date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 10:10:13 -0000
from: "LICC" <no-reply@licc.org.uk>
subject: LICC - Word for the Week - Like master, unlike servant
to: m.hulme@uea.ac.uk

   LICC  word for the week

   Like master, unlike servant

   Obadiah was in charge of (Ahabs) palace. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.) 1
   Kings 18:3

   Few of us would envy Obadiah, working in a position of responsibility for a godless,
   corrupt and ruthless master.

   But the majority of Christians today are similarly working for ungodly employers some
   basically honest and just, others corrupt and tyrannical. Should they resign, and retreat
   into the comparative safety of Christian employment? Or believing that the salt should be
   applied to the food, the lamp placed on a stand should they stay where they are and try to
   make a difference?

   How did Obadiah handle the challenge?

   First of all, he maintained his faith. How easy it is, in a godless environment, to lose
   the freshness of our relationship with God, and gradually slip into habits of gossip,
   complaining and offensive talk, while God seems less and less relevant to our real-life
   situations.

   But Obadiah also took advantage of the opportunities offered to him by his job, hiding and
   feeding a hundred prophets during Jezebels persecutions. Our jobs may seem to offer little
   scope for heroism. But all of us have opportunities to live a distinctively Christian life
   in the way we behave towards our colleagues, in our conscientiousness and integrity. And
   many of us, as we attain to positions of responsibility, have real opportunities to change
   things to encourage and support younger colleagues, to review investment policies and sales
   methods, to initiate and support policies that promote justice.

   The time came when Obadiah recognised that he must stand up and be counted, and he agreed
   to act as messenger for Elijah, whom Ahab perceived as his greatest enemy. The time may
   come for us, too, when the Lord convinces us that we must make a stand on an issue of
   principle, to challenge or identify ourselves with those who are challenging corruption,
   mismanagement and discrimination, or the inequities of the worlds economic systems.

   How we do this is another matter. But we all have an opportunity of making a difference
   where we are today and in the year ahead.

   Helen Parry

   How easy it is, in a godless environment, to lose the freshness of our relationship with
   God

   making a difference where we are

   GOD BLESS AMERICA? LICC hosts an evening mini-series in January on the world's only
   superpower:

   ** TONIGHT ** Jan 12: American Dream, Global Nightmare? with Matthew Bishop (of the
   Economist) What are the stories, values and passions that motivate America and Americans?
   How should the rest of us engage with the American Dream? Do Christians have a unique
   perspective on America and its place in the world?
   January 19: A Chosen People? with Clifford Longley (writer, journalist and broadcaster)
   9/11 has given a new urgency to some of the most crucial topics of the 21st century. What
   makes America so strong and yet so vulnerable? Why do the British and Americans so often
   stand shoulder to shoulder? What are the real roots of their common history..?
   For further details go to [1]http://www.licc.org.uk/events/event.php/id/73 To book please
   call LICC on 020 73 999 555 or send an email to [2]mail@licc.org.uk

   MANAGING THE FUTURE: THE CHALLENGES TO SOCIETY AND BUSINESS FROM SCIENCE, ETHICS AND
   RELIGIOUS BELIEF An all-day conference at the Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street,
   London WC2 organized by the John Ray Initiative with the support of the John Templeton
   Foundation, the Shell Foundation and with the London Institute for Contemporary
   Christianity. Beginning at 10am on Tuesday, 24th February, 15 each, including lunch. Email
   [3]claire.ashton@jri.org.uk to book a place. Further details will become available in the
   New Year on [4]www.jri.org.uk or [5]www.licc.org.uk

   The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity
   St Peter's, Vere St, London, W1G 0DQ   (t) 020 7399 9555   (e) mail@licc.org.uk   Visit
   [6]www.licc.org.uk for articles and events listings.

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