Latest / Prayer Before Work / Dirty Jokes At Work? - Prayer Before Work
Transcript
- Sean Graver: Do you have someone at your job that's pretty funny? And most of the time it's great, but sometimes the joke goes somewhere you can't follow. Maybe the humor is a little too raunchy, or maybe it's built on somebody else's expense. ⁓ it might assume that everyone in the room shares a set of values that you don't. And you'd have about three seconds to decide what you're gonna do with your face. Well, welcome back. I'm your prayer partner, Sean. And this is prayer before work. So Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 5:4, let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. Do you see what Paul is actually pointing towards here? He doesn't say, you know, don't talk like that. He says, replace it with something else totally, gratitude of all things, a different orientation. Toward people and the world. So this is not about being the morality enforcer, right? It's about it's also not about like filing an HR complaint every time somebody makes you uncomfortable. And it's definitely not about being the person who sighs loudly and explains why that joke was inappropriate and problematic. It's about you, your posture, your your response, and what you do in that three second window. Sometimes the right move is just to let it go. Not every moment requires a response. Sometimes the right move is just to subtly redirect the conversation without making it a thing. And sometimes when a joke targets someone's dignity in a way you can't just absorb, you find a low-key way to say, hey, I'll pass on that one. You don't have to lecture anyone. Just be honest about where you stand. So here's what I read in that verse. Paul isn't just listing the prohibited words, ⁓ you shouldn't say. He's describing a way of seeing people. If I actually believe the person on the receiving end of that joke is made in the image of God, that changes how I talk about them, even when nobody else is in the room. Let's pray. Father, help me be someone who sees people clearly, not someone who tries to police a room, but someone whose presence kind of raises the standard subtly just by being there. Give me the wisdom in those fast moments, the right words, the right silence, maybe the right response. And keep my own humor honest. I want to be someone people like being around. And someone they can trust. In Jesus' name. Amen. Go make today count.