B of A Witness

God has truly blessed me with some awesome opportunities to be a witness for Jesus Christ in this last week on the job. What is a witness? Well, Webster says that a witness is “public affirmation by word or example of usually religious faith or conviction.” This being said, I had at least a few chances to give a public affirmation by word and example that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. This last Tuesday I had my first personal banker meeting, and through introductions, we were all asked to say our name, banking center, and one word that described who we are. I thought for a minute, “oh, I could be real catchy and say something like ‘I’m committed, or spirited, or energetic, or some other lame word.’” Being about the 15th person in a group of 30 personal bankers and 3 district managers though gave me some time to really think about what I would say. As it got to me, I knew that it would be against my conscience if I said any word other than “Christian.” So, when it got to my turn to introduce myself, with a huge smile and much energy, I said that the word that describes me is “Christian, because that really defines who I am.” Whew, that was a little nerve racking probably because I care too much about what people think, but either way, God blessed me with the words to say, and I am so excited that I had a chance to bear witness of my great God. One cool part about the day also was that later in the meeting I was to give a presentation about a certain product that we offer. It was cool because I had a chance to really be excellent for the glory of God, and today my district manager awarded me with 2000 reward points (approx. $200 value for purchasing items) for giving a great presentation. What is really cool is that I had a chance to say that I was a Christian, and then really reflect Christ in a presentation that I worked hard on. I really love my job, but I think the reason why I love it so much is because I get to work everyday to make Christ look good. Wow, what a privilege Christians have to work in the secular world. We have a huge opportunity to excel in order to show case the glory of God by our actions and attitudes. Tonight I actually had another opportunity as well to share about the love I have for God. It started merely with a trip to Dominoes for pizza.

Well, I had just come out of the Dominoes right by my house, and suddenly I heard, “hey there Mr. Bank of America guy.” I turned around and there were two of my previous co-workers from a different banking center sitting right outside the restaurant near Dominoes. I greeted them both and then my previous manager Liz asked me a question. “Why do you have a wedding ring on your finger,” she asked. Well, it was actually just this last week that I was given a purity ring by my awesome friends the Paaschs, and I had a chance to express my love for God as a result this night. Having known that people would probably ask why I have a ring on my finger, I had already thought of a response so as to share my love for Christ. I replied, “well, it was just given to me by some of my best friends, and it is really just a symbol of my love for God and desire to honor Him by staying pure before marriage as I wait for the one that God has for me.” I really would have loved to know what was going through their minds after I said this, but I am content to know that God will do whatever he wants to do in the hearts of people. This was so cool, and I am so thankful that God gives opportunities for believers to share our love for him!

There is one other thing that should be mentioned. My brother Barry also works for Bank of America, and he was in his center yesterday having a conversation with one of the personal bankers that was in the same class that I was in. The personal banker told Barry about how I had said that I had defined myself as a Christian . . . by the way he was talking to my brother, I think that he was very surprised that someone would use this term to define who they are. I am so thankful for this last week, and how God has continually just been giving me opportunities to be his display case. I really do love him, and it is my greatest joy to make Him known.