By Todd Paetznick, May 9, 2024

What is good?  In 1 Thessalonians 5:21, the apostle Paul teaches Christians to test everything and hold onto the good regarding questionable messages being delivered by some people in the church.  Testing that a message is genuinely from God and not something made up by a person with questionable motives is a wise practice.  The practice also raises the question of how exactly we can know whether what we hear is from God.  The challenge is equally applicable to people in the workplace who are expected to conform to societal standards of “good” that may differ from those found in the Bible.  Workplace situations are not the same as people claiming to have received a word from God, but discerning “good” and “right” applies equally to both.    

The clue Paul offers us in his instructions is “good.”  Goodness is subjective, a sliding scale with “bad” at its other extreme.  If good and bad are subjective, the question we all have to answer is, who gets to decide what is good or bad?  This dilemma is at the heart of many modern controversies in the various Christian denominations and people’s minds in the workplace.  

Some Christian denominations believe people in high-level leadership positions are best qualified to decide what is good or bad, right or wrong.  Through prayer, contemplation, study, and discussion with others, they believe church leadership should decide what is morally right or wrong for their church’s and their congregation’s benefit.  Unfortunately, people are sinners and can be selfish and corrupt.  The history of Christianity is filled with stories of power-hungry people in leadership positions who distort biblical teachings for their benefit.  Historically, corrupt people used their leadership positions to shape their congregations and influence them to do what they wanted, not necessarily what God wanted.    

However, conservative Christians may question the motivation behind deviation from historic teaching and practice.  Why have some denominations chosen to compromise on traditional teachings?  Why would they yield to pressure to conform to the ever-changing morality of the world?  Don’t they realize that Christianity is not a democracy and beliefs are not subject to popular vote?  God will ultimately judge false teachers, which is why care is needed to interpret the original intent of any biblical passage.  The Book of Mark recorded Jesus’ warning about false teaching,  “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it is better for him if a heavy millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea” (Mark 9:42 NASB20).  In modern times, some denominations strive to conform to societal pressures and desires to fill their pews and draw new people inside their doors.  The desire to draw people into a church should not be confused with drawing people to God.  

Conservative biblical teaching asserts that God inspired the authorship of all biblical content, making Him the ultimate decider of what is good or bad. The Bible, as the written word of God, contains His instructions for living and His standards for right and wrong. This understanding instills a sense of reverence and respect for the Bible as the ultimate standard for determining ‘good’ among conservative Christians.  

When Paul instructs the people in the church of Thessalonica to “test everything and hold onto the good,” the test and standard for good is the Bible, God’s words, not an arbitrary feeling a person may have about whether something seems good to them and not popular democratic opinion.  Feelings are deceptive and will get us into trouble.  

The Bible has to be the standard for determining right and wrong for Christians in the workplace.  Having a different standard of good for our work and personal lives is not a thing; genuine Christ-followers are consistent in their actions regardless of what they may be doing.  There is no such thing as work and personal lives; we have one life and need consistency.