How do Christians deal with crude sexual humor?

One of my most evangelistic friends once told me, "I try to be offended by as little as possible." That way, people don't think of you as prudish and uptight. When we are commanded to be in the world, but not of the world, God is saying that we cannot run away from the impurities of this world. Think of Christ - He dined with prostitutes, tax collectors, and other rank and file of sinners. When asked about it, He simply responded, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In other words, be you - be pure among the people who are making crude jokes. Somebody notices that you're different. When they ask you about it, there's an opportunity to witness.

"Should I join in to maintain team spirit?"

Nope. That isn't a good enough reason.

"Should I stay quiet when this occurs?"

Yup. That's how you let them know that you find this unprofessional while maintaining their trust- by not joining in, by not speaking up, and by not laughing.

"Should I leave the room or otherwise avoid associating with this group?"

No. You are still a part of the team, whether or not you agree with their lack of tastefullness. If you were to leave them this would seem to them as a better-than-thou attitude and will make your workplace more stressful. Not joining in with their perverted conversations is a smaller matter, but ignoring them altogether is offensive. Two wrongs don't make a right.

I'm not religious, and it's pretty hard to offend me, so I have never really run into this problem.

Generally if I don't like what someone says or does, I go directly to that person rather than a supervisor. They generally respect the fact that I come to them instead of going over their head.

If you explain to them that you don't want to start anything, but that you are genuinely offended by their off-color remarks, then hopefully you can get them to tone it down a bit.

That kind of open communication makes for a whole different workplace dynamic. I always try to tell people early in a new job that if they have a problem, try to come directly to me and we can work on a solution.

Good luck!

Know exactly what you mean ..... best is to be a good example and ambassador for Christ by being there. He will protect you and influence the others positively through you.

isnt it funny that these guys cant stop for a moment to see how shallow their lives are?

Ever thought about the words used when generally swearing? They all about bodily functions. Imagine replacing the swear word with "bodily function!" every time - it would sound silly but less so that now where these 'gentlemen' are unable to find an adequate word to express themselves.

Tough but the full armour of God will protect you!!

I've read your profile, and see where you're coming from.

As a bi-vocational pastor -- meaning I pastor a church, and am surrounded by non-believers in my day job all day -- here's the advice I'd give you, if you came to my office.

Under no circumstances do you join in -- that's validating their inappropriate (and probably illegal) behavior.

If you spoke to your manager in private, and the manager spoke to the offenders and told them you complained, then your manager acted unprofessionally.

And Christianity isn't the issue, entirely, it's about professionalism. It could be crude sexual humor, or a 10 minute digression about the Patriots, it's not professional.

In my day job, if crude humor started, I'd excuse myself, and get up, and walk out. When I came back, five minutes later, it would probably be over, and they could tell me anything I missed (How much of meetings actually involve YOU anyway, compared to most meetings being mostly about other people).

If it happens again, I'd get up and walk out again. Don't say anything, don't preach or complain, just walk away.

The only thing you have control over is you. Not other people, not what they think or say, or do. . . just you.

And we know that what comes out of people's mouths is an example of what's in their hearts, and none of us needs to be exposed to some of the dirty that comes out of some people.

God bless.

Time to have a confidential talk with your HR department. Crude, or sophisticated, sexual humor is a no-no where I work. Sounds like HR has some training to do.

HTH

Charles

I'm no Christian, but would also find this highly offensive. I had to deal with a similar situation a while back. You have my sympathies, it's not nice. Have you tried speaking to your HR department to see what they have to say? You can take it further, but it can make for a very nasty atmosphere at work. Stick to your guns though. I wish you luck.

I would let it be know that you do not take part in such behavior and do not enjoy hearing it. Leave the room if need be. You actually have the right to file sexual harassment. but if you let it be known what kind of life you live, most people will take notice and respect that. I have had people actually stop speaking vulgarly in my presence and if they slipped, they would apologize.

You don't have to be a Christian to deal with this problem. There are laws in most countries to deal with this. They are called harassment laws. If you do not approve of the situation report them as being offensive. And explain to the company that this will be taken to other levels. No one must be exposed to this.

You do have to work with these people. We cannot live a life in cloistered walls without a sinful world around us. The best thing I would do is if it is in the context of a meeting, simply do not laugh and ignore it. If it is in a less formal setting, walk away. If they ask why tell them, but you need to practice your morality silently since you are in a team environment.

Ath