I heard on the radio a female host saying that she did not like the line "I will obey" in the marriage vows. At first, my thought was that this is just a feminist with a chip on her shoulder getting mad about semantics. However, I have come to realize that she has a good reason to not like the word "obedience" as her stance towards her future husband.

     The word obedience connotes the child's stance towards his parents. It seems to imply a hierarchy- the man's decision trumps over the woman's will. It is insulting and counter productive to look at the woman as a child in relation to her husband. The woman is an adult, a capable person who may take initiative for her family- nurturing and working to care for her children. The image of one man and one woman becoming one connotes oneness. Two people who have different agendas in life will now walk with one agenda. The better word for this relationship is "cooperation". The man and the woman will cooperate in this one agenda, to build a godly family, which is the purpose of marriage.

     The parent-child relationship has to start with the child fully obeying his parents. He needs to be led as he forms his agendas for life since he does not know what is good for him. As he grows up and starts learning what is good for him, he will form his own agendas. The child needs to start thinking about what he can do to be a good helper, and not just focus on his agenda and only doing what he is asked to do. That is cooperation in the home. As he learns cooperation, he will grow to become a good citizen, working together with others to subdue creation and serve humanity. The workplace is one area where this cooperation works itself out. The worker, who has his own agenda, voluntarily takes on the agenda of the master. 

     This leads me to a reflection of a dilemma that people face. What if your work requires you to do something against your conscience? What if you are a city clerk opposed to same-sex marriage being asked to ratify  the marriage, will you do it? Would you work for planned parenthood? This is just some of the complex issues workers may face as they function in a workplace that does not hold their values.

     A way to reflect on this is to think about Daniel, a Jewish prophet and a Persian government official. One thing we can note about Daniel is he has a good reputation. The king of Persia put a law in place, that people pray to him alone. However, Daniel was loyal to the God of Israel alone and would not pray to the king. Therefore, he violated the law and was sentenced to death. Daniel did not die but miraculously survived being thrown in the lion's den. Today, we may not be killed for our values but we may lose our jobs. The story of Daniel shows that God values faithfulness and may reward us by letting us maintain our livelihood in the midst of an ungodly workplace. Daniel kept the favor of the king, despite his conscientous objection, because of his prior good reputation.

     How did Daniel get a good reputation? How can a worker have a good reputation? It is through having a cooperative spirit. The uncooperative worker focuses on his agenda without any thought for the employer's agenda. He may go home in time, and not think about going overtime to finish a work that needed to be done that day. He may do his work slowly because he does not care for his client's timetable. However, a cooperative worker takes account of his employer's agenda, and even takes is as his own. Initiative is taking on the employer's agenda as one's own, not acting like a pawn who waits to be told what to do. Daniel probably cared a lot for his work (a caring worker takes initiative to get work done well and even makes sacrifices), which is helping govern the empire. What made Daniel a leader is that he could be trusted to cooperate with the king's work of governing.

   I believe we may work for a company whose main agenda is subduing creation and serving humanity. I believe we should not work for a company that promote evil (abortion clinic). In a case of a mix (company has a good main agenda but does wrong), I believe we could remain cooperative with our employers but we may have to make a stand against doing wrong. An example would be a car mechanic being asked to do unnecessary work to make more money. He may make a stand against that practice and remain a hard worker, instead of quitting entirely. Hopefully the owners change their evil ways, or at least keep him even if he refuses to cheat clients. May we have wisdom and courage, and may we have favor before all men.