Work as Intimacy: Creating Cultures of Honesty (Part 1)

Today’s Bible passage: Galatians 6
Supportive references: John 17:20-26, Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Hebrews 5:8

Core concept 1: The deepest reality we’re made for is intimacy. While many associate intimacy to companionship, in most settings, such closeness manifests as honesty and vulnerability. For instance, as professionals, we desire work cultures where we can feel safe enough to be vulnerable and free enough to be honest. As we find in John 1, not only does this define God’s original design for relationships, but work culture as well.

Bonus truth: The reality of intimacy predates the necessity of authority. While some see authority as power earned, because the Trinity has experienced intimacy for all eternity, we can instead say intimacy is authority entrusted.

Work application: We desire real relationships with our colleagues. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done given very few people know themselves, let alone God. Even for the believer, trusting God in environments where cynicism abounds is tough sledding. But this doesn’t mean a culture of honesty can’t be cultivated; it just means our reliance on God must manifest through countercultural discernment and edification. Therefore, let’s not stress about what is counterfeit, but rather pursue excellence, and more importantly, encouragement with our cubical neighbors. Remember we don’t establish foundations where vulnerability and transparency can prosper; we pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding (Romans 14:19) and let God lay the groundwork.

Bottom line: To build relationships, especially with seekers/unbelievers, is to a) partner with God in extending His father heart of love and b) guide others into freedom from fear, anger, and anxiety. As we’ll discuss next time, if we want to offer freedom, we must first be walking in it. Until then, why not focus on love through faith and let the Spirit guide you in what to say and when to say it?

Core concept 2: Independence is unknown in the God community. Remember last time when we talked about how identity is not a matter of be-coming and self-refining (heart of stone thinking), but be-lieving and aligning (heart of flesh thinking)? This applies to this point: To have a heart of flesh is to embrace intimacy. To have a heart of stone is to embrace independence.

Bonus truth: The reality of intimacy not only predates the necessity of authority, but the concept of lordship.

Work application: As a younger professional, my idea of closeness was essentially real estate. I’d consider my location and build relationships with those who’d ‘receive’ me, as few as they were. Yet, as I ultimately discovered, this approach only fueled my skepticism and selectivity when serving my floor members. Yes, I knew God had a specific intent concerning my placement, but I often took it into my own hands. Little did I know my independence was distancing me from the very thing I craved: intimacy.

Of course, I get how easy it is to view colleagues as nothing more than people we’re proximate to. Still, it’s imperative we consider what intimacy looks like in the marketplace. In my experience…

…intimacy extended to our co-workers is evident when our desire to work with them becomes an overflow of our value for them.

Sure, we may not always agree with their life decisions; however, if we give love room and engage people for their benefit, we can enhance a culture of safety that leads to eventual vulnerability.

Bottom line: Independence and intimacy are diametrically opposed realities. If we long to transform our work cultures, then our service must be rooted in agape love, not fear. Once we grasp this, no question, we’ll begin to see freedom spring up within our influence.

Core concept 3: Humankind was originally given a ‘made in God’s image’ nature. When Adam chose to act independently from God, he was reduced to human nature. To embrace our ‘new creation’ identity (Galatians 6:15) is to die to our human nature and recover the ‘made in God’s image’ nature.

Bonus truth: When Adam chose to be independent, he, and everyone since, lost the connection with the ‘made in God’s image’ nature; however, by having His Son die on a Cross, God not only saved us from our sins, but rescued us from oppressive worldly systems built on human nature. Put another way, Jesus not only died on the cross to provide salvation/forgiveness of sins, but also to rescue us from independence into the freedom of intimacy. When you accept the work of Jesus on the Cross, that’s your first step in discovering the vulnerabilities that create intimacy and the freedom that can result.

After all…

Jesus didn’t come to just die for you, but live for you.

Work application: To our lost and lukewarm co-workers, we must not be surprised the concept of identity is skewed. Left to our devices, not only does a concept of identity become a function of performance, but performance a function of independence. Interestingly, as modern cultural identity issues have taught us, the idea identity is about ‘being’, not ‘doing’ as gained traction; the problem is such notions are still based in independence, not intimacy. Perhaps this is why when we talk about sexual identity, many based their perception out of what they choose as opposed to what they receive. Whatever the case, it shouldn’t surprise us to find many within our realm of reach synonymizing love to tolerance and acceptance.

Back to our working environments, we may not be able to go ‘deep’ with everyone to the point vulnerability is default. Nevertheless, it’s important we keep these core concepts on our radar. To know who we are, especially in Christ, we must first understand our identity isn’t the sum of our accomplishments, but recognizes why accomplishments exist. Only then can we live the truth of why we believe:

We live for love having been created in love and we give for love having first received.

Granted, most people we encounter won’t understand this right way, but deep down, they want to be free from the weight of value being contingent on success. Dare to be a part in their quest for freedom by presenting the Gospel with such a lens.

Bottom line: To be made in God’s image is to be made for intimacy. Just as authority flows from intimacy, our doing flows from our being. Accordingly, as leaders, if you want to influence your team members, pour into how they are doing in addition to what they are doing.