The Snake and the Dove: Life in the Marketplace

Animals of all sorts in God’s creation give us different images that often remind us of different characters, personalities and even work environments. Even if we serve in the same profession, different companies have different cultures. This is complicated by the fact that human beings are often irrational. Whether Christians or not, we all have our inner struggles and emotions. But God entrusts his mission to us, sending Christians into the world, as witnesses for his kingdom. So Jesus sent out his disciples comparing the people and situations they encounter to four non-human creatures: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (NIV Matt 10:16-20). But the context of this stunning comparison is important.

Sent by Jesus to respond to people’s needs

In the beginning of Matthew 10 Jesus sent his twelve disciples out, telling them not to take along any gold or silver, or anything extra. This “traveling light” way is the pattern of Jesus. The disciples are to follow Jesus’ example, not only in terms of inner character and values, but also in the way they live and act. They are to be sent into the culture and society at that time to preach the Word of God. Jesus is a teacher sending them out for a practicum. They are to practice what they should do and how they should live. Jesus chose the way of the rabbis who called disciples and gave public and private instruction. In his own culture it was the best way Jesus could spread his word. But this method is not what concerned Jesus mostly.

Jesus chose to become human through incarnation, penetrating the human world, living the human way, completing his work, bringing the good news of eternal life to the humankind through his own death and resurrection. As a rabbi Jesus was unique with wisdom beyond his human peers. Not only did he preach and teach, his work also involved healing and responding to human needs. Jesus’s role was not to be a religious leader, pastor or government official. He simply chose to be a teacher, doctor, speaker and coach. And his disciples came to know that he is the Son of God. But his sending disciples into the world did not stop with his death and resurrection. Today Jesus sends his disciples in a fully incarnational mission to go into every sphere of life, into different professions and work environments, doing what he did – to preach the good news of the kingdom of God, and to respond to human needs, healing their hearts and bodies (John 20:21).

Obviously, we do not have the divine powers of Jesus. If we, however, look at the human Jesus and what he was doing, we are able to serve and respond to people’s needs. This we can do, and it is exactly what God calls us to do. Jesus gives his people different capabilities and places people in different situations, so that we can live faithfully, serving all those around us through their work, spreading the good news not only in words, but in their daily acts. But it is not easy.

Facing dangers in a hostile world

In the beginning of Matthew 10:16, there is a word in the original language missing in the New International Version. But many English versions of the Bible begin this verse with the word “behold.” So Jesus says, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves” (English Standard Version). This word “behold” emphasizes the importance of what follows. And what follows is a list of four non-human creatures: a sheep, a wolf, a serpent/snake, and a dove. So, Jesus wants us to know that he is sending his disciples to a world filled with hostility and danger. The disciples live in the midst of people who are just like wolves, and the disciples are as weak and helpless as sheep. But let’s take note. Matthew 10:16 is not saying that disciples are like sheep. Rather it is saying that the situation that the disciples are entering into is like sheep among wolves. There is a difference. It is like the Chinese saying: “a lamb in a tiger’s den.” So what was the situation to which Jesus was referring?

The answer is in verses 17 and 18: “Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.” When the disciples go out, they will come across people who will hurt them, take them before the councils or flog them in the synagogues. To us in today’s commercial world, the dangers today may not be so much in the form of bodily harm, but more in terms of our inner being, oppression, structural injustice or even the frustration of our own desires. Sheep among wolves is the situation we have to face. And it can cost us our life if we walk away from the truth of the gospel of the kingdom in that situation, or we could even become wolves ourselves.

The wolves in the passage refer to those who use God’s name but practice otherwise. It means that the whole environment, including our own sinful nature, contributes to a twisted world of sinful natures. So we see sin in this world, injustice and twisted human nature in big and small ways every day. We are not surprised. 1 John 5:19 says: “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” This does not mean that everyone is evil. We are all loved by God, Christians and non-Christians alike. God waits for us to turn to Him. We hate the evil in this world and people, and guard ourselves against twisted values and earthly ways, but we love the person behind the sin. Like all of us, people need Jesus. But, we don’t want to admit it but we all have some wolf-like nature. When we do wrong we justify ourselves. And the marketplace is where our sinful nature gets triggered.

The marketplace is where we are confronted with pressure to perform and conform. There we are presented with partial truths or norms that require us to do the same. We are tempted to give up our values to protect ourselves, to stay safe by not speaking up. To cope with this we need mutual support, lots of prayer and discernment, to walk together in this situation, especially to be as innocent as doves. It is a desperate situation to be sheep among wolves. How can we face it?

Shrewd as snakes and Innocent as doves

The verse goes on: “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Scholars tell us this second part may reflect a common saying at that time. Genesis 3:1 reads “the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.” Snakes have always represented a cunning nature, and the dove is known to represent good character. But in this case Jesus is using the image of the snake in a good way. This is a very practical ethical instruction by Jesus.

In times of oppression and danger, the disciples need practical instructions that are also in accordance with the truth. They need wisdom on how to act. They need to be aware of dangerous people who will harm them, who will hand them over to the local councils, or flog them in the synagogues. The local councils represent the authorities with secular values that do not accord with the truth. The synagogues are where religious leaders take charge. So the disciples will stand in front of governors, kings and Gentiles. When these times come, Jesus instructs them not to fear and not to worry about what to say. “At that time you will be given what to say” (Matt 10:19). This is in the passive voice—“you will be given.” God will grant words. God will speak through the disciples. God will be with us. The question is this: Do we want to be in this situation? And just how can we be as shrewd as snakes—given clever wisdom by God—and as innocent as doves in the complex situations we face in the marketplace?

Let me tell you a little story. In my early years I was an auditor in a public accounting firm. My work involved both auditing and tax services. If you are familiar with public accounting, these firms are structured as partnerships. Staff have the chance to work for different partners. But one needs wisdom—scheming and shrewd wisdom—to deal with various bosses, colleagues and clients. I worked for a boss who had a particular habit. If he did not agree with the results of your work, or did not like your work, he would tell you that he didn’t understand how you have derived such conclusions. So he would tell you to re-do the file, or to explain it in another way. And if you still don’t come to the conclusion that he wanted, he would tell you again and again that he did not understand it.

Once, I went on a business trip with this boss. He took me to a few countries in Europe, some of those being so called “tax havens.” We visited our firm’s branch offices there, and talked to many bankers and clients, asking them about how they handle client records, including disclosure requirements of local authorities. It was quite an enjoyable trip, in fact, because Europe is such a nice place. When we returned to Hong Kong, my boss gave me an assignment. It is to develop a sophisticated tax-evasion plan for our high-value clients. At the time I struggled with the idea. There may be ways to put huge sums of money in countries where the source of funds are not being questioned. It may be lawful. But it was something I didn’t want to do or touch. I didn’t want to say “no” to my boss either. So I decided to follow his way of handling things. Next time he asked me, I told him I’m still trying to understand how to do it. Each time he asked, I kept telling him I haven’t understood everything yet. (This was true because if I don’t think it is OK to do an evasive tax plan, how would I possibly be able to understand how to do it right?)

When I told him again and again that I’m still trying to understand things, he finally understood and gave up. Of course he was not too happy but he didn’t say anything. I’m sure he knew it was a grey area that I did not want to touch. I had learned from him how to be both a dove and a snake at the same time. I believe that our Lord Jesus sent us to different places as he wishes. Some environments are more threatening than others. Some are so dangerous that we are made to feel that we are sheep among wolves. Other environments may involve hidden dangers that slowly erode our values or conscience. The secular world and culture continuously asks us to compromise. These environments threaten us so that we need to protect ourselves in order to survive. But as Christians we know that our God is much bigger and higher. We live under the rules and values of his Kingdom, and not of this world. Only when we do so, as we live it out, does our faith becomes a reality.

Author of this article Dr. Jean Lee enjoying nature

Vision for faithful living

The last two verses of this passage, Matt 10:19:20, tell us how to be both innocent and shrewd when we face dangers. “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you” (Matt 10:19:20). Sometimes when we face difficulties in life or pressures from clients or bosses, the first thing we tend to do is to try and resolve the matter with our experience and skills. This normal response is obtained from many years of professional training. But the Bible reminds us that our Father in heaven will help us speak when the time comes and we face extreme dangers. We need not fear.

It has been slightly more than 10 years since I started teaching theology. I still remember 10 years ago when I got my degree from Edinburgh and returned to teach at CGST in Hong Kong. I was a fresh new teacher. For the earlier part of my life, I did accounting and auditing. I operated businesses, all in the commercial world. To me teaching was never my preferred profession. When I was a kid I was very quiet. I did not like to talk much. Thinking about what I would do when I grew up, I thought: whatever I do, I will not be a teacher. Being a teacher you have to talk a lot every day, and talk to many people as well. I thought I could never do it.

Indeed God does amazing things. He led me to the seminary, and I thought, I can now serve at church, study the Bible with brothers and sisters, which seemed wonderful. But as a new teacher I had to teach marketplace courses, which is rather different from traditional doctrine or Bible classes that you can pick up loads of sample courses, references and books. There were very few marketplace courses in existence and even fewer that took an Asian perspective. So in that first year of teaching I had to hold on to God’s mercy, feeling a little inferior in what I did, and going to school every day with a prayerful heart. This, in its small way, was my workplace struggle at that time. I don’t know what you do when you face struggles at work. But I have one piece of advice for you, perhaps a very basic one: it is to pray. Every night, I kept asking: God, what is your will for our marketplace students. What should I do to make my teaching alive to them?

Then one night, when I was praying alone, a picture appeared in my mind. In the picture it was a dark night with numerous bright stars shining all over. Beautiful! My immediate response was to say, dear God, this is beautiful! But then at that moment, there seemed to be a feeling in my heart from God, saying to me, “these are the brothers and sisters whom I have placed in the various professions.”

After that night, I started sharing this starry night vision with my marketplace students. The vision touched many, assuring them that God had a unique calling and position in the marketplace for each of them. Marketplace Christians serve God and their neighbour with their life every day at work. We gather weekly to worship and devote ourselves to God, and then the pastor blesses and sends us into the world, scattering in our different spheres of life, continuing to worship with our life, serving and responding to people’s needs. There is no doubt that we live and work in a world twisted by sin, a dark place. But Christ who lives in us enables us to shine like stars. We all have a unique post to serve God. One star is not enough since each of us alone is weak. But when we all shine our little light, brightening the small space around us, we together light up the entire dark sky.

Interestingly, none of us is too important. In the starry night picture, when one star is missing it is hardly noticeable. Yet, paradoxically, each of us is very important. It is only you and me who can bring light to that small sphere of life around us. Otherwise, that little space will be dark. So the picture tells us we are both insignificant and significant, meaning that we all have our own part and share a unique place granted by God according to his will. Our common mission is to witness for Christ not just by words, but through who we are and what we do. To accomplish this mission, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit who transforms our lives and our community, to help us be the light and salt of this world. To do this we have to discern how to act when confronted with different problems in life in order to work together for the kingdom of God. So life and mission in the marketplace is really about tiny episodes of acting faithfully in concrete situations, rather than taking a long period of preparation and discernment before we act, because we often will not have the time to prepare.

Improvisation in our daily work

The idea of a continuous stream of “moments of decision” or “situations” describes our marketplace experience better than many traditional approaches to ethics or decision-marking. Surely there are times of big changes or decisions that require and allow careful analysis and discernment, but often, we simple carry on daily business as usual, making numerous choices along the way. So marketplace Christians need to develop an ethical or theological instinct that becomes part of their thought system and habitual behavior. In addition to studying God’s word and knowing what and why we live and work the way we do, we must assimilate such knowledge into their lives. On this matter if found Dr. Samuel Wells’ “improvisation approach” very helpful. Wells proposes the practice of improvisation in the theater as a model for the church to live faithfully without fear when encountering the unknown of the future.[1] Theatrical improvisers often experience uninhibited freedom during the improvisation process. The same could be true in the practice of the church and in the life of individual Christians.[2] To do this marketplace Christians need both the theological framework and the improvisation space for articulating Christian faith under unpredictable situations. Not only is the marketplace environment rapidly changing, but also this environment demands the participant to react immediately to the given changes or requests. Seeing oneself as an improviser encourages the development of Christian character.

The improvisation approach, however, pursues an ecclesial ethic that resides within the traditions and practices of the church, as well as the character and acts of God.[3] So Wells describes the formation of a theological instinct but it is an instinct that requires imagination. In addition to the ordinary imagination that enables one to develop an instinct, there is also a creative dimension to see simultaneously what might yet be. And during this process, moral formation takes place.[4] So the marketplace is solid ground for learning and practicing faith since it takes the Christian on the path to continuous moral formation and spiritual growth. During this process, the concept of improvisation triggers an awareness of the active habit-forming aspect; at the same time improvisation provides space for struggle, discernment and alternate choice. Wells also suggests that Christians should see limitations and problems in life that are “given,” as “gifts” or opportunities that God grants. This viewpoint will change attitudes and thoughts, encouraging Christians to seek new ways of improvising despite boundaries and limits confronting them. In reality, what the Christian encounters may be lies, unrighteousness, or pressures that demand compromise. Under these circumstances, Christians do not argue or give up, but present a subversive approach that transforms given limitations to faithful discernment and action.

Embracing life in the marketplace

From the improvisation concept, we can derive a simple yet practical model for the marketplace Christian, the Habit-Unlearn-Gift (HUG) framework, that reminds us to embrace life granted by the loving and faithful God. We do this because God embraces his people and reveals his presence even in the darkest moments, as long as Christians continue to reside and abide in Him.

Firstly, marketplace Christian must form habits that allow them to articulate the Christian faith naturally. Forming habits that are biblical is particularly important in the marketplace environment where competition and efficiency drive participants to quick and timely responses, often without much room for detailed analysis. The Christians’ natural instincts and responses need to be theologically sound. This can only be learnt through continuous reflection and practices, forming habits and building godly character. In particular, when facing pressures or challenges that threaten our well-being, job security or personal image, it is very difficult to make faithful choices. Forming habits not only allow Christians to make faithful choices, but also help to reduce the struggles involved.[5]
Secondly, Christians need to unlearn the “givens” of this world. This is the second part of the HUG formula. Unlearn is a reminder that Christians need to be alert, step out of their comfort zone, and be ready to enact the truth. In particular, the commercial practices and norms of different professions present all sorts of “givens” that attempt to govern life in the marketplace. Not all these norms and practices are against the Christian faith. Some may be partially true. Others can be directly opposed to Christian values. These “givens” form an environment that demands participants to adhere to its views and processes. Christians must have the faith and courage to identify improper practices, unlearn the ways taken for granted, and derive creative solutions to the problems at hand. This necessitate the belief that God will grant wisdom to find righteous alternatives that are always present. It also means that the Christian must have faith to accept any undesirable outcomes that may result from a strong stance on biblical grounds. Here, we do not advocate extreme measures; nor do Christians subvert all traditions. But Christians need to be alert, to step out of their comfort zone, and to be ready to enact the truth. The Creator God grants wisdom, gifts and creativity, for working towards common goals via many different ways.
Thirdly, gifts remind Christians to transform “givens” to “gifts.” In reality, when facing tough demands and conflicts, it is easy for marketplace Christians to accumulate negative emotions from their continuous daily struggles. These negative emotions can lead to a feeling of helplessness or depression on one extreme, or may create anger or bitterness at the other extreme. The concept of “gifts” reminds us that all strength and goodness come from God. There will always be a way out in times of troubles, turning givens into gifts.[6]

The HUG framework focuses on the character or the “being” of the person, leading to performance or the “doing” of the person. It refuses to succumb to the givens of marketplace life, while reminding us always to turn to the goodness and gifts from God.

Conclusion

Living faithfully in the marketplace is a process of character building and continuous spiritual growth. It is important for Christians to be able to articulate their faith when confronted with marketplace values and demands. Traditionally, church life tends to focus more on the inner or spiritual aspects of its congregation and simultaneously it focusses on the gathering for worship within the church. So we teach the Bible and think about applications. We care for the sick and support families. Seldom do we go deep into how we confront challenges in the marketplace. The faith and work integration that has largely been neglected in the past has gradually developed into a global marketplace movement during the past decade. It is a highly missional arena that the global churches must carry forward into the future.

Let me end this sharing with an analogy that I really like. Maybe our corporations and organizations are not just jungles composed of fixed sheep, wolves, snakes and doves, but more like a Harry Potter’s world. A sheep can suddenly transform into a wolf in front of your eyes, and even bite you when you are most off guard. By the same token, even a fierce wolf can become a small rabbit in some situations. This is because our inner conscience often fights with our sinful nature. The fact that no human being is perfect (except Jesus of course), complicates our situations.

To me, I find this quite interesting. If we have faith, we can see through all things, and let our theological mind and instinct guide us, with the courage to stand firm when we have to, and to seek the wisdom to discern God’s will. Sometimes we fail and may get hurt, but God heals and we can always run to him. So even in a Harry Potter’s world, we can believe that every human has a good side within the self. This belief helps us persist in spite of difficulties. It nourishes our hope for the coming of the kingdom of God in the marketplace.

References:

[1] The improvisation model includes features such as habit, status, questioning givens, over accepting and incorporating the lost, which are beyond this article's scope. For details, refer to Samuel Wells, Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2004), 73-153.

[2] Wells, Improvisation, 11.

[3] Wells, Improvisation, 34.

[4] Wells, Improvisation, 76.

[5] The concept of “forming habits” is discussed in Wells, Improvisation, 73-85. The author added applications to the marketplace context.

[6] The concepts of “questioning givens” and “incorporating gifts” are discussed in Wells, Improvisation, 115-142. The author added applications to the marketplace context.