Are you allowed to demonstrate your faith at work?

This is a question that is commonly asked in the arena of health provision and one which we are keen to provide answers for through Heaven in Healthcare.

Basically the answer is “Yes”, the next question is “How?”

Please note that I have carefully constructed the question to talk about demonstrating your faith, not just about praying for people. Our faith is far greater than just that one thing but includes it.

The Bible teaches in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power and a sound mind. So firstly we should not be fearful about this issue but approach it with faith and a sound mind.

Demonstrating a loving attitude to patients/clients and other staff is an integral part of demonstrating Christian faith. Being kind, gentle, faithful, joyful and peaceful are all Christian attributes that should be evident in our lives and will enhance our working environments in a very positive way. They are expressions of our internal spiritual life.

The Bible talks about “faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6) and this frames the context in which we answer the question, rather than answer it as a response to fear.

So having a loving attitude is not only allowed, it is welcomed. The question of the power of Christianity being demonstrated is more of a concern to many people, often because they are fearful of religious coercion. I believe that Christians should not just have a loving attitude but also a confident expectation of the power of God at work through them for the benefit of others. This power needs to operate through unconditional love “with no strings attached”.

I believe the wisdom of God (sound mind) can help us navigate some of the challenges in this context and enable us to see the power of God touch people and bring them into greater health and wellbeing; this could be in terms of miraculous healing for physical afflictions, bringing “peace of mind” to those faced with mental health issues. In my years of practice as a doctor I have never received a complaint about my Christian faith being displayed in my life. So what are the principles that can help us?

The most important principles are that of “informed consent” and “respect”. As with any medical intervention offering the benefits of Christianity to patients should be done on the basis of informed consent, whereby the patient chooses to participate in the process (normally a conversation initially) and invites any interaction.

These are the principles outlined by the General Medical Council, General Nursing Council and other governing bodies of healthcare which govern good practice; their guidelines allow the expression of one’s religious faith in an appropriate way.

Heaven in Healthcare aims to provide you with guidelines on good practice and the wisdom of God, confident in the fact that God the Holy Spirit is inside every Christian and able to lead us into all truth without fear but with love and power. We will be producing learning material towards this end and will also address this in our events and gatherings. We are confident that people can experience Jesus through you.