10 Commandments for Christian Professors

After submitting a grant proposal yesterday, I have felt much relaxed today (at least until now). I thought I needed to get back to the book I have been writing. As I was surfing various web pages to look for some information, I ran into an article entitled "10 Commandments for the Workplace," which came from the following source: "How to be a Godly Employee based on the Ten Commandments By Drew M. Crandall, Northeast Christians at Work." As I was reading it, I said "Amen" to all item, and also realized how many times I have violated some of them. Without proper permission from the author, I changed some words to translate better to Christian Professors. Plus, I also replaced the content in the fourth commandment with the scripture as the original content did not fit well with academic world. So here you go!

1. Trust in God only.
Trust in no one but God. People will disappoint you. God created you, He loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life. He is too good to do wrong, and too wise to make a mistake, even when the “fur is flying.” Let His peace abide in you. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

2. Worship God only.
Don’t make your career, your university/college/program, or your administrator a god. If you do, you will provoke Him to jealousy and will end up fighting Him. In fact, He may hinder you from achieving what you want until you are broken of the idolatry. (Exodus 20:5)

3. Use God's name reverently.
Don’t swear! Clean words come out of a clean heart. If your non-Christian colleagues know you’re a Christian, but they hear the Lord’s name used in vain, cursing and swearing coming out of your mouth, you will give the appearance of being a hypocrite. (Matthew 15:17-19)

4. Work six days and rest on the seventh.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work (e.g., preparing your lectures, grading papers, writing manuscripts, etc), but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.... For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-10a)

5. Respect your administrators.
You should respect your administrators, because you don’t know what it’s like to be in their shoes. Plus, your ultimate boss is the Lord. Serve Him faithfully on the job, and He will bless you! However, if your administrators command you to do something illegal or immoral, you must make a stand and obey God rather than men. (Ephesians 6:5-8)

6. Protect and respect human life.
Emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical manipulation, abuse, and violence have no place on campus…or any place. You do not have the right to use and abuse your administrators, your colleagues, support staff, or your students. (2 Thessalonians 3:1-2)

7. Be true to your spouse.
If you’re not getting the kind of attention and affection that you feel you deserve at home, it’s common to seek it with someone at work. Honor your wedding vows by avoiding campus romances! They are very real, very tempting, and very common. They’re also very wrong and very destructive. (Matthew 19:8-9)

8. Don't take what belongs to others.
Stealing at work can take many forms. You can choose to steal materials, money, time, productivity, and joy from your employer, co-workers, customers, and suppliers. Don’t remove your integrity by stealing. (2 Corinthians 7:1-2)

9. Do not lie about others.
Do not fabricate stories about your administrators or colleagues or support staff, and spread gossip for the sake of politics. You’re here to be salt and light, not pepper and darkness! Truth always rises to the surface, and eventually you will be ashamed and rebuked if you lie. (2 Peter 2:10-13)

10. Be satisfied with what you have.
Contentment doesn’t mean that you can’t pursue God-given goals…but it does mean that you’re content with what He has provided you with day by day. Contentment is a rare quality in today’s culture…but it is extremely liberating! Materialism, striving for rank, and discontent leads to emotional, mental, financial, and spiritual bondage. (1 Timothy 6:6-11)