03/13/2008
5Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ. 6Don’t [work only] while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. 7Render service with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, 8knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9And masters, treat them the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their and your Master is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.
In the day that Paul is writing this, a “slave” was primarily one of two things: 1) a person taken captive in battle, or 2) a person who owed money that he could not pay and was “working off the debt”.
The latter case can be very closely compared to the employer-employee relationship. Although we are free to go to our own homes at night and may terminate our employment at will, I think the principles can apply to us today as well.
What Paul is saying here has to do with integrity—that is, doing the right thing when no-one is looking. I think there are two reasons for this.
First of all, everything we do should be done as if we are doing it for the Lord Himself. If we were in His presence, attending to His desires, preparing His food, cleaning His house, I believe we would all behave with a higher level of integrity and enthusiasm than we do for our “earthly masters.” Jesus Himself stated that what you do for others you are also doing for Him. Therefore, this passage should encourage us to perform our assigned tasks with the same integrity and enthusiasm as if we were doing it for Jesus Himself.
Secondly, what message does it send to those around you to see your dedication? People all around you are watching what you do and how you do it. If your attitude is where it ought to be, then others will see and notice. This will then give you opportunities to share about your faith. And even if you don’t share your faith with words, others will notice something about you that intrigues them.
Let me paraphrase the passage for today’s audience:
“Employees, obey your supervisors with respect and sincerity, as to Christ. 6Don’t work only while being watched, just to stay out of trouble, but work as if you were working for Christ, do God’s will from your heart. 7Perform your duties with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to men, 8knowing that whatever good you do, employee or employer, you will receive this back from the Lord. 9And bosses, treat your employees the same way, without threatening them, because you know that you both have the same Master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.”
Whether you love or hate your job is immaterial. Your duty is to perform it with integrity and precision. This is the will of the Lord and He will reward you for it.
Jeff Justus
Cleff Publishing
www.cleffpublishing.com
©2008 Cleff Publishing, all rights reserved.
Terms of Usage: This devotional may be copied or forwarded for personal use without permission, but must include the author, publisher, web link, and copyright notice. Use in another published work must obtain permission first.