When Paul wrote these words, about half of the people he’d pass on the Roman streets were slaves—

“Bondservant, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” (Col 3:22-25)

If ever there were a biblical plea for doing the right thing, even when others are not, this is certainly one!

If anyone could feel wronged as a worker, surely those slaves could. However, Paul, inspired by God doesn’t address this but instead encourages those bondservants (and all workers) to take the long, eternal view when it comes to how we work.

Let’s take this to heart Christian! Let’s do the right thing even when no one is looking. Let’s do the right thing even if you’ll never receive reward for it this side of Heaven. Work as if you are working for Jesus and store up treasures in Heaven.

And to the Masters of Paul’s day (and, by application, the employers of today) Paul says to give your bondservants (workers) what is “just and fair”. (Col 4:1)

Christian employers should go above and beyond what the world requires of them. We should treat those who work for us well knowing our witness is on the line and what we do as employers can definitely have an eternal impact.

Let’s be serious about protecting our witness in the workplace! We have a ministry there. It’s often a mission field.

Let’s also be careful how we treat the worker at our house, the server at the restaurant and the cashier at the store.

Let’s remember if we wear the name of Christ, whether we want them to or not, people are watching us. They are evaluating our behavior and attributing how well (or not well) we are doing to Christianity.

Is that fair? It doesn’t matter. Others will still judge our Jesus by how those who wear His Name act.

And, just like other areas of our lives, we can’t separate our work life from our Christianity though many seem to do just that.

May we honor and glorify the Lord in all we do!

readColossians

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