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The Religious Spirit
and Spiritual Strongholds in the Workplace
.
Os Hillman
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” - Ephesians 6:12
Though this is a new
concept in the Faith at Work category, we need to be aware of them so we are
not hindered from walking in power and freedom in our workplace calling.
The workplace is the
last place Satan wants to see Jesus.
The business sector
has a huge capacity to influence every sphere of society, so it would make
sense that the enemy would do everything in his power to keep that from
happening.
Dr. Peter Wagner defines the religious spirit as "an agent
of Satan assigned to prevent change and maintain the status quo by using
religious devices."
The religious spirit
seeks to distort a genuine move of God through deception, control and
manipulation.
It influences
believers to live the Christian life based on works instead of grace.
Similar to the Greek
way of thinking, the religious spirit depends on human effort to acquire
spiritual knowledge and favor from God.
Dr. Wagner explains
that the religious spirit's primary strategy is as follows:
The spirit of religion's primary strategy here is to promote the
idea that belonging to a Christian church or doing religious things is what
saves you. It succeeds if it can, for example, persuade Catholics to think that
they can be saved by lighting candles to Mary, or Baptists to think that they
can be saved by going to church every Sunday and by carrying a Bible, or
Lutherans to think they are saved if they have been baptized and
confirmed. . . . It does not allow believers to move on to
receive the filling of the Holy Spirit or freedom in Christ, or to enter into
God's full destiny for their lives. Paul specifically warns that the devil, by
his craftiness, can corrupt minds and keep them from "the simplicity
that is in Christ" - (2 Corinthians. 11:3).
In the years before
the Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther's greatest challenge was to root out
the religious spirit.
He was told by his
religious teachers that there were stringent requirements for receiving the
favor of God.
"Remember Martin, just to pray by yourself is not enough. The
church has to pray for you too. Even when the priest has asked that you be
forgiven, God will not listen unless you do good works. The more gifts you give
to the church and to the poor, the more trips you make
to Rome and Jerusalem, the more pleasures you give up, the
better will be your chances for heaven. The best and safest way to do all this,
and the one that is most God pleasing, is to give up everything and become a
monk."
The essence of Martin
Luther's struggle to win God's favor still resides in many a Christian worker.
We must realize that
we are not dealing with flesh and blood when we deal with the religious spirit.
The religious spirit
deceives believers into thinking that the only way to get God's approval is
through works. It nullifies the importance of faith and grace that has been
given to them through the work of the Cross.
The Religious Spirit
in the New Testament
However, somewhere
along the road, they were influenced to live their lives by focusing on rules
and regulations and to live according to their own human effort.
Read the apostle
Paul's words as he confronted the believers in Galatia about the
effect of the religious spirit on their lives:
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very
eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn
just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the
law, or by believing what you heard?
“Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now
trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much
for nothing-if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work
miracles among you because you observe the law, or because
you believe what you heard?” (Galatians 3:1-5, emphasis added).
Living according to
rules and regulations and by our own human efforts is a trap set by the
religious spirit that we can all fall into.
However, it is not
the abundant life that Jesus promised (see John 10:10).
In Galatians 2:20-21, Paul describes how we should live our lives:
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of
God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the
grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ
died for nothing!" (emphasis added).
In the Gospel of
Matthew, we also read about a rich young ruler who was prevented from making a
commitment to the one true God because of the religious spirit.
Although he
considered himself religious because he followed the laws, he had an idol in
his life that prevented him from making a total or "sold-out"
commitment to Jesus.
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing
must I do to get eternal life?’
"’Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There
is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.’
"’Which ones?’ the man inquired.
“Jesus replied, 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not
steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love
your neighbor as yourself.'
"’All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I
still lack?’
“Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then
come, follow me.’
“When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had
great wealth” (Matthew 19:16-22).
The rich young ruler
wanted to gain God's approval on his own terms by fulfilling the law. However,
Jesus cut through the religious spirit by speaking to the heart of his issue.
When
the Early Church expanded its leadership, it commissioned
Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, to active ministry.
"The word of God spread. The number of disciples
in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became
obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did
great wonders and miraculous signs among the people" (Acts 6:7-8).
Notice how Stephen
began to make an impact on his city-by performing signs and wonders.
However, his work
also stirred up the religious spirit, and Stephen became the first person
martyred for his faith.
The Religious Spirit
in the Workplace
The religious spirit
discourages a genuine move of God and will thwart the activity of God under the
banner of religious righteousness and dogma.
Here are some
characteristics of how the religious spirit manifests itself in believers in
workplace situations:
· They may have
difficulty praying and applying God's promises to everyday work encounters.
· They may believe that
biblical truths apply only to their personal lives, families and churches, not
to their jobs.
· They may focus on
evangelizing coworkers, but fail to do their work with excellence.
· They may give greater
priority to religious activity and events than to relationships with others at
work.
· They maintain a
"we" or "I" versus "them" attitude when relating
to non-Christians in the workplace.
· They may refuse to
join a workplace prayer group or Bible study because they feel that it is
trying to replace the role of a particular local church. They don't see a need
for such activity in the workplace. They feel the need to compartmentalize
faith activities to their local church alone.
· They discount the
idea that Christianity could transform a workplace, city or nation as
"overzealous," "naïve" or even doctrinally wrong.
The following is a
quick self-assessment checklist that you can use to reveal the influence of the
religious spirit's involvement in your life. Place a check by any item with
which you can identify.
Religious Spirit
Self-Assessment
· You believe your
faith life should remain separate from your work life.
· You're motivated to
share Christ out of duty.
· You can't relate to
non-believers because you're afraid of rejection.
· You display a
"better than they are" attitude toward nonbelievers.
· You are viewed by
others as dogmatic and rigid (not simply a person of conviction).
· You feel compelled to
be involved in religious activity and you can't relax in your faith.
· You often feel guilty
(not the same as the conviction of the Holy Spirit) for not sharing Christ with
others.
· You often engage in
religious debate.
· You need a packaged
presentation in order to share the gospel.
· When talking about
spiritual matters to strangers, you tend to talk about your church or ask about
their church involvement versus talking about Jesus and their personal
relationship with God.
· You have a difficult
time socializing, loving or accepting those who do not believe the way you do.
· You are motivated by
your church leadership out of guilt and Christian duty instead of loving
devotion to Christ.
· You discourage
change, preferring religious tradition.
· You believe that the
ministry gifts listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 and Ephesians 4:11 are no
longer applicable today; or, if you believe they are valid, you think that they
are for religious professionals, not for you.
· You form
relationships for the purpose of achieving a religious activity rather than
developing community from which Christ-like ministry flows naturally.
· Your loyalty to
denominational structures is greater than your commitment to
the kingdom of God and the entire Body of Christ.
· You view government
as an "evil empire" from which we must separate instead of influence
for good.
· You don't see the
need to work with other Christian ministry groups in a common effort; you
usually feel that your way is the primary way and everyone should join your
endeavor so as to not compromise your belief or doctrine.
Spiritual Strongholds
These fortresses
exist in the thought-patterns and ideas that govern individuals in their homes,
workplaces and churches, as well as in communities and nations.
Before victory can be
claimed, these strongholds must be pulled down. Only then can the mighty
weapons of the Word and the Spirit effectively plunder Satan's house.
As Paul states, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons
of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
Here is an example of
how a stronghold can develop and affect someone's working life.
"Jerry" had
grown up with a father who was successful and a workaholic.
Although Jerry lacked
for nothing materially, he felt a lack of closeness to his parents and had
difficulty sharing his feelings with others as an adult.
When Jerry was still
in his early teens, his father died very suddenly. His large family was left
with little support, and insecurity and fear became the dominating factors in
the young man's life.
Vowing to himself
that he would never again suffer financial need, Jerry worked hard at his
business in his adult life, putting stress on many personal and business
relationships. He became very successful.
His relationship with
God was seen as a model among his peers, but when examined closer, there was
something that just wasn't right.
He often displayed
anger in stressful situations and he would shame his employees into correcting
their behaviors.
Jerry had little
accountability beyond his clients. A pattern began to emerge that motivated
Jerry to place restrictions on those around him when they failed in the
financial area.
Finally, Jerry's
marriage disintegrated and some major crises in his business led to financial
difficulties.
However, through the
counsel of some trusted friends who had an understanding of spiritual
strongholds, Jerry came to realize that underneath some of these symptoms, a
religious stronghold of insecurity and fear had been established.
To reduce his anxiety
level, Jerry (and his father and grandfather before him) had worked hard to
control people and circumstances.
As the Holy Spirit
convicted him of sins he had committed against people in his life, Jerry sought
forgiveness and made restitution. His priorities shifted to God and family
first, followed by close friends and business.
God began to show
Jerry that he could have true intimacy with God and others when these
underlying strongholds were removed.
Jerry became a new
person, and for the first time he experienced a degree of intimacy and freedom
in his walk with God.
Today, Jerry sees the
hand of God restoring all aspects of his life and can testify to God's
miraculous hand in many of his everyday experiences in life and work.
I am pleased to tell
you that I am Jerry. It is from first-hand experience that I can discuss the
effect of spiritual strongholds that can plague our personal lives and,
inevitably, our work lives.
Generational
Strongholds
By reading between
the lines in the first two chapters of Genesis, as well as elsewhere in the
Bible, we find that God created us with seven needs:
(1) dignity,
(2) authority,
(3) blessing and
provision,
(4) security,
(5) purpose and
meaning,
(6) freedom and
boundaries, and
(7) love and
companionship.
God wants to release
the full measure of His love in our lives, so that we no longer need to operate
out of old strongholds.
In Ephesians 3:16-18,
Paul prayed that we would experience this fullness:
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with
power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your
hearts through faith.
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may
have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high
and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that
you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
When I came into a
greater understanding of the operation of spiritual strongholds, I did a
thorough study of my family history.
I interviewed family
members to see what I could learn about the way my father and grandfather
related to God and their families.
I studied their work
habits. I found that each of us had the same symptoms:
· a need for
recognition from performance (civic projects, sports, business success)
· an emphasis on building
financial security (we were workaholics)
· a lack of emotional
intimacy
· a works-based
relationship toward God
· a tendency to
over-control people and circumstances
This was an amazing
discovery for me. For the first time, I realized this stronghold had affected
three generations of my family.
I was being given the
opportunity to break this generational stronghold through the power of Christ
so that it would not get passed down any further.
Strongholds work at
the subconscious level and are not easily recognized until a major crisis in a
person's life forces him or her to look deeper at the root causes of the
problem.
I learned that one
root of the religious spirit is control. Man does not want to give up control
over his life, so he creates controlled systems designed to make him feel
acceptable by God.
Again, this is a
works-based attempt to gain God's favor, which invalidates the work of the
Cross. The sequence of how these strongholds develop in an individual is as
follows:
1. Satanic-inspired thoughts are introduced
into the person's mind.
2. The individual entertains these thoughts, which bring
out emotions.
3. Giving in to these emotions eventually leads the person to
take some sort of action.
4. Continual participation in the action causes the
individual to develop a habit.
5. As the habit develops, a stronghold is built.
Os Hillman is founder and president of Marketplace Leaders and is a
recognized international leader on faith and work and is author of 18 books the
popular TGIF Today God Is First daily devotional that is read throughout the
world. He is married to Pamela and they live in Atlanta with their five dogs.
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