誰是你真正的老闆？

從功能或實際的觀點看，那些答案似乎都正確。然而，若你是一位基督徒企業主管或經理，我認為你真正的老闆是耶穌基督。聖經說祂擁有你的企業，並且指派你在你所服務的企業中擔任領袖。

在聖經中我們讀到：「若是你們以事奉耶和華為不好，今日就可以選擇所要事奉的：是你們列祖在大河那邊所事奉的神呢？是你們所住這地的亞摩利人的神呢？至於我和我家，我們必定事奉耶和華」（約書亞記24章15節）。這就告訴我們應該如何安排優先順序。

了解你真正的老闆是誰，對你在工作中所作的決定非常重要。有時你人類的老闆會要你去做明顯與你天上老闆相違背的事。當這種情況發生時，你會順服誰？你被上帝指派，但在你人類老闆的世俗（地上）權柄下工作。

若你的老闆要你去做你知道是不道德、不合法或與公司的價值觀相牴觸的事，你會怎麼回答老闆？這世界上充滿許多基督徒企業主管順服地去做地上老闆要他們做的事。當這種情況發生，他們就證明他們怕人過於怕神。

當你認為你的公司應該作一個特別的決定時又如何？例如，在雇用一個特別的人時？你是否為這件事禱告，然後再將雇用的決定告訴你地上的老闆？若他/她說：「不，我們不要那麼做。」你要怎麼做或怎麼說？

這時我建議你回到上帝面前，為這情況再次禱告，尋求上帝清楚確認祂要你做的事，然後回到你的老闆面前說：「喬依（或嬌安），我知道我們以前討論過這件事，但我把這件事再透徹地想過，而且也覺得上帝確實要我們這麼做。」若你的老闆或董事會仍然堅持說：「不，我們不要那麼做」，你該怎麼辦？

若這決定不是「生死交關」那麼嚴重，你可以選擇遵循你老闆的決定（順服你世上老闆的權柄），即使你認為那是錯的。然而，在重要的決定上，你可以決定不繼續在那種根據錯誤動機作決定的公司工作。

許多商業上的事情沒有明顯的答案，但中心問題還是：誰是你真正的老闆?而且若你不能遵從你老闆的最後決定，你是否準備要放棄一筆大交易，或一個有威望且高薪的工作？有時跟隨上帝需要在地上做極大的犧牲。所以我們必須確定：我們比較在意聽到人的掌聲或上帝的掌聲？

連恩．克拉瑪是德州達拉斯的商人，他成立一個會員制的組織「執行長協會」，幫助執行長建立符合聖經原則和價值觀的世界級公司。他的網站是www.ceoinst.com。

From a functional or practical viewpoint, those answers seem valid. However, I would submit if you are a Christian business executive or manager, your REAL boss is Jesus Christ. The Bible says He owns your business and has appointed you to be a leader in the business where you serve.

In the Bible we read, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-16). This establishes what our priority should be.

Understanding who your true boss is can be critical to the decisions you make at work. Sometimes your human boss might ask you to do something that is in obvious conflict with your heavenly Boss. When that happens, who are you going to obey? You are appointed by God, but working under the temporal (earthly) authority of your human boss.

So what will you tell your boss at work if he asks you to do something you know is unethical, immoral, illegal or in conflict with the stated values of your company? The world is full of companies where even Christian business executives submit and do as they are told. When this happens, they are proving they fear man more than they fear God.

What about situations where you believe your company should make a specific decision? For example, in hiring a particular person? Have you stopped to pray about it, and then recommended the hiring decision to your temporal boss? If he or she says, “No, we don”t want to do that,” what do you do or say then?

I would recommend you go back to God, pray about the situation again, seek clear confirmation on what you think God is asking you to do, and then go back to your boss and say, “Joe (or Joanne), I know we have had this discussion previously, but I have thought this through thoroughly and also feel like God does want us to take this course of action.” What should you do if your boss or board of directors still insists, “No, we don”t want to do that”?

If the decision is not a “life or death” situation, you may choose to abide by your boss”s decision (submit to their authority as your temporal boss), even though you think it is wrong. In critical decisions, however, you may decide you can no longer work in a company that makes decisions based on wrong motives.

Many business issues do not have obvious answers, but the central question remains: Who is your REAL boss, and are you prepared to give up a big sale, a prestigious and well paying job if you cannot abide by your bosses” final decision? Sometimes following God will require a large earthly sacrifice. So we must be certain: Are we more concerned about hearing the applause of man or the applause of God?

Lane A. Kramer is founder and president, The CEO Institute, a marketplace ministry based in Dallas,Texas, U.S.A. www.ceoinst.com.