Work is that word that a lot of people refrain from using. In the time of my parents and grandparents, if you survived you worked. Someone in the home usually worked outside the home, but all worked within the home. If you wanted to eat you grew a garden, owned livestock of some sort, or owned a business that was needed by others. Work was not an option if you wanted to exist. Things have changed greatly. We live in a society where people want something for nothing. Government programs that were created to help those who couldn’t help themselves are now abused by many. God never intended for us to get through life without working. In the beginning, God created Man and Woman to take care of the things he had created. They were the caretakers of the garden and the animals that inhabited it. After they sinned their work would become harder. Men would labor to grow the necessary items to survive and women would labor in childbirth. God’s plan for man to work changed, but it did not begin there.
Colossians 3:22 “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:”
This first verse we see in Colossians today deals with servants and masters. The application for us would be employees and employers. If you are hired to do a job you are to perform it to the very best of your ability. To only half do the job is a sin. You are getting paid a certain amount, that you agreed upon, to do a specific job. To do less, and take the paycheck, is stealing from your employer. Most of us work for those who are unsaved, and our testimony is on the line. We will be the only Bible many people read before salvation. We are left here after salvation to be a light in a dark world. We are to lead others to Christ, and we need to use every avenue that God makes available to us. If you work you’re probably with those people more than you are with your own family. Don’t blow your witness by being a bad employee. This verse teaches us to do all that we can do to be good employees, not just to please men, but as unto the Lord.
As an employer, the same principle applies. You should pay fair wages and reward good employees. You should be an example of grace and gratitude to those who work for you. Get to know your employees. You will not be an effective witness without investing in their lives.
Colossians 4:1 “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”
All the former is to be done “as unto the Lord.” I often tell people, I do what I do for the Lord, others just happen to get the benefit. When we keep that attitude nothing we do is too much, because we can’t do too much for God.
Colossians 3:23-25 “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.”
There is also a warning in verse 25 if we don’t do what we are supposed to do. This righteous Judge will not be swayed by men. All will be treated with justice. The master and the servant, employee, and employer will all give an account to God for their deeds and treatment of the other one. No words or pleading can sway God. He knows all and will judge accordingly.
Your job is not just a job, it is your mission field for 8 hours or more a day, and how you act, and what you do, speaks volumes about who you serve. Keep your grumbling to yourself, and ask God to help you be the greatest example of Him where you are.
