Managing work relationships comes with challenges. There is the; “I don’t want to get too close”; the “I’m getting too close”; the “I don’t know much about them”; and the “I don’t know them at all” stages of relationships. Work is hard enough without having to worry about if we are in the right relationships at the right levels to be effective at our jobs. We want to get close to the people with who we work and be friends so that if we are going to spend 40+ hours together we can like each other. The problem with all of this is that we have to pick and choose among people at work and we run the risk of falling into cliques that carry with them certain norms and values that are not our own. This can cause a lot of consternation and concern and if we are not careful, we can find ourselves getting lost. That is why it is so important as believers for us to be sure and be able to know our “IBNO Status” IBNO is my abbreviation for “In But Not Of”, that is, in the context of “in but not of this world”. Paul makes it clear to us in Romans 12:2; “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” All the messages we are sent is that we have to play along to fit in and be a part of the cultures of the companies where we work. It is true, but that does not mean that we have to sacrifice our values and principles to go along with the crowd. This is part one of a series on our IBNO Status. I want to spend the next few days exploring this and seeing if we can’t come in closer touch with what our status is at all times so that we can course correct when necessary. Today, be thinking about the values and principles that you hold dearly that are challenged because of the gravitational pull of others away from yours and over to theirs.

Reference: Romans 12:2 (New Living Testament)