Prophecy

Not Her Cup of Tea

by Andrew Tuttle
03/12/21
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You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. – Matthew 10:22

I’ve never been told directly that I wasn’t liked but imagine learning your boss doesn’t care for you, or at least people like you.

Some time ago, I was relatively new to this company, a temp agency, of sorts, inside another major company and my manager said I was not her cup of tea. Or at least people like me.

Her comments were not specifically directed at me. But, whew, I was sure glad to get that out of the way. It’s not like we spent any time together (I had seen her maybe three times in three weeks and it became clear she wanted nothing to do with the “temps”) and certainly my work ethic had not been called into question. But during a meeting in front of about eight other people she made it clear I was not her cup of tea. I don’t know about the others at the table but I can safely assume I was in the minority.

It all started when our meeting got sidetracked into a discussion about Facebook and Tumblr and just how silly people act on those websites. I disagreed with little of what was said as I have previously written about the irrelevancy of Facebook. The consensus of those at the table was that Facebook simply invites grown adults into petty disagreements, just like they did in high school that often wrecks friendships.

My manager mentioned that most of her friends and family come from Texas and they are all religious and conservative, thereby implying that she must deal with a lot of religious and conservative Facebook postings. She concluded by saying, in reference to her religious and conservative friends and family, “there’s nothing wrong with that but that’s not my cup of tea.”

Since I am a Christian and a conservative, I suppose I can rightly conclude that I am not her cup of tea, either. Don’t get me wrong. I was not offended nor was I appalled. I did not even think of running to HR like so many others do these days when their sensitivities are breached upon in the workplace.

In fact, I was not surprised at all.

Consider this scenario for a moment. Say, for example, this same person said all her family and friends live in the south where it’s very “black” not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s just not her cup of tea. Can you imagine the outrage? Of course, there should be.

What would happen if I openly talked about Jesus Christ in the workplace? Or commented about all those atheist liberals who complain about the rich yet give little to nothing of their own hard-earned money to non-profits that provide the very relief they demand from the government? Statistics prove religious conservatives give more than their liberal counterparts.

The difference is that my manager gladly provided her opinion about religious conservatives in a room full of people because in today’s America, especially in some areas of the country, it’s OK to negatively opine about religious conservatives. Besides, the odds were in her favor that no one would disagree with her anyway.

I’ve encountered this type of workplace bias in the past but really never this blatant. You hear about it from others but it’s always someone else. This manager hardly knows any of the people in the room as we were all newly hired. I didn’t say anything and I figured it would not be the last time. I’ve learned to keep quiet, however, this poses a conundrum. In Matthew, Jesus says “But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

By not speaking up am I denying Christ?

I suppose not. A meeting at work is neither the time nor place to discuss Jesus, Christianity or even politics. It’s also not the time and place to inform your direct reports that you don’t agree with religious conservatives.

Christian persecution comes in many forms from the slow boil of isolation to full blown martyrdom. Thankfully, death to Christians has not reached American shores, just yet. And, not being the cup of tea for someone I barely know suits me just fine, even if she had the authority to send me packing.

But today, I am not the cup of tea for the ruling political party, some neighbors, a number of friends and even my wife’s son who just a few years ago kicked his mom and me out of his life for a season because of our views.

Sad isn’t?

It’s not easy being a Christian especially in today’s world. I guess I could always adopt what’s known as the “new Christianity” where Bible-believing and church-attending Christians act no differently than the rest of the world. The social justice gospel has proven quite popular with hip but ill-informed pastors.

I’m too old for that. And hopefully a little wiser.

If you were of the world, the world would love its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. – John 15:19

By the way, less then a month later I'd be laid off from that temp "job."