The Gospel Comes to Work

 

The Gospel Comes to Work

 

Do you remember the original Rocky movie?

Rocky wanted to be a boxer, and he wanted cranky, old Mick to coach him. But Mick wouldn’t because he thought Rocky was a bum. He thought this because Rocky worked for a loan shark and was known to break the thumbs of those who didn’t pay their debts.

When rebuked by Mick, Rocky shrugged and said, “It’s a livin’.”

And that pretty much sums up how we can feel about work.

I once had a favorite co-worker that assured me I could do anything for eight hours.

It is not unusual for a buddy at work to tell me they’re “living the dream” in a way that is not convincing when asked how their day is going.

I confess to responding to the same query with, “Well, at least they pay me!”

But work, for the Christian – whatever it is… so long as it is not contrary to God’s law, like breaking thumbs – is holy.

 

Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve (emphasis mine).

For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness knowing that you have a Master in heaven (Colossians 3:22-4:1)

 

Colossians was written around 60-62 A.D. during the Roman Empire. There were around 40-50 million people living in the Empire at that time and 1 out of 3 to 1 out of 5 were slaves.

Slavery is as old as human history and still occurs today, but the Bible does not directly speak against slavery.

This is interesting – the fact that slavery is not good is obvious. It appears that when we have Jesus as Savior, He inserts Himself into our mess and equips us to walk worthy before Him wherever we are.

That is a beautiful thing.

Most of us won’t have to deal with slavery, but these verses easily apply to the employee/employer relationship.

These directives followed the ones to wives, husbands, children and parents I wrote about in my last post (https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/09/family.html).  

It makes sense to include it here because just about every Roman family had a slave or two. They were a huge part of the fabric of that society.

Similarly, our jobs are a big part of our lives and affect our home life.

Work, contrary to our daily experience at times, is a good thing.

It is ordained by God, and we are meant to do it – and do it well (Genesis 2:15; Psalm 90:17; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Ephesians 4:28; 2Thessalonians 3:10-12).

The first thing Paul tells those of us who work for a living is to do what the boss wants us to do – obey - not just when he’s watching as some phony would – but all the time. We need to be diligent, hard-working, reliable, honest, and genuine (Ephesians 6:5-8; Titus 2:9-10).

Secondly, Paul tells us to know who our boss is. It is irrelevant whether our boss is fabulous or a jerk, knowledgeable or ignorant, deserving or worthless – we don’t work for him or her.

Our service is for the Lord – that’s what makes our job holy. Whatever we end up doing for a living, it’s a ministry. We don’t need a seminary education to serve those around us. Fixing pipes, building houses, caring for the sick, teaching children, or sweeping floors is holy when we do it for the Lord. We can do our jobs with integrity and love those that cross our paths. Our jobs are our mission field.

Fourth, the Lord signs the ultimate check. Even if our earthly employer overlooks us, the Lord will not – He rewards His own – and He’s watching us. We may be unappreciated on the job, but our Lord takes a keen interest in those who represent Him. He won’t overlook what we do in His name.

Finally, His watching needs to be respected. If we sin, He will discipline us.

Christian employers, managers, business owners, and bosses are reminded to treat their people right, and to remember regardless of position we are all on equal standing before the Lord (Colossians 3:10-11).

I wrote about this a while ago: (https://mylovelydwellingplace.blogspot.com/2020/03/equality-juncos-and-cardinals-are.html).

Now not all the employers or employees we run across or deal with daily are believers, and not all people who claim to be believers are or behave right. But God doesn’t ask us to qualify or excuse or substitute how He wants us to behave based on the behavior of others.

Our culture despises authority. It loves to cry, “You ain’t the boss of me!”

But believers stand out in this messy place when they remember who their boss is and behave accordingly.

And the Lord is glorified.