When I was in my early 20s, I had a good office job, but I was frustrated. I wanted to get on with life and accomplish the goals that I thought were before me. At lunch time, I was usually alone in the office and took that opportunity to read the Bible. After reading the above verse and Colossians 3: 22-24, I was greatly brought under conviction for my thoughts. I was not allowing God to lead me because it was my plan, my goal.
These two verses are very enlightening when we think about our employment. Too often we can be influenced by our emotions. On the job site we must realize that God gave us that place where to work. The employer is the one who provides our salary. The employer is the one who provides the equipment for us to work. The employer is also the one who provides training as needed. So, what would happen if we took a completely different spiritual view of the services that we provide for an income?
Colossians reminds us that we owe obedience to our employer and not just offer some token of our time spent on the job. To honor God, whatever work we do must not call us to attention only when we are being watched. Nor is it to perform duties so that others would notice our efforts. The old saying is, “an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.” The biblical employee is one who is more concerned about how God watches him than how his supervisor is watching him. Not only are we to do this as to the Lord and not man but we are to do it heartily, enthusiastically, and devotedly.
Paul continues the same line of thought in Ephesians 6: 5-8. He admonishes us that our purpose on the job is not to please other men but God. In all things that we do (whether it’s through a vocation or free time,) it is as the servant of Christ. Furthermore, what we do must reflect our service to be to God and not others. In fact, we are actually employees of the Almighty God. He is the one who puts us in the positions we hold. He is the one who provides rewards for what we do in his name. Our Lord recognizes when we perform tasks as part of goodwill without private motives.
Think about your job description for where you work. What tasks are expected of you? Whether you are pulling a lever on a press machine in a factory, or whether you are preparing a contract for client, or whether you are sweeping the floor everything we do as believers is first unto God. If he did not want us where we are working, it would be very simple for him to cause changes. I needed to change my mindset where I worked. Perhaps, you might also need to reevaluate how you view your job and your attitude toward it.
Christian Writer 