Is it wrong to take a job in a bar?

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Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith
“Is it wrong to take a job in a bar?” Eph. 6:5-9, Col. 3:23

Intro…My years at Bobby McGee’s…
Big Pic: Every job is a ministry for God.
Text: Ephesians 6:5-9

Today’s message is a follow-up from last week about being salt and light in our world and being part of our culture.
• This passage follows the first 4 verses where Paul is talking about healthy family relationships…and that helps us understand better the slaves/masters theme of verses 5-9.

A world about slaves during this Biblical time.
• Slaves comprised about 1/3 of the population of a city like Ephesus.
• They were considered an integral part of the family, not unlike many nanny’s today.
• So, Paul’s instructions to slaves were a natural part of his dealing with family relationships. (see vs. 1-4)
• In both Greek and Roman culture, slaves had limited rights and were subject to exploitation and abuse.
• Paul is not condoning the system of slavery, but instead provides instructions to Christian masters and slaves regarding their relationship to each other in the Lord and how this should be lived out within the bounds of their social and legal culture.
• Slavery eventually died out through the influence of Christianity.
• So…the principles in this passage apply today in terms of the boss/employee relationship, the law etc.

Principles we can take in relation to our jobs.
• We need to work well for our bosses (within reason) because in the big picture we are working for God. (v.5, 6, 7 and 9).
• As long as you have a boss who isn’t a complete tyrant, you gotta go to work and get it done.
• In a recent job interview I had we were talking about how basic good employees are hard to find…
• In whatever job we have, we are missionaries and witnesses for Christ!
• If you’ve been in the church for awhile, sometimes full time ministry positions get put on an unreal pedestal, like that’s a “real” Christian job…I’m here to dispel that myth.
• For me, this is kinda what I do best…

Let’s talk about bartenders for a minute since that’s the title of the sermon.
• This could be a job for the Christian who could handle that atmosphere.
• In reality, our world could use more Christian bartenders…it’s a place where people from all walks of life gather, coming from work, wanting to relax, celebrate an event, watch a game, some come in complete despair…the bartender is the only person who interacts with all of them.
• The bartender is often the promise of acceptance, the hope of forgetfulness.
• What if that bartender were a Christian? How many times a day could he share his life with another person? How many great conversations could he/she have and be a bright light in the darkness?

Not everyone is called into “the ministry” yet all Christians are in “the ministry.”
• These verses give us some specifics on how to do be good employees.
• Sincere heart. A good heart helps you do the right things. You care about people, you’re not selfish etc.
• Not being a people-pleaser. Standing up for what’s right…
• Doing God’s will from our heart. Again, back to the heart. This takes it a step further. You have to ask yourself in every work situation, can I do _____________ and stay within God’s will?
• Rendering service with good will (being a good employee).

Ok so let’s say your kids grow up and take a job in an industry you aren’t exactly comfortable with?
• PIC Parents, can we love and accept our kids if they choose work that we may not necessarily agree with and even pray for them and encourage them to be creative in how they share Jesus in that work?
• In reality, working in a Starbucks, hospital, school, construction etc. gives the average Christian way more contact with non-Christians that someone “in ministry.”
• We need to be everywhere for the cause of Christ.
• As an employee of ______________ are you ethical, godly, righteous and a good worker? Is your work sacred?
• What industries have the greatest need for Christian influence?

Colossians 3:23-24, Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

• V. 8 God will reward us (not sure exactly how) for doing good.
• Selfless service is not ignored or forgotten by God. There is no discrimination with God. He will reward every faithful servant equally.
V.9. There is even a word to bosses. Stop threatening knowing that even you work for God.
• At the time, Masters had the power of life and death over their slaves. Beatings, imprisonment or sale into harsher servitude were other punishments.
• The duty of master or bosses in all authority is to do good to those in submission and not take advantage of their authority.
• Both the bosses and the workers will be judged by God.

Conclusion:
Growing up and choosing a career is one of the biggest decisions we make in life. Some of us work one career, some have many.
Unless you work someplace that is clearly unethical, unbiblical and ungodly, I encourage you to find work in a field you enjoy and then look for ways to live out your faith within that career.

As a Christian, am I suppossed to hate the world?

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Frequently avoided questions of the Christian faith: “Do I have to hate the world?”

Matthew 5:13-16 Intro… NOTW (John 15:19)

• On one hand, we are not of this world and our thoughts should be towards God, heaven, living godly etc.
• Yet on the other hand most of us will have 70-80 years on this world and we’ve got a call from God to make a difference while we’re here.

Big Pic: When it comes to engaging with culture outside of church, you gotta know your strengths and weaknesses.

Text: Matthew 5:13-16

v. 13 Salt adds flavor and makes things taste better.
• Unsalted tortilla chips or sunflower seeds…just not the same.
• Salt is also a preservative…
• When any seasoning loses flavor, it has no value. If we don’t make any effort to reach the world around us, then we are of little value to God.
• Are we willing to be friends with people even if they don’t come to Christ on our time frame?
• Are we friends with non-Christians just to be friends or do we have an agenda? I think it needs to start out on the friendship level and from there we look for opportunities to share our faith.
• Yet, if we are too much like the world, we are worthless.
• Just like good seasoning brings out the best flavor in food, we should affect others positively.
• As Christians we can add a flavor of Jesus and his love to this world.

v. 14-16 Light in the darkness is an obvious analogy.
• Picture a city set on a hill at night. Its light can be seen for miles.
• Just think about how welcome a good light is in a dark, scary situation. (Micah and Lily being scared to go to the bathroom…)
• The hope that Jesus offers to a dark and scary world is just as bright.
• The typical lamp in a Jewish home was fairly small and placed on a stand to give it maximum illumination.
• When you think of yourself as a light for Jesus, what is the stand you can be on for maximum illumination?
Where can you be most effective in reaching others for Christ?

• How do we shine the light of Jesus? Through good works.
• Article from World Magazine..

• Example….Teacher appreciation etc. 3 churches, gives glory to God…
• We have the light of Jesus and just as it makes no sense to hide a light under a basket when it’s needed, we don’t need to hide our faith.

How do we hide our faith?
• Being quite when we should speak
• Going along with the crowd.
• Denying the light
• Letting our sin dim the light.
• Not explaining our light to others.
• Ignoring the needs of others.

We need to be a beacon of truth, “let your light shine before others.”

• Choose wisely when you go into the dark places and shine that light. • Make sure it’s something you can handle…
John 17:13-19

• Most Christians know that we’re not supposed to hate the world outside the church, yet many Christians are at the very least ambivalent about the world around them, and some definitely harbor a hostility that comes close to hatred.

• If we all run from popular culture, what will happen to those places we vacate? If Christians withdraw completely from popular culture, that can prevent non-Christians from ever seeing a real Christian. Then they are stuck with only images of Christians from the media. Do we want that?

"Roaring Lambs" written by Bob Briner in 1995
• This book focuses on our calling to fulfill the Lord's commission; specifically by being salt and light in our culture. Briner firmly but lovingly condemns the "ghetto" that many Christians have created for themselves by withdrawing into their own subculture.
• He states: "We feel we are making a difference because we are so important to ourselves. We have created a phenomenal subculture with our own media, entertainment, educational system, and political hierarchy so that we have a sense that we're doing a lot. But what we've really done is create a ghetto that is easily dismissed by the rest of society."
• "Culturally, we are lambs. Meek, lowly, easily dismissed cuddly creatures that are fun to watch but never a threat to the status quo."
• We must engage in the discourse of our culture. Christians must involve themselves in the culture shaping arenas of art, entertainment, the media and education. In short: "It is time for the lambs to roar."

Now that is true, but we have to use discernment.
• We can’t stroll through popular culture embracing everything and criticizing nothing and we don’t need to defend all art and entertainment, but the image of God in human creativity and imagination was not completely defaced by the fall.
• We need to have critical engagement with the culture, studying art, music or movies to see the work of God.
• We need to ask a lot of questions, interrogate popular culture, discern what God is doing and determine where and how participation will be most effective.
• We need to be committed to love and mercy as well as holiness and righteousness. It is important in the text to define “world.”

• 1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.”

• It helps if you think about the hesitancy to say “I love you” in a relationship until you are both really ready for that.
• I “love” TV, sometimes, I “love” certain movies, music etc.
• The “world” translates several different Greek words, which range in meaning from universe to planet Earth to inhabitants of the Earth to a time period or age.

• So we can’t just indentify “world” with culture or pop culture. That can be misleading and harmful.

• Most likely, John was talking about specific pitfalls within every culture.

Examples: • Money is neither evil or good, but the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. 1 Tim. 6:10
• Dancing, drinking, TV, movies, music, clothing, tattoos etc.
• These all can either be good or bad depending on the situation.
• We always want to consider the company we are in.
• We don’t want to cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble.
• Romans 14:13-21
• Problem is, people that are strong in one area, really like to condemn those in other areas...

If we assume that popular culture is inherently evil and must be avoided, we will miss whatever good God is doing in culture and likely fail to see the evil that is going on within the church. (judgmentalism) Conclusion: Galatians 6:1-5 In our quest to remain pure before God and not be too influenced by the world, we need to know our limitations and be careful not to amputate wounded limbs of the body of Christ (the church) and develop more skill in gently restoring the dislocated members.