If my job requires me to take care of a person who is a heavy drinker and curses a lot (and has people around her that do the same things), and I’m a christian, am I wrong to continue to work for her?  Should I seek other employment that does not have those things around me on a daily basis?

Sincerely,
In Dicey Company

Dear In Dicey Company,

Every circumstance is different, but there are two Bible principles that can help you prayerfully decide to stay or seek other employment.

1. God says that bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33).  The people we spend time around do influence us, and if we are constantly choosing to fill our lives with people that have low moral standards, it will hinder our spiritual growth.
2. As long as we are in this world, we will always be surrounded by a certain level of iniquity and sinful behavior.  The apostle Paul said that it is impossible to get away from all worldly people (1 Cor 5:9-10).  Jesus went so far as to remind faithful people that unbelievers are spiritually sick and need the example and truth that faithful people have to offer (Lk 5:31-32).  We are supposed to let our light shine in this dark and weary world (Matt 5:16).

As you can see, it all comes down to balancing these two principles.  Make sure that you are exerting an influence on your employer… not the other way around.  If the situation is really too bad to deal with and it is pulling you away from God – make plans to change jobs.  However, if you feel like there is good left to be done and you aren’t being corrupted – stay and let your light shine.

There are two passages that some people say don't go well together.  In 2 Samuel 24:1, God incited David to take a census, but in 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan incited David to take the census.  How can this be?  Some people say that either God Himself morphed into Satan or the author of Chronicles calls God "satan" because God's anger acts as an adversary to David or people say this is just a biblical error and don't know why it's there.  At first, I thought these were two separate events, but no, these two verses describe one event.  What do you say, and how would you explain this?

Sincerely,
Head Count

Dear Head Count,

Those two verses describe two sides of the same coin.  2 Sam 24:1 says that God was upset with Israel, and 1 Chr 21:1 says that Satan fought against Israel.  Both are true.  God was upset with how Israel was behaving, so He took His protection away and allowed Satan to fight against Israel by tempting David.  God often does this.  We are protected as long as we turn to Him and place our faith in Him, but when we wander into ungodly living – all bets are off.  The great lion, the devil, hunts for wayward sheep that have strayed from the Great Shepherd (1 Pet 5:8).

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I don't get it... if Jesus was a Jew, why isn't Judaism the correct religion?  Did I miss something?

Sincerely,
Confused Christian

Dear Confused Christian,

Jesus was born a Jew (Matt 1:17), lived under the Jewish law (Lk 2:41-42), and even taught His fellow Jews to obey the Old Testament law (Matt 23:1-3).  Judaism was the right religion, until Jesus died on the cross and replaced Judaism with Christianity.  The Old Testament, the law the Jews followed, was a tutor to lead people to Christ, but after Jesus came, mankind was supposed to follow Him instead (Gal 3:24-25).  The Jewish law said that someday there would come a Messiah who would save them from their sins – Jesus was that Messiah (Jhn 1:45).  The Jewish law taught mankind that they needed a Savior, and that they should prepare for His coming.  Jesus came providing the grace and truth that wasn’t possible under Jewish law (Jhn 1:17).  Jesus’ death made a permanent sacrifice for sins that none of the Old Testament animal sacrifices ever could (Heb 10:1-4).

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