Colossians 3:22-25

Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.  For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

 

Everything we do is important to God.  This includes both our actions and attitudes.  God works, and created us in His image to be workers.  Work was not a consequence of the fall of man into sin.  The productivity of our work is certainly diminished by sin and the motivation behind our work is affected by sin.  God calls us to work diligently out of a desire for God’s glory and the eternal rewards He has promised.

 

WORK SINCERILY OUT OF FEAR OF THE LORD: We are always under some sort of authority, especially when we are working.  Our bosses may not always be easy to work for or do things the way we would prefer. However, we are called to be submissive to them as they, like all authority, are established by God.  We should work honestly and diligently no matter if we are being supervised or not.  We are not working to please people, but to please the Lord.  God is always observing all we do and knows why we do what we do.  Our work matters to the Lord and our fear of Him should motivate us to work.   

 

WORK HEARTILY FOR THE GLORY OF THE LORD: Whatever we do, we are to do it with all of our strength.  Halfhearted work is not pleasing to the Lord.  Working heartily is to put our heart into all we do.  We are not to worship our work or be lazy at work.  God is glorified when we complete our tasks to the best of our ability with a thankful and glad spirit.  When we complain about our work or do sloppy work, God is not honored and we do a poor job of reflecting His glory.

 

WORK FAITHFULY FOR A REWARD FROM THE LORD: Most of the time we are motivated to work because of the financial gain we get from working.  However, no paycheck can compare with the eternal rewards of being faithful.  God is a generous and great rewarder.  He also is a just judge and knows exactly what we are capable of doing and why we do what we do.  When we are dishonest at work, it is sin and there are consequences for sin just as there are rewards for faithfulness.  These things should be motivating to us.

 

APPLICATION: Be a good employee who works with the same vigor no matter if you are being supervised or not.  Work for the glory of God with honesty and diligence.  Understand that our work has eternal consequences.

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