Ever feel like your work is drudgery, hours and hours wasted with nothing to show for it? Ever feel like you spend all day serving others and they don’t even care? “Doing what you love” is a cultural expectation. We are supposed to be able to choose our future, our job, the things that define us and consume our time and energy. But the reality is this is rarely the case.
While many have the freedom to pick their “dream job”, many others take whatever comes their way, hoping it will make the house payment, or put some food on the table for another night. And even if you have your “dream job”, or just enjoy what you do, I’d bet that there are days when you think about finding another field of work. Sometimes we just feel stuck.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.
Ephesians 6:5-9Ephesians 6:5-9
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Slaves and Masters 5 . Slaves, you must obey your earthly masters. Show them great respect and be as loyal to them as you are to Christ. 6 Try to please them at all times, and not just when you think they are watching. You are slaves of Christ, so with your whole heart you must do what God wants you to do. 7 Gladly serve your masters, as though they were the Lord himself, and not simply people. 8 You know that you will be rewarded for any good things you do, whether you are slaves or free. 9 a ; b ; . Slave owners, you must treat your slaves with this same respect. Don't threaten them. They have the same Master in heaven that you do, and he doesn't have any favorites.
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It really isn’t about finding the perfect employer that will be a joy to work for. Whether we work a desk job, sit on a manufacturing line, or even watch over kids at home, work is hard. It is often unrewarding, and other times downright tedious. We are often taken advantage of, and often have little real mobility out of our circumstances. No amount of “you can do it” can make up for that. We can come up with all sorts of self-motivation techniques, but when it comes right down to it, if your job is all there is – the thing that you spend the majority of your waking life doing – then life can get pretty miserable. That is, without a godly perspective.
What Paul is offering here is more than wishful thinking. Every thing you do is to be done in the name of Christ. You are crucified with him, now you live in him! While we naturally tend to divide up our hours into “the job”, “family stuff”, and “church stuff”, this is far from the way God sees it. Everything we do flows out of our relationship with him. Not a single part of your life is beyond his control and use. Not a single part. That means that our outward life is connected to our spiritual condition, and these are wrapped together whether we are caring for prisoners, being patient and loving to a child, or serving humbly and wisely in the workplace.
Your daily activity is more than just goals and objectives, more than just a means of acquiring cash, prestige, or even praise. Serve Christ in whatever you do, and you will find joy in it; glimpses of God on the move, satisfaction in experiencing his glory and love. Serve yourself in whatever you do, you will find tedium, waste and unrest.
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