Working for God

A Barber’s Bad Timing

Joe, the town barber, had recently been saved and wanted to do more to honor God in his work. One day, he was determined that he was going to share his faith with one of his customers and try to lead them to Christ.

The cut began as usual, talk of local news and gossip leading into politics. Joe spent the whole time trying to get his courage up to begin talking about Christ. As he began to shave the man he finally got up the courage to ask the man, “are you prepared to meet God?”

Not a bad way to start, but it would’ve been received alot better Joe hadn’t stopped to ask the question with the razor above the man’s throat.

Christians in the Workplace

When we think of being a Christian in the workplace…

Sharing your faith.

Praying over your meal where everyone can see.

A musician or singer only performing music that talks about Jesus.

Authors writing Christian stories or about Christ.

Being a Christian in the workplace goes beyond doing or saying things that are overly and/or explicitly Christian. Being a Christian in the workplace is like wearing a special set of glasses that change the way you see your job. It’s like having a filter that you run all of your decisions through.

This morning as we look in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we’re going to see the shifts that we need to make in our attitude and understanding that will help us glorify God in our work and truly be a Christian in the workplace.

Ephesians 6:5–7 “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,”

Shift #1: Seeing Your Job as a Calling

You probably see your job as something you do to pay the bills.

Some of you may see your job as a means to prove your worth. I’m a hard-worker.

Some of you see your job as a good deed for the community. Teachers, medical field, etc…

Some of you see your job as finding your place in the world. Using your talents in a way that gives you purpose and fulfillment (this sounds Christian, but there are many unbelievers working with this mindset.).

“As to the Lord”

Paul starts this idea of serving or submitting to others out of reverence to Christ in Ephesians 5:21 “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

He uses this as a filter for how married couples are to treat one another.

And then he moves it the kids and parents, and wraps it up with our relationships in the workplace.

YOU ARE NOT WORKING FOR YOUR BOSS OR YOU COMPANY; YOU ARE WORKING FOR THE LORD.

You do not work for GP, you work for God.

You do not work for your school system, you work for God.

I am not working for (blank); I am working for God.

This means we care less about what our co-workers and our bosses think, and we care more about what God thinks.

Seeing our job as a calling is a shift in our attitude.

Your boss is a jerk — you’re not serving them, you’re serving God.

Your job doesn’t seem glamorous — God sees what you’re doing and even the little things done for Him matter.

Shift #2: Using Your Job to Showcase the Glory of God.

If we are working “as to the Lord”, what does the Lord want us to do? He wants us to share the Gospel, right?

Of course, but He wants us to also do whatever our job is with the absolute best of our abilities.

As we work hard for God, others will see that our hard work vs their hard work is different. They’re working for themselves or to prove something. We’re working simply as conduits of God’s glory.

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

We want people to see God and come to serve Him as we do. The Gospel is more than a presentation of what Jesus did on the cross. The Gospel is a vision of the life we not live because we have been saved by Christ.

Shift #3: Work for God’s Recognition, not Man’s.

Ephesians 6:8 “knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.”

If you do a good job at work, chances are that they will give you more work to do from someone who isn’t doing their job.

You might get a raise, you might not.

You might get a bonus, you might not.

You might get a gift or an award, you might not.

But if you are working for God, God sees, and God intends to reward in kind.

This doesn’t mean we do good to get good things from God. It means that God will give us things that are good for us and He will reward us as He sees fit if we are faithful in the workplace.

Not only that, the ultimate reward is standing before and hearing Him say “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Shift #4: Serve as a steward of those who work for you.

Ephesians 6:9 “Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.”

You need to realize that you are also representing God to those who are under your authority.

I get that issues need to be dealt with, but you can find a way to deal with them without being a harsh taskmaster or a jerk.

Realize that God will hold you accountable for how you portray his leadership to others through the way that you lead.

Jesus served as to the Lord, the Father.

Matthew 20:25–28 “But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.””

Think about how Jesus came and served.

The people He served by giving His life for them were not good people. They were not worthy of His respect or His sacrifice, yet still He remained faithful, as to the Lord.

When He was mocked, spat on, beaten, and crucified, not once did He turn around and stop serving, as to the Lord.

Your work is a calling, not a curse.

God has called you to the place where you are. Just as much as He calls preachers and missionaries, He calls you to the place where you are working now.

Are you serving Him where you work?

Are you showcasing and displaying the glory of God in how you work for others and how you treat those who work for you?

Are you working for God’s recognition or man’s?

Jesus gave His life in service to the Father for you that you might be saved.

Your job is the same. Everything that you do is in service to the Father in hopes that you will lead others to be saved and follow Jesus Christ.

Do you realize what Jesus has done for you?