Ethical gray areas at work rarely come with bright, flashing hazard lights, signaling which way to turn. Instead, they are often bathed in shadows and speculation. “Doesn’t everyone lie a little at work?” “Why shouldn’t that charge be reimbursable?” “That wasn’t technically flirting; I was just being nice.”
For believers, navigating these shadows can be difficult, and if we’re not careful, treacherous. Sin seldom happens suddenly, but is the result of a series of slow shifts in our hearts away from the holiness of God. When the seeds of temptation are watered by ambiguous circumstances, corrupted desires can erode our convictions and lead us down a path we never thought we’d be on.
Simply because an ethical gray area could potentially lead to sin doesn’t mean believers should completely avoid every such circumstance. Not only is that unfeasible logistically, but it’s also unbiblical. We are to be “in the world, but not of the world,” and wholesale avoidance of temptation is actually not as strong a defense as spirit-saturated, mature mortification. Now, this is, of course, a gradient to be based on wisdom, and each circumstance should be contextualized to the individual believer. You wouldn’t tell a recent alcoholic to go hang out with friends who are drinking, but that doesn’t have to imply that believers can never be around alcohol. This is why killing sin must be an individual assignment.
However, while there are no black-and-white rules to follow when it comes to ethical gray areas in the workplace, there are some protective principles that are inherent in those who faithfully follow Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 says that everything we do, including work, should be for God. This is especially crucial in the workplace because for many believers, the workplace is one of our primary places of witness. Therefore, in an attempt to be as winsome as possible, we should aim to be above approach in these principles, even when doing so makes us distinct from the workplace culture.
So, how should a believer approach or navigate ethical gray areas at work? There are many guardrails, but let me outline five protective principles to embrace and put into practice.
1. Desire a clean heart
Psalm 51 was written by David after he had slept with Bathsheba and killed her husband, Uriah. The psalm is a beautiful confession and return to the principles David should have been following before falling into sin with Bathsheba. In verse 10, he writes, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Generations later, in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5, Jesus would say, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
The first protective principle to engage if you want to navigate ethical gray areas well is that you must desire a clean heart. The Spirit helps you with this, interceding on your behalf and empowering you to want to live rightly with God.
Practical Takeaway: Take a few moments to pray that God would give you the desire for a clean heart.
2. Seek discernment with wise counsel
There is a protective benefit that comes from seeking out and standing on wise counsel. Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” Do not expect those who counsel you to always give you the answer, but rather, make every effort to surround yourself with people who help you approach circumstances with a Christ-like approach and perspective. A wise counselor rarely prescribes, but often questions, guides, and shares direction in a way that you can trust and take to heart.
Practical Takeaway: Make a short list of people in your life who could be wise counselors and invite them to walk with you in this way. If you don’t have anyone in mind, pray and ask God to reveal someone in your church community to you, or ask your local pastor.
3. Have accountability with quick confession
One of the most dangerous elements of ethical gray areas is the tendency for secrecy and shame to creep into the narrative. Because these circumstances rarely have explicit right or wrong decisions, it can be easy to toe the line and even somewhat tip over into dangerous waters. If that happens, you need a quick outlet for confession so as not to let that shame linger in your heart. Shame left silent often spirals into secrecy, and when you’re suddenly keeping secrets about ethical gray areas, you are heading down a dangerous path.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” There is healing in confession and accountability, in being seen and not being dragged into the shadows.
Practical Takeaway: Commit this week to actively confessing your sins to God. He already knows what you’re struggling with, but this act will free your heart to pursue accountability with others.
4. Invite Spirit Testing and Conviction
This is a great daily invitation for the person navigating ethical gray areas. How do we know if we’ve crossed a line or if a thought or emotion has started to plant too deeply into our souls? We ask the Holy Spirit. You might shy away from asking the Spirit to search and test you because his standards always seem stricter than yours, but we don’t get to set the rules for what constitutes sin or corrupted desire. God does. So why wouldn’t we ask him to help us know when we’ve wandered or erred?
Practical Takeaway: Pray through Psalm 139, which says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”
5. Remember that right character is greater than riches
When confronted with an ethical gray area, one of the common lures that the enemy uses to entice us and compromise our souls is the lure of power and prestige. We want more money, so we steal from work. We want to do what we want, so we disengage from our work. We want to feel attractive, so we flirt with a coworker.
The counter to this common but effective lure is to firmly establish in your heart this truth: right character is greater than riches (of any form of power we might desire). This comes straight from Proverbs 16:8, which says, “Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice.”
Having the right character means having integrity, and integrity is something you either have or you don’t. It takes a long time to build, but a very short time to destroy, and no amount of worldly power or wealth will be able to restore a fractured character.
Practical Takeaway: List attributes of Godly character identified in Scripture that you would like to focus on most in these next few months as the Holy Spirit shapes your heart to be more like Christ’s.
If sin is as devious and dangerous as Scripture describes, then we should be especially cautious and vigilant when facing ethical gray areas. It is folly to think that we are impervious to the temptation or corrupted desires of the flesh, but it is wisdom to recognize that we are just as likely as the next person to fall into sin. Therefore, we must put these protective principles into place so that we will be well-guarded and defended from the various entry points of the enemy’s attack. We must be on alert, not full of fear or anxiety, but with good preparation, we can step into the workplace and its ethical gray areas with a God-centered desire and the help of the Spirit and the saints.
