"How does a Christian fire someone?" This was a frequent thought I had as a manager of 40-plus people at a well-known software company. Should a Christian fire someone? This question came to a head on the day that I had to fire one of my employees for no other reason than that he worked to slow. For the sake of argument let's call him Joe.

What was in fact needed was a total commitment to Christ. What if Christ told me not to fire Joe? What if I got fired for what the Spirit and the gospel demanded of the situation? What if I was blacklisted from every job from that moment on for my decision?

What if following Jesus meant giving up my life?

How much is too much? Is there any point where the followers of Christ can say, "Yes, you are Lord, but business is business"?

Joe wasn't stealing money. He wasn't apathetic or lazy. In fact, Joe was trying pretty hard. But he worked too slow -- a sin unforgivable in the fast-paced, innovative, 35% growth per-year company for which we both worked.

I had to fire him.

Circumstances like these really bothered me. Time and again I situations like this would come up -- situations that confused my Christianity -- until one day I concluded that my *entire workplace ethic* needed to be rethought in light of the gospel. Not just firing, but also hiring, reviewing, managing, rewarding. Shouldn't the gospel affect every aspect of my work?

In the end, I fired Joe. But, I broke a lot of rules in doing it. Perhaps as a result, Joe is still my friend. In fact, he lives to this day in my brother-in-law's house. I didn't get fired or sued for choosing to become a corporate transgressor. But I could have been. And looking back, I have to say I'd have been happy either way.