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Code of Conduct

           Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.  (Philippians 1:27-30)

Most places of employment have rules by which you’re to abide. Some places of employment or organizations not only have codes of conduct that you’re to follow when you’re at work, but they also have codes of conduct for when you’re at home. Some businesses expect their employees to engage in public relations campaigns, and if you do something that will reflect badly on the company, you’re out of a job. As far as they are concerned, while you work for them, you represent them to the world.

As C.S. Lewis put it, every decision we make either represents Christ or it represents Satan. We become more like one or the other. It shouldn’t surprise us when Scripture says that our behavior should be worthy of the gospel. It should be taken for granted that we who claim the name of Christ would be united as a body and behave in a way that doesn’t belie the Church or its Lord.

And one of the rules of behavior is to show courage, not fear. Think of it this way. What would you think of the chances of a sports team who took the field telling one another that they have no chance of winning, that the other team was not only going to defeat them but humiliate them? This is one of the problems facing Christians who are particularly upset about the last election, and who act as though a political candidate’s loss spells the end for Christianity in America or possibly the end of the world.

Keep in mind that the greatest victory the world has ever known came through the apparent defeat of the Cross.

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