Dealing with Violations of Conscience on the Job

Richard Hollerman

We know that a title like this can have several different meanings and some of these may be worthy. But the question we are referring to here has to do with whether we should or should not submit to those matters that are either right or wrong. Some of these are public and some require immediate attention. What do you think?

For example, if someone would like you to take a walk in the woods and the owner of the property permits this. We believe that this is probably good and right. Or consider this. If someone wishes to offer you a piece of rye or whole wheat bread, this too is probably a good thing to do (if you don’t eat too much). If a manager or supervisor wants you to work on Tuesday afternoon, this also seems to be an action that would be permissible.

On the other hand, not all decisions are this simple or clear-cut. Some may be wrong for us, depending on the circumstances and situation. Suppose John, your boss, wants you to sell jackets that seem modest and the color schemes are good—but you discover that he bought this on the “black market” and they were stolen merchandise. In this case, you surely would be forced to decline the selling job—even if it means the loss of your job or many a financial issue with your employer.

If another manager should want you to take a load of merchandise to another state 1,000 miles away, then you discover that these were stolen items, you would need to refuse this activity, regardless of consequences.

Again, suppose that your boss asks you to sell immodest swimwear. What should you do? If you are a Christian, hopefully you can see the inconsistency of submitting to his unrighteous demands. Of course, we know that this may be a financial issue with you for you may lose your job.

Some of our readers may think that these examples are somewhat extreme, but surely they are not extreme at all. They will often fall within our jobs and we will need to determine what to do. If you do much reading at all or have kept alert to the news during the past ten years, you will probably immediately remember different instances similar to the above illustrations. Further, if you are somewhat sensitive, we suppose that you have been asked to do a job that you—as a follower of Christ—would not be able to do. Of course, this may bring a hardship on you, on your family, and even on your boss.

We think of the cake-maker from the Northwest (perhaps Washington state?) and he needed to decline making a cake for a sodomite wedding. The two sodomites who wanted this (and they may have been arranging the situation to “trap” him in this way) sued him and, as I recall, they won. Another time, a person in a western state (perhaps Colorado?) needed to decline making something or perhaps the person was a photographer and sodomites wanted him to take photos of their immoral “wedding.” He again declined and perhaps he too lost his job. Nearer to the present, we remember that a “Jesus only” devotee (or a “Oneness” woman) declined giving a marriage permit to two sodomites for either a sodomite “wedding” or the like. This made the national news and I don’t recall the end result of this.

What is a Christian to do on his job if the boss/manager/supervisor wants him or her to violate his conscience and do something that is morally or spiritually objectionable? Probably through the years dozens or hundreds of professing Christians are called on to make such decisions. They have probably felt compelled to do this “thing” regardless of the consequences. Maybe they thought that objecting to the offensive sin was “going too far” thus they went ahead and did it even though their conscience was hurt in the process. But what should the professing child of God do? Go ahead and do what he or she knows is wrong? Submit to something that seems morally wrong? Or deaden his or her conscience and do it anyway?

Probably in the past, these decisions where more common than they are today. It would seem that legally many of these conscience issues were able to be resolved. Today (even in the “freedom” of America!) we think that many people would need to make a hard decision: Either the person would need to submit to the request (or demand) and do the morally or spiritually objectionable thing or face the consequences (such as loss of the job or being treated with contempt). What should the professing Christian do? (We have been using “professing” in the foregoing since probably many or most of these people have not truly been born again or saved. But they think that they are saved and, for illustrative purposes, we do want to make a point.

We know that these sorts of illustrations can be twisted and, further, we know that people can simply follow what they think if right or wrong and miss the point of Scripture. For instance, we think of the Pentecostal woman who refused to provide the sodomites in Kentucky with a marriage license. She contended that they could have gone to her partners in the same department and obtain the “marriage” license from them. In this way, her conscience would be untouched and they would be happy. Of course, if these immoral men just wanted to make a point and wanted her to lose her job, they would not have been pleased with her passing the job to her fellow-worker.

But think of how inconsistent such a decision might be. Suppose that this woman (we’ll call her “Barbara”) refuses to give these sodomites a “marriage” license and thus would keep her conscience clean. But would this really solve the issue? On Monday, she may decline giving an immoral couple of sodomites a “marriage” license. But on Tuesday, a heterosexual couple comes to her and asks for a marriage license. But there is a problem. Suppose that either the man or the woman happened to be married before and wrongfully divorced. If the woman were to marry the second “husband” she would be committing adultery—and the same is true for the man (see Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11-12). Question: Isn’t adultery just as sinful as sodomy is?

The real problem here is that there are probably millions of adulterers walking the streets of America. And there surely are tens of millions (hundreds of millions?) of adulterous couples walking the streets of Moscow, Hong Kong, and London! In fact, in many countries, second marriages are quite common, thus there are many, many adulterers and adulteresses circulating. Wouldn’t this mean that those who issue marriage licenses have an involvement in adultery?

We probably don’t need to give more examples of people who contribute in some way to immorality and other sinfulness. It is exceedingly common. We simply want to not only point this out, but emphasize that we must be quite vigilant in our decisions, whether it be on the job or at other times. As Paul the apostle says, “Become sober-minded as you ought and stop sinning” (1 Corinthians 15:34).