Some years ago, a national magazine called WORK conducted a survey of Americans to determine which professions are considered to have the highest levels of honesty and integrity.
Of the 71 jobs listed, not surprisingly, firefighter/paramedic was seen as the most honest calling.
Nor would it surprise anyone that lawyers rated at a dismal 56th highest profession for honesty. After all, lawyers are the only professionals who are ethically obligated to deceive.
Local politicians drop even further down the honesty scale, falling to the 66th spot -- only five positions above the lowest-rated job, drug dealer, and two positions above a prostitute.
For more than 34 years, I have served as the county attorney for Chesterfield County and, more recently, for Prince George County, representing many local politicians. At first blush, you might think this job is so low on any ethical scale as to be not worth having. In such an environment of negativity and deception, how is it possible for anyone to live a life at work reflecting Christian values?
But I prefer to see my job as an opportunity to project spirituality by engaging in a kind of quiet "missionary" work. Each member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, where I worship, has a unique way of "proclaiming Christ in the heart of the city." For me, proclaiming Christ works best in small public and private ways as I work in the "fishbowl" of local government.
In a professional capacity, I have been blessed to have the opportunity to litigate disputes examining the complex relationship between church and state on questions such as whether the avowedly racist World Church of the Creator should be allowed to use a public library to recruit members; and whether a polytheistic Wiccan priestess could be precluded from the roster of religious leaders giving invocations before county meetings.
Other disagreements have included whether a psychic who purports to forecast the future is practicing a religion or just an entertainment business; and whether a nonprofit spinoff of an evangelical church is eligible to receive public funds to operate a skate park for teenagers.
We all know that direct proselytizing in the workplace is inappropriate. More effective than proselytizing, I think, is the symbolic value of small acts of personal kindness, courage and decency that best reflect a life in conformity with the teachings of St. Paul.
Human examples such as protecting a female employee from sexual harassment by a powerful supervisor, finding a home for a 15-year-old Mexican boy who walked to Virginia from Guadalajara, or publicly correcting a purposeful misstatement by a politician all illustrate that Christian values do have a place at work.
On Sundays, just being in the collective presence of each of you sharing the sacraments is calming and renewing. The sense of community at St. Paul's uplifts me and supports me for the sometimes ugly conflict inherent in the political world.
Our collective church community, regardless of denomination, gives each of us the grace to stretch ourselves at work to be more fully in touch with spiritual values.
I am motivated by the example set by other parishioners whose work proclaims Christ every day. So each Sunday during your chosen prayers, try to concentrate on the portion of the prayers inviting God's blessing on state elected officials, boards of supervisors and city councils, knowing how difficult it is for elected officials to live a life that proclaims Christ.
Steven L. Micas was Chesterfield County attorney for 34 years and now holds that job in Prince George County. He can be reached at smicas@princegeorgeva.org.
Steven L.
Micas
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