Major American businesses are scrambling to prove how woke and virtuous they are. The simplest way to do that is to bow to the whims of Critical Race Theory.
So, in August, Bank of America, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and Truist Financial sponsored a United Way “Racial Equity 21-Day Challenge.” The “challenge” claims that America is systemically and institutionally racist and encourages participants to get “woke at work” while urging white people to “cede power to people of color.”
In addition, American Express wants employees to undergo “diversity training” based on CRT’s ideological foundations. AmEx urges staff to adopt a hierarchy putting ‘marginalized’ individuals above ‘privileged’ ones, thereby aligning itself with basic Marxist ideology.
One employee, Brian Netzel, voiced his opposition to being required to participate in these “training sessions.” AmEx fired him. He has since filed a lawsuit.
Last year Verizon launched the “Race & Social Justice” initiative and created an extensive race reeducation program for its employees based on the core tenets of CRT and intersectionality. And recently CVS jumped on board with a program called “Allyship” that encourages employees to “practice inclusion” and to be “aware of [their] identities as well as the intersectional identities of others.”
The larger the company, the more pressure they can apply. So, if woke-ism comes to your workplace, what should you do?
What’s the problem?
Woke-ism is not the same thing as respecting people and advocating for equal opportunities. Instead, woke-ism relies on CRT for is ideology and intimidation for its success.
Masking itself in nomenclature that sounds virtuous, such as “diversity” and “equity,” CRT is explicitly unbiblical and intentionally racist. When companies require employees to yield to such training, they are no longer protecting the freedoms provided in anti-discrimination laws, but they are practicing ideological discrimination, trying to dictate what their employees are allowed to think or believe.
See, equality and equity are not the same thing.
Equality is about providing equal opportunities. But equity is about pursuing outcomes. And if those outcomes require your company to advance one race or one identity group over another, then so be it. For that reason, CRT-based “equity training” belittles the less favorable race or identity group so that others may be advanced.
But such outcomes are not measurable, so there is no way to ever achieve the outcomes that “equity” training claims are righteous and correct. So, it never ends. As long as CRT is empowered and allowed to advance, conditions will only get worse, and never better, for all races.
The Bible teaches that all people are created equal and should be permitted to advance in life as God intended. But CRT and woke-ism in the workplace directly contradict this basic biblical value and, therefore, create an environment inherently hostile to Christianity.
How should Christians respond?
So how should you respond if you are pressured in the workplace to comply with CRT training and “equity” indoctrination?
To answer that, I want to lean on a passage in the Bible that is a favorite of Christian apologists. Addressing Christians who were struggling to live in a culture that was becoming increasingly hostile toward Christianity, the Apostle Peter wrote:
“Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil” (1 Peter 3:13-17).
From Peter’s insights, here are five principles you can apply to handling woke-ism in the workplace:
- Pursue a positive impact
That is, “be devoted to what is good.” Christians are consistently reminded to do “good” in culture and to impact the culture in a positive way (Titus 3:1). That includes your culture at work. Do your job and do it with diligence not because you love your employer, but because you serve Christ (Col. 3:23). Let it be known that you are a person of integrity and that you shape the workplace in positive ways.
In other words, make it hard for anyone to raise any criticism against the quality of your employment. Then, if you are ostracized, criticized, or reprimanded, though clearly a solid employee, “those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.”
- Don’t be afraid
You might suffer if you take a stand (2 Tim. 3:12), but “do not fear them or be intimidated.” Simply put, if you serve Christ, you have nothing to fear. Peter assumes that you have already taken to heart the admonition to do the right thing and do good things in the workplace. With that, you have no reason to be afraid because any punitive action shows that they are, in fact, afraid and intimidated by you.
And, of course, trust God when you stand for what is right (Is. 41:10). If you lose your job, trust Him. He will take care of you (Phil. 4:6).
- Maintain your personal integrity
Keep a “clear conscience,” Peter says. Make sure that you do not sacrifice your values or your walk with Christ on the altar of expediency. The work culture might change, and it might not. You might be fired, or you might not. But either way, make sure you stand firm on biblical values. Because one thing is certain—you might have to get another job, but every job you have will have one thing in common: You.
- Treat people with respect
Then, “do this with gentleness and reverence.” You may not be able to control the workplace or the decisions the corporation makes, but you can control your attitude and how you treat people. As far as God is concerned, people always matter more than a paycheck (Luke 6:31).
- Serve Christ first
Peter instructs, “in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” That is, that job is not about you or even your paycheck. It’s about serving Christ, and always being ready to tell the truth and stand for what is right. Even pressure to conform to woke-ism in the workplace will give you an opportunity to witness to Christ and the truth.
If your employer or coworkers bristle at your stand for what is true and right, and what is not very woke, make sure you have a “clear conscience” and that your good “conduct” speaks for itself.
Woke-ism violates not only biblical values, but it also violates laws designed to protect equal opportunity in the workplace. When you stand for what is right, you do it for all of us.
And God is on your side.
What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31