Serving Christ in Healthcare

1 Corinthians 9

Just because knowledge might be true doesn't mean that it is complete or used lovingly.  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.  God would have us lay aside what we know we have as a "right" for the purposes of loving and building up others.

Paul's instructions on marriage are built upon the fundamental principle that our godliness is not based on the condition we find ourselves in but in our devotion to God.  For this reason and others, Paul encourages us to remain in the conditions in which we find ourselves as believers.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20 reminds us that we are God's temple, doubly owned by God because he made and purchased us.  We are to flee sexual immorality and strive to not be dominated by anything.  Some things may not be sin, but are they helpful?

1 Corinthians 6:1-11 talks about lawsuits and begs the question of every believer: would you rather be wronged or defrauded rather than start conflict over what you believe you deserve?  Our interactions with other healthcare workers demands an answer to this question often.  When you are treated in a way you don't feel you deserve, do you start conflict or respond combatively to get what you "deserve" or do you suffer wrong for the sake of unity and peace?  God would have us live one of these ways and not the other.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul is addressing a specific situation of immorality within the church.  His instructions can be extremely insightful for us on how we can engage with immoral people, even those who call themselves Christians, in our lives and workplaces.

In 1 Corinthians 4:6-21, Paul wants us to not boast as though we did not receive everything we have.  We avoid getting puffed up by imitating him as he imitates Christ, and we can do this in healthcare primarily by being content with weakness, laboring with our own hands, and responding graciously to reviling, persecution, and slander.  Let us remind each other of the ways of Christ and remember that the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 talks about being found a faithful steward of the mysteries of Christ as we serve Him and others, and serving Christ in healthcare necessarily involves being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted to us in our work as we serve patients, co-workers, and bosses.

Our identity as members of the church, God's temple, has huge implications for how we do our work in healthcare.

Some info about updates to the Serving Christ in Healthcare universe.

The things that we do can't earn us a ticket to heaven.  Jesus is the only way, but our works are important, and God will reward us in heaven in very real and tangible ways for how we have served Him in this life.

Whatever work we find to do, whether in healthcare or in some other field or in service to God, we have been assigned there by God to glorify him with that work and to serve others in unity.  Paul teaches this lesson to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9.

Paul spoke to the Corinthian church differently because they were "of the flesh" and "merely human".  How did Paul know they were this way?  Their relationships did not demonstrate the love of God.

The Spirit in us is what makes all the difference. He is our salvation, our sanctification and our wisdom among many other things. This should make a difference in our work, should it not? How are we different than those who do not believe in Jesus Christ? Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

In many areas of our lives, including work, it can be tempting to build ourselves up to make our proclamation of the gospel more alluring.  Paul urges us against this and instead calls us to speak, act, and work in humble service towards others in order to draw attention to the Spirit at work and point them to Christ instead of us.

God works in certain ways specifically so that we will not boast.  God wants us not only to not boast but also to recognize that He is the source of everything in our lives, including everything relating to our work in healthcare.

Wisdom and power are often sought after by the world in all areas including healthcare.  However, God has made the world's wisdom foolishness and gives no power in worldly effort.  What does this mean for our work?

Divisions among the people of Christ happened in the Corinthian church, and since it can happen among believers, you can bet it is rampant in workplaces.  What are we to do in these situations?  Paul gives us the what, how, and why of being unified.

God's grace and peace towards us are essential and empower us not only to trust that God will sustain us to the end of our lives as believers in Jesus Christ, but also to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we have been called.

We have been called by God not only to believe in Jesus Christ but also to work.  The fact that God has placed us where we are in our workplace at a specific place and time should have a profound impact on our attitude and agenda.

God wants us to have all of our hope in Him, but there are so many pockets of our lives where we put hope and have security in other things. Many of these things involve our work, so we want to think about areas where we are trusting in something else that is sure to fail us.

Relating to your boss can be one of those difficult things to do in a godly way, especially when we see all of the exhortations that the Bible gives us for this specific relationship. Here are some ways in which a change in thinking about our bosses can glorify God.

Looking ahead to a long career in the same field can be intimidating. Will we really be able to do the same thing over and over again for many years?  There are some things we can do that might help us honor God over the long haul.

Decision-making in healthcare can often be difficult, especially when trying to figure out what would honor God most.  There are so many influences on our work, which means there are a lot of considerations we have to take into account to try and do what's best.

If we want the light of Jesus Christ to shine in our work, we need to be distinct. How are we distinct? We do things that the world wouldn't do, and we do not do things that the world would. It sounds pretty simple, but when we look at specific sins we often easily jump into, we find it is not so simple after all. 

How then will your coworkers and patients call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? We can't just act like a Christian.  We must share the gospel.

We are serving the Lord Christ in our work. We should work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. What does this mean to us? How do we apply this to what we do? Healthcare can present great challenges to doing this effectively but also a great opportunity to honor God.