As our story unfolded in part one, Louise, Fran’s Christian coworker, is asked to approve an expense account of a senior account rep in her group—Jerry—and Louise knows he has included meals that were not with clients but were with his girlfriend. Louise talks with Fran about this dilemma, and Fran invites her over in the evening for prayer and a search of Scripture so Louise will know what to do. That’s where our story left off.
Just as Fran gets her children ready for bed, the doorbell rings, and Louise arrives.
“Whew,” Fran says to Louise, “as much as I love them, it’s always nice to have the peace and quiet that comes once they’re in bed.”
“But they’re so nice, Fran,” Louise says. “They really are nice.”
“Thanks, Louise,” Fran replies.
“Well, have you given the problem any more thought?” Louise asks.
“Off and on all afternoon,” Fran says. “I couldn’t come up with a specific verse which I thought gave a specific answer, could you?”
“Well, not exactly,” Louise says. “But I know it would be wrong for me to approve the report, since I know Jerry is cheating. That much I know.”
“Right, I agree,” Fran says. “So now we just have to consider your other options.”
“Let’s start with prayer,” Louise suggests, and they spend considerable time praying together. Both pray for wisdom from above, and Louise again confirms to the Lord that she is willing to do his will no matter what the cost will be to her. Fran prays their minds will be renewed by God’s Spirit so they won’t think incorrectly, and they will know God’s good and perfect will.
“Louise,” Fran says, “I suggest we start by listing all the options you have.”
“Good idea,” Louise agrees, and they get a pad to write on. After some discussion, they come up with only two options:

Turn in the report without Louise’s approval on it and see what happens.
Return the report to Jerry and ask him to complete it and turn it in himself.

No longer is any consideration given to approving the report as it is, or lying in any way. They both agree that is not a biblical option.
“Let’s think about what will happen in each case,” Fran suggests. So, she and Louise write down everything they can think of. Option 1, they decide, is simply postponing the inevitable. The report would come back to Louise for completion, and she’d still be faced with the dilemma. Option 2 would mean a direct confrontation with Jerry and would undoubtedly cause him to be very upset with Louise. And Louise is fearful of retribution on his part. After all, Jerry’s been around a long time and has some pull in the company.
“You know,” Louise says, “it’s not like Jerry would even miss the $87, Fran. He makes plenty of money. You’d think I was talking about $87,000, the way he acts about this.”
“Remember Louise,” Fran responds, “money makes people do crazy things—even small amounts of money. That’s why Jesus said you can’t serve God and Money, with a capital M. It has power over people to cause them to do all kinds of dishonest things, and often totally out of proportion to the amount.”
“You know, you’re right,” Louise says. “I remember last week I was filling out an expense account for myself and I was really tempted to put down a meal I didn’t have to pay for. I had to force myself not to do it, because I wanted to pick up $15.”
“Oh, it’s happened to me many times,” Fran says, “and I haven’t always done the right thing.”
“I guess I can’t be too hard on poor Jerry,” Louise says. “After all, if it weren’t for Jesus, I’m sure I’d do the same thing. And even with Jesus, I’m tempted to cheat for a few measly dollars.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Fran agrees. “You know, Louise, we didn’t pray for Jerry. We should.”
And with that, they stop where they are to pray for Jerry, for his salvation, for his family, for Gail, his girlfriend, and for a change of heart to be willing to do the right thing. “I hadn’t thought about praying for him,” Louise says as they finish. “I guess I saw him as my enemy.”
“Well, he is in a way,” Fran says, “but Jesus says to do good to your enemies and pray for them.”
“For sure,” Louise agrees. “But back to Option 2. Should I put it back in Jerry’s lap? Or is it my responsibility, as a Christian, to turn in the report and tell Marilyn what he has asked me to do?”
“Well, let me just ask you a few questions,” Fran says. “You did exactly what you were supposed to do first time—right?”
“Right,” Louise says. “I fully intended to follow company instructions. But Jerry didn’t want me to.”
“So, up to this point, you’ve done exactly right. Now, since Jerry does not report to you and you are not responsible for his behavior, do you think it would be either right or necessary for you to report him?” Fran poses the question to Louise.
They discuss it at length, and Louise finally concludes that she is not called to be the policewoman of the office—not even of Jerry. She is called to do her job with total honesty and not to be a part of any deception. If Jerry chooses to cheat, that is his decision. But she has to be certain he understands she will not be in any way connected with his deception.
Fran refers Louise to 1 Peter, and they read chapter 3:14-17. “Look at this passage,” Fran says,
But even if you should suffer for what is right you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord…It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
“I think Peter wrote this passage for me,” Louise smiles at Fran.
“You may suffer for doing what is right, but you will be blessed,” Fran says. “Remember, that if you don’t do it right, you’ll suffer, too. Much better to suffer for doing right.”
After some further discussion, Louise leaves and as Fran wearily prepares for bed, she prays, “Lord, I’m tired, but that was time well spent. Thank you for giving us the wisdom we asked for.”
The inner voice of the Holy Spirit assures Fran that Louise is fortified now for whatever she faces tomorrow. But she realizes tomorrow won’t be easy for Louise, so she prays again.
“Lord, I know fear and doubt will attack Louise again tomorrow. Our enemy won’t give up easily. Give her great comfort and assurance tomorrow, and a good night’s sleep tonight. Remind her that greater is he that is in her than he that is in the world. Thanks, Lord,” and with that she puts her head on the pillow and instantly falls asleep.
The next morning Fran arrives at the office before Louise and puts some cookies on her desk with a card which says, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you. I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” (Psalm 56:3-4) and props it on her desk near the cookies.
Fran doesn’t even see Louise until lunchtime. “Well,” Louise says as they get seated at the table, “I told him, Fran. And he didn’t like it. He said I was making a big deal out of this and being silly about it. But I told him I just saw it differently than he did, and while I wanted to cooperate with him, this was a matter of conscience.”
“What did he say?” Fran asks.
“He said he didn’t have time to bother with that report, so just turn it in as I originally had planned, and take those meals off the report,” Louise says. “I know he wasn’t happy about it, but I also know I did the right thing. I sure am glad we talked about it last night, because I know I handled it a lot better than I would have otherwise. I don’t know, Fran, but I don’t think he’ll take it out on me. I could be mistaken, but I really think I saw a renewed respect for me, just the way he acted.”
Fran pats her arm. “I’m so proud of you, Louise. And the good news is, even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. You can’t lose.”
“I truly feel that way, Fran,” Louise says. “But my heart was in my throat. It was not easy.”
“But a lot easier than doing it the wrong way,” Fran says, and Louise agrees.
As she gets back to her office, Fran silently prays, “Lord, thank you for giving Louise strength to do the right thing. I believe she handled it very well. Thank you for wisdom and courage.”
She realizes this has been a growing experience not only for Louise but for herself as well. Facing dishonesty on the job can be very intimidating and frightening, but Fran realizes that as a Christian, she has to always do the right thing, regardless of the cost.
Well, I hope you learned a lot from this episode of Fran and Jesus on the Job. Our course of action in these situations is not always crystal clear, which means we have to turn to God’s Word and prayer for guidance. And the decision Louise made could have been different if certain circumstances were different. For example, if Jerry worked for her and she was accountable for Jerry’s actions, then she would have had to insist he do the right thing, rather than suggest.
For most of us, our knee-jerk reaction in a situation like this is to take the easy way out—or what looks like the easy way out. Nobody likes to confront someone about his honesty or lack of it. It is never comfortable. But sometimes our Christian principles require that of us.
Remember, your choice of words is very critical in these situations. Louise and Fran carefully prayed about how to approach Jerry. Louise didn’t go in half-cocked, shooting from the hip. She gave careful thought to her words and her approach, and did it without condescension or condemnation. Nonetheless, she was still very bold in her stand for what she knew was right.
If you try to have a confrontation like this without prayer and compassion for the other person, you could find yourself in a big mess. Louise remembered that if it weren’t for the Lord, she’d be just as dishonest as the next person. She saw Jerry through God’s eyes, and that gave her a new perspective. She even prayed for Jerry and the circumstances of his life of which she was aware.
So, remember, when you are faced with a similar type of dilemma, take time to pray and get wisdom from the Lord. Then you can be assured that whatever the consequences are, you did the right thing, and God will honor you.
The principles given to us by the Lord are there to guide us through these decisions. The important thing we must remember is that God’s way is the only way to go. It’s much better to suffer for doing what is right than to suffer for doing what is wrong.

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