The Professional Unraveling of the Christian Man
We’ll get back to our usual Bible study in the next few days, but as we wrap up this transition period, I want to address the silent epidemic ravaging the ranks of young, professional men in our country, which I’ll call corporate man syndrome. The corporate man is not the same as a company man. Although he’s often a complete moral degenerate, the company man is at least shooting for upward career mobility. The corporate man, on the other hand, typically has no such dreams. He’s just trying not to get in trouble.
“But what is he so afraid of?” Put simply, he’s afraid of stepping out of line. Years of mandatory, on-the-clock struggle sessions about privilege and power and unconscious bias and the beauty of sexual degeneracy have turned him into a spineless potato of a man. He parses each and every word so as to avoid drawing the ire of the HR-department, who bullies the entire company into submission with their secret knowledge about “proper workplace conduct” (not voicing unapproved opinions). Every sentence in his emoji-packed e-mail ends with an exclamation point; his language, demeanor, tone, and facial expressions are all certified “acceptable” by the suburban moms who drive Teslas and Denalis and make up 80% of his marketing-data-analytics-computing-task-force-ninja-rockstar-squad.
Put another way, if he dares to act like a man, he will be punished by a faceless organizational chart full of people who exist to quash his instincts. He’s even started talking with a bit of an effeminate tone and dressing in tighter, trendier clothes. His soft smiles and audible “mmmmmms” during Linda’s public therapy session at the required monthly department sync clearly identify him with the corporate “in-crowd.” More than one of his female co-workers have even confided in him about their own marital struggles because he’s just so “vulnerable and authentic,” and they’ve become quite close!
You might think I’m exaggerating, here, but I’m not. I see this countless times every single day. Men walking around the corporate space like they’ve been completely castrated by a nameless, faceless force that threatens to annihilate them and everyone they love if a single drop of testosterone is detected. Having been ideologically neutered from their first day on the job, they’ve grown completely unwilling to challenge their leaders if it brings even the slightest risk of disrupting the status quo. And many of them even have the word “disruptor” in their LinkedIn bio.
You might not think these men exist in such masculine spheres as the military and law enforcement, but they certainly do. Even in camouflage, the corporate man “bravely” speaks out where he knows it will benefit him, and stays silent when he knows doing otherwise will compromise his career trajectory.
My intent is not to bash these men. In many cases, the professional world is aligned against them, and it has been for years. But there is a unique challenge for Christian men working in professional spaces (white and blue collar, public and private sector alike) that, like most schools (and many churches), cater to feminine sensibilities, and consider the best man the one whose behavior most closely mirrors that of a woman. Let me give you some examples, along with some thoughts on how we as Christian men can maintain our Godly masculinity amidst this bizarre zeitgeist.
Using Proverbs, let’s consider some characteristics that the corporate world generally incentivizes but which Scripture calls sin.
Partiality: In a corporation (or military unit) where one’s livelihood depends upon his or her end-of-year evaluation (fitness report, etc.), grown men quickly turn into docile, obedient sheep the moment anyone of influence walks into the room. You can hear it in their voice and see it in their facial expressions. That guy who never contributes suddenly becomes chatty Kathy and starts monologuing simply to be heard by the Director or VP now standing in the corner. But what’s strange is that personally, we don’t respect anyone who simply lays down and agrees with us all the time. The fastest way to earn another man’s respect, besides doing hard things, is to challenge him, or raise an objection that challenges the status quo. For some reason, we think that this does not pertain to highly accomplished executives in expensive suits. What do the Proverbs say about treating people differently, or acting different around certain people, based on their position or status? Christians must refrain from showing partiality to anyone based on appearance, status, wealth, or position. We are called to show proper respect and submission to the leaders appointed over us by God, but this is a far cry from the total subservience we see in corporate boardrooms everyday.
Self-Promotion: All companies will claim that they value humility, but in many cases, and especially when leaders lack the emotional intelligence to detect “spotlight ranger” behavior, it’s actually a professional death sentence. To remain humble about your work and performance is to fall out of the “shows leadership potential” category and into the “meets expectations, promote with peers.” There are exceptions; good leaders have a keen eye for those who shoulder the burden without complaint vs. those who cover their own incompetence with endless monologuing. Self-promotion is the name of the game in the workplace, and in most cases, if you don’t play it, you’re going to be passed over. The Christian man in this context must think counterintuitively, remembering that “before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” The humble man may never be honored with a promotion to the C-suite. And to be fair, there’s certainly a time and place to accurately represent the excellent work you’ve done. But we must live to serve and obey God, not man. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, and at the end of the day, it is His opinion, not our VP’s, that matters. We must be men of great humility, and let our work speak for itself, rather than engage in endless self-glorification, for “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” We must “let someone else praise us, and not our own mouth; an outsider, and not our own lips.”
Dishonesty: When we lived in the Midwest, we learned about a thing called “Midwest nice.” Urban dictionary defines it as “a manner of non-confrontationally addressing a situation that is somehow annoying in a passive-aggressive manner that is subtle enough to be considered friendly.” The professional world, outside of a few notoriously intense industries like Finance or Big Four consulting, is like Midwest nice on steroids. Personal shortcomings and weaknesses must be addressed indirectly, if at all. Failures, even significant ones, are repackaged as “opportunities” for development, that really sound more flattering than critical or constructive. If I could sum it up, I would say that the HR-dominated professional world often requires us to lie to each other in the name of “professional conduct.” Very rarely is any difficult discussion had face-to-face; in mid-year and end-of-year reviews, all is well, everyone wears a smile, and we slap each other’s backs; “keep up the great work!” But then comes the trouble; real issues must eventually be addressed, and so we only do it via paperwork. We smile in person, and then tear down in private via performance reviews, e-mails to supervisors, or gossip among co-workers in the cafeteria like high school girls. There’s no honesty. In other words, we fear man more than God, and so we become deceptive. But there is a way to be honest without compromising professionalism, mutual respect, and care; in fact, truly loving our neighbor (or co-worker) actually requires that we tell him the truth, in love. We should remember that “whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet,” and keep in mind the powerful reality that, “whoever rebukes a person will in the end gain more favor than one who has a flattering tongue.” Just as important, we should also be ready and willing to accept honest feedback, no matter how difficult it is to hear, for “whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Christian men in the workplace must lead the way in showing respect and honor to all through living honest lives marked by direct and transparent speech.
Volumes could be written about the difference between the traits that the Proverbs tell us define the man of high, godly character, and those expected of us in the professional world.
We must always remember that we are not Marines, accountants, consultants, or park rangers who happen to be Christians, but that we are Christians on mission who have been specifically placed in these various industries by God Himself, to serve and obey Him even in our work. We are not compared to sugar, but to “the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.” Salt preserves, and when we compromise on those values which God says are right and true, we dampen our potential impact on the lost and dying world to which God has sent us, whether in a boardroom or on a construction site. You may feel like you stick out, but perhaps that’s the point.
We must stay the course, even when it means career stagnation or alienation from the office “in-group.” God is fully in control of every molecule in the universe, and that includes our professional success. He may or may not reward us for our faithfulness with upward career mobility, but we know that whatever the outcome, He will work it all together for our good. Our job is simple; obey. Honor our employer by being excellent employees, but adhere first and foremost to who He has called us to be as His servants and representatives in the world. No job title or bonus check is worth straying from the path of life; For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
To close, here’s a few questions to ask yourself to ensure you are living as a true Christian in a world that aims to neuter us at every turn:
Am I willing to speak the truth, no matter who is in the room?
Am I engaging in endless self-promotion hoping to get noticed and rewarded?
Am I trying to flatter those who have power over my career?
Do I spend more time talking about people than talking to people?
Am I willing to have hard conversations with others about their weaknesses, and am I willing to receive similar feedback from them?
Why does God have me in this place at this time, and how can I maximize my effectiveness not only as an employee, but as a servant and representative of Christ in a secular space?
If my employer requires me to violate my conscience as a Christian, am I willing to give it all up, and do I trust that God will provide in the interim?
These are all questions we should be asking ourselves regularly, and the answers will likely change through the years. But one thing must remain true: we, as Christian men, must be the standard bearers for honesty, humility, righteousness, truth, and justice in the workplace, no matter how it makes the HR or legal departments feel. Christ is Lord of them all, and He is our King.
There are many competing false religions, worldviews, and cultural expectations which demand our allegiance and conformity in order to provide for our families. Whenever possible, we should do our work with excellence and strive to maintain peace and unity in the workplace. But there will likely come a time in every man’s professional life when he must obey God rather than man, and we should be ready to make that decision, knowing that “the man with God is always in the majority” (John Knox).
Honest, hard work. Direct speech. A humble disposition, free of self-promotion and arrogance. And a desire to speak the truth, whether it’s to the CEO, four-star General, or the janitor. May these things define us, as we seek to live out our faith in the workplace.
Obedience is our Christian duty. God will take care of the rest.
Be strong, and go excel for His glory.
T