working for dough
"Do you not know that a little yeast has its effect all through the dough?" —1 Corinthians 5:6
On this Labor Day, it's appropriate to ask the question: How can I lead people to Christ on a secular job? Most jobs offer only limited opportunities to witness for Jesus. Furthermore, the hearts of many of our fellow employees are hard. Consequently, it seems unlikely that they will give their lives to Christ.
Jesus used the analogy of leaven or yeast to illustrate how we can impact the atmosphere of our secular job (Mt 13:33). "A little yeast has its effect all through the dough" (1 Cor 5:6). The hearts of some of our fellow employees are so hard because of "old yeast." However, the new yeast can have an even greater effect on these same people.
The effect of yeast is slow and gradual, so we will have to have faith to believe the yeast of our lives in Christ is really working. However, if we persevere in being ourselves, that is, new creations, children of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, witnesses for Jesus, we will see the people on our job change from "corruption and wickedness" to "sincerity and truth" (1 Cor 5:8). Yeast doesn't have to be big or fast to work. It just has to be itself. Be yeast, a follower of Christ in the fullest sense of the word.
Prayer: Father, send the Spirit to work in and through me.
Promise: "His hand was perfectly restored." —Lk 6:10
Praise: Stephen thought his Christian values were being ignored at work, but then he began to get prayer requests from co-workers.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our leaflet Mission Impossible or our audio AV 46-1 or video V-46.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 8, 2010
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