as respectful as I could have been. I wish I could tell you that the manager apologized in return, we became the best of friends, and our families started vacationing together. Instead, he graciously accepted my apology and got off the phone. Do you think I was frustrated that he didnβt apologize too? You bet your sweet behind I was! But the Lord comforted me with this counsel: I had done what He asked me to do. In humility, I had apologized for my sin. As far as it was possible with me, I had attempted to live at peace with that manager.
There are days that our co-workers will get the best of us, and we will forget to act like we belong to Jesus. Thatβs part of being human. The question becomes, what will we do when we realize it? Will we apologize to the co-worker we have wronged, or will we pretend like it never happened because they had it coming?
Living out our faith at work means being honest about our failures. It means admitting when weβre wrong. It means recognizing that doing the Christ-like thing wonβt necessarily produce Christ-likeness in others, but choosing to do it anyway because it honors the One we call Lord.
π«ππΆπΈππΎπΈπΆπ π―πΎπ
:
Keep short accounts. When you realize youβve messed up, fess up right away so things donβt have time to fester and create a
permanent problem.
πhttps://smalleyconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Faith-at-Work-Devotional.pdf
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