TAKE THIS JOB AND LOVE IT!
THE ESSENTIALS FOR A GODLY EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER
COLOSSIANS 3.22 – 4.1
INTRODUCTION
PRE-INTRODUCTION
I want to remind everyone about our upcoming anniversary service next Sunday, December 12th at 10:45 AM. It is important to have an anniversary service to remind us of God’s faithfulness to us and the vision of this church. We are excited that we will have as our guest speaker Dr. Ed Lee, the Vice-President of Academic Affairs for Southeastern University. After the service, we will be having a reception in the common area downstairs. I want to challenge you to bring a couple of friends with you! I am brining several with me to church to hear Dr. Lee preach and to celebrate with us.
MAIN INTRODUCTION
Please turn with me to Colossians 3.22-4.1.
Have you ever had a really bad job or been assigned to a department that was just drudgery? Have you ever felt overworked, over-regulated, under-leisured, under-benefited? Take heart. This notice was found in the ruins of a London office building. It was dated 1852.
1. This firm has reduced the hours of work, and the clerical staff will now only have to be present between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays.
2. Clothing must be of a sober nature. The clerical staff will not disport themselves in raiment of bright colors, nor will they wear hose unless in good repair.
3. Overshoes and topcoats may not be worn in the office, but neck scarves and headwear may be worn in inclement weather.
4. A stove is provided for the benefit of the clerical staff. Coal and wood must be kept in the locker. It is recommended that each member of the clerical staff bring four pounds of coal each day during the cold weather.
5. No member of the clerical staff may leave the room without permission from the supervisor.
6. No talking is allowed during business hours.
7. The craving for tobacco, wine, or spirits is a human weakness, and as such is forbidden to all members of the clerical staff. [Well, I think that’s good business.]
8. Now that the hours of business have been drastically reduced, the partaking of food is allowed between 11:30 and noon, but work will not on any account cease.
9. Members of the clerical staff will provide their own pens. A new sharpener is available on application to the supervisor.
10. The supervisor will nominate a senior clerk to be responsible for the cleanliness of the main office and the private office. All boys and juniors will report to him 40 minutes before prayers and will remain after closing hours for similar work. Brushes, brooms, scrubber, and soap are provided by the owners.
11. The owners recognize the generosity of the new labor laws, but will expect a great rise in output of work to compensate for these near Utopian conditions.
How would you like to work there?! Or maybe you’ve had a boss that you just didn’t connect with.
Once, while I was in the Army, I had a new section leader that was awful. This staff sergeant had been in the Army for 18 years but had not worked in our job specialty for 16 of those eighteen years. I think he was trying to prove to us who had been in the job for years that he was competent at our expense. Without question, this was the worst supervisor that I have ever had. Man, that was miserable. And, I have to admit that I wasn’t a really good employee during my time in that section. In fact, I went to the commanding officer and begged to be moved to the arms room. Thank God, he moved me.
Have you ever had a bad boss that really didn’t know their job? You know the ones that I am talking about. They are completely out of touch with what’s really supposed to be done. Or they don’t listen to you at all. When you are trying to talk to them, they are fiddling with their Blackberry. Or they constantly interrupt you to make their points. They roll their eyes and get impatient – unless they are the one talking.
Then there are the bosses that are so closed minded that there is no room for discussion. There is no room for differing options. They are all-knowing because they are so gifted and accomplished.
Then you’ve got the boss that does not maintain any type of discipline. All of the workers come and go as they please, living according to their own rules. No one knows who is where or doing what and chaos rules. I think it’s because these kinds of bosses have a huge fear of rejection and want to be everyone’s buddy. They never set rules and hold people accountable.
Or how about when they blindside you! Ahhhhh… There’s nothing like a surprise, is there? There’s nothing like getting singled out in public or getting ambushed in a performance evaluation.
But, before we get down on bosses too much, let’s take a jab at us employees.
It’s amazing to me how we as employees can come up with the most amazing physical disorders to get out of work. Sometimes I think that WebMD is to help us get out of work.
“Hey, uh, boss? I know we have a mandatory staff meeting today, but I have all the symptoms of medio – lacto – itis. I know, right, I’ve never heard of it either? Right, I think it’s only a 24 hour thing. Yeah, yeah, I should be good fort the company picnic on Saturday, though. Yeah, will you email me the powerpoints, though. I’ll study them so I can get ahead.”
Click.
“Yeah, Bill? He bought it! I’m good for that 10:00 tee time!”
In our work culture, it’s like the highest virtue is our ability to snow the boss. We’ve made it into an art form, really. The only thing that a boss can depend on is some people’s undependability, dependably to be in a foul mood, complaining or incompetent. The only time that they work is when the boss is on the work floor. And the problem is these people call themselves “Christians.”
Did you know that God is very interest in work? Did you know that God pays close attention to not only the type of work that you do, but also how you do your work? In Genesis, God created humanity with a purpose and part of that purpose is for meaningful and manageable work. There is something very important that you need to understand about work. God gave humanity the calling to work before the fall. People are wrong when they think that work is the result of the fall. Incorrect. Work was part of God’s plan for humanity before Adam and Eve disobeyed. Our work became cursed because of the fall. God cares about and pays close attention to your work and your work ethic – for both the employee and the employer. Whether you are a business owner, a shift supervisor, or the low person on the totem pole, God pays attention to the employee-employer relationship.
What are God’s expectations for the Christian employee and employer? In other words, what are the essentials for a strong Christian work ethic?
The essential Christian work ethic for Christians is an obedient, hard-working employee, and a fair and just supervisor or employer.
Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
SUB-INTRODUCTION
Let me give you a little background on the historical context of this verse.
In the Apostle Paul’s world, slavery was a basic element in ancient society. Most of the work was done by slaves. It is estimated that one in five citizens in the Roman empire were slaves.
There were several reasons why a person would become a slave during the first century. It could come about a from being a prisoner of war, piracy, the exposure of a child, the sale of a child or yourself into slavery to pay off a debt, or by birth to a slave mother, or condemnations by law courts. A person acquired slaves by purchase from slave dealers, by inheritance, or by home breeding because a child tool the status of the mother.
The legal status of a slave was that of a “thing.” One ancient document called a Roman slaves “a living tool and the tool a lifeless slave.” The slave had no legal rights and was subject to the absolute power of the master. The Greeks defined characteristics of freedom, which slaves did not have: (1) the right to be his own representative in legal matters; (2) protection from illegal seizure; (3) to work where he pleased; (4) the freedom of movement.
The work of the slave covered the entire gamut of activities in the ancient world, with few exceptions. Their circumstances varied all the way from the privileged imperial slaves to the convicts sentenced to the mines.
I’m pretty sure that some of you are thinking right now, “I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with current events, but slavery is abolished in the U.S. It’s not a reality in our lives, so how does this apply to us?”
One of the principles of biblical interpretation is that the contemporary application comes from a passage’s implications. I submit that the same Christian virtues that applied to the labor force and their masters in the first century Greco-Roman world apply the labor force and employers today. The relevance for us today lies in the relationship between employees and employers. And in the context of relationships, there are principles of a godly work ethic for both employees and employers.
Over the past few weeks, Paul has been talking about some of the great Christian virtues. Now, Paul applies those virtues to the work force. Paul is going to first instruct the employee and then the supervisor or employer.
MAIN BODY
A CHRISTIAN EMPLOYEE FOLLOWS INSTRUCTIONS
The first essential work ethic for a Christian employee is God want expects us to follow instructions. Paul says in verse 22, “Slaves obey your earthly masters in everything.” In our culture today, Paul would say, “Employees, you need meticulously follow the instructions that your boss gives you.” This command is also for middle management or anyone that has a leader over you. The reason he specifically says “earthly” is because in God’s eyes, God expects you to follow the instructions your boss gives you just like you would obey the Lord Himself. The Christian employee should obey in everything. In other words, you should be very conscientious to listen to the instructions that our supervisors give us and be meticulous bout following those instructions. That means lawful orders and standard operating procedure and safety procedures.
I know that I have been in job situations where I couldn’t understand why the boss gave certain instructions. To me, they just didn’t make sense. And, I’m sure when as a non-commissioned office in the Army, a police sergeant, and as a pastor, those that I have led have looked at me and said, “What is this guy thinking?” Even if it’s not the way you would have done it, the fundamental ethics of a Christian employee is to do it without question.
Here’s a simple principle to guide you when you disagree with the instructions you have been given. Do it first, ask “why” after you have followed the instructions with respect and humility. Get the boss alone and make suggestions based on what you have learned. After you have done your work, offer suggestions that will make systems more profitable for the company. If you question them before and criticize or complain about their directives, you are challenging their lawful authority and being insubordinate.
Paul also tells us when we should obey. We don’t obey just when the boss is looking. The essential Christian work ethic says that you can be trusted to follow instructions without the boss having to look over your shoulder all the time to make sure that you are doing what you should be doing,
And, we don’t obey just to gain favor. Look, we all want to be on the boss’s good side and have favor with the leadership in our workplace. But, we don’t obey just to be a “kiss-up” or get an unfair advantage in the company. Paul tells us the true motivations for our obedience at work.
We follow instructions and obey our bosses with a sincere heart. Of course we want favor with our bosses, but for it to be a blessing to God, it must come from a sincere heart. When we have a sincere heart, our goal is to bless God and to bless our boss! We want to bless those that have blessed us with a job. A sincere heart is thankful that God has given us this job and we want to give thanks to God by being an obedient employee.
The other motivation for us to follow instructions and obey our bosses out of reverence for the Lord. Obedience in your job should be a direction reflection of your reverence and fear of for the Sovereign Lord. We obey our boss because we fear the Lord. Paul makes this very important spiritual connection with our work and God. God is very concerned about how you do your job – the way that your company wants it done. You will not experience God’s favor if you stay out of favor with your boss because you refuse to obey.
The commitment to following instructions is an essential of a good, Christian work ethic.
A CHRISTIAN EMPLOYEE WORKS HARD
The second essential virtue of a godly employee is to put all of our effort into our work. We put all of our energy into our work. You’ve heard the old saying, “Put in 110%.” That’s exactly what God wants out of us. Even in the menial tasks that we hate to do and bore us to tears, the strong Christian work ethic says, “I am going to work hard at whatever my task is.” That’s why Paul says, “In whatever you do…” – even in the terrible tasks. In every job, there are tasks that you just hate to do.
I remember when I was a police officer, there was a job that I did not like doing – school crossing. At the end of the school day, I would have to go stand out in the pouring rain and direct traffic at the entrance of the high school. It was a monotonous job that kept me from what I really loved doing – running radar. Ooooo, I loved running radar. I used to gripe about the school crossing and complain that they should put in a traffic light there. Then, one day I found out why it is so important to have an officer on post there and to take it seriously. There was a terrible car wreck at that intersection where I had to pull a woman who was crushed under the dashboard of that car. Thankfully, I wasn’t on post that day. I realized how important that job was and had a change of heart about that job. I took that job very seriously after that.
We should put all of our energy into our work just like Jesus is our supervisor. Once again, there is a spiritual connection for the believer. We are called as followers of Jesus Christ to work in our jobs just as if Jesus Christ was our direct supervisor. Paul makes this principle explicit when he says in verse 24, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
Here’s a great way to remember how hard we are working. At work, ask yourself, “If Jesus were standing here right now, would he be blessed or disappointed in the effort and attitude that I am putting into my work?”
According to this principle, the Christian employee is really working for Jesus! We are working for Jesus, not men! In God’s eyes, we are working for the Lord.
Our motivation should be an eternal motivation to work. Paul says that the hardworking, obedient Christian employee gets an eternal reward. You see, in the first century, the slave was a “thing” not a family member and was not going to get an inheritance. Paul was teaching the slave that his inheritance would come from God and it would be an eternal inheritance. In our society, we can get so focused on what’s happening in the here and now that we will act unethically to get ahead so we will have a huge retirement. I think Paul would say to us, “You need to be an ethical Christian employee and God is watching you. He will reward those hard workers with an eternal reward.”
That is the hope that we have in Christ – an inheritance with the saints!
Then, Paul raps up his talk to the Christian employee with a warning that we need to pay attention to. He says, “Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.” There is a question here as to whether Paul is talking about in the afterlife or punished now. I submit that one of the reasons that people have such bad experiences at work is that they don’t obey and they don’t work hard. And they can’t figure out why there is no satisfaction in their work and they are miserable. They can’t get ahead. They are not receiving the blessings that the Bible talks about. The reason is they are being repaid by God for their work ethic! They are not blessed because they are not blessing God and they are not blessing their boss because they don’t follow instructions and they don’t work hard. They don’t love their job because they are not loving God with all their heart, with all their mind, and with all their strength.
A Christian employee works hard and God will bless you for it! Now, we need to talk to the Christian boss.
A FAIR AND JUST EMPLOYER
One of the essentials of the Christian work ethic is a fair and just employer. This includes anyone that is entrusted with supervising other people in any capacity.
A Christian employer provides for his employees. The Christian employer or supervisor understands that in God’s eyes, you job description includes a sincere concern for the needs of your employees.
A Christian employer provides what is just and fair.
Our motivation for providing what is just and fair is that God is paying attention to how you treat your employees or subordinates. This ties in with what Paul said in
CONCLUSION
If you're into bumper-sticker philosophy, you've probably seen the axiom, "I owe, I owe, so off to work I go." For a vast portion of the workforce, that's the best reason they can muster for going to the job each day. According to one poll, only 43 percent of American office workers are satisfied with their jobs. In Japan, the figure dips to 17 percent. In the first century, Christian slaves had even less reason to be enthusiastic about their work. But Paul gave them a way to grasp a glimpse of glory amid the grind. He wanted them to "adorn the doctrine of God," that is, to show the beauty of their faith in Christ by how they work (Ti. 2:10).
A significant and often overlooked way that we serve God is in our everyday tasks at work. Martin Luther understood this when he wrote, "The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays -- not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship."
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