Believer's Interpersonal Relationship (Employer to Employee)
D. The Christian at work (vv. 5–9)
The instructions which Paul writes for slaves and masters can form principles for the Christian in the workplace. From this passage, we learn four things. Our behavior on the job is to be obedient. Our motive on the job is to serve Christ by serving our employer. Our diligence on the job is to be for the Lord, not merely for men. Our reward for the job on earth is knowing that God will reward us in heaven for our faithfulness to him.
From these principles, and from the rest of Scripture, we can learn four lessons.
1. Work is noble before God. God works. He created work. He called Adam to work before the fall. There is nothing wrong with work. Work is good. By working, we become colaborers with God in extending his creation. God intended for man to inhabit and subdue the earth. Society is God’s plan for the advancement of mankind. If we are contributing to that process, we are in step with God.
2. We serve others by our job. We provide for needs and interests of others when we produce a product or service. We earn money to provide for our families and to give away.
3. You serve God through your work. No matter what you are doing, if you believe it is the job God has provided for you at this time, that is significant. You are in God’s will, you are doing what God wants you to do, and you are serving God by serving your employer.
We often have the feeling that God is more pleased with people if they are missionaries or pastors. That is not true. God is only pleased when we are doing what he has given us to do. If he has given us the job of working on an assembly line, then he is as pleased with us as he is when Billy Graham does what God has for Billy Graham.
This does not mean it is wrong to change jobs if our job is difficult. This passage was written to slaves, who did not have the option of mobility. If we have the option of mobility, I see nothing in Scripture that categorically prohibits changing jobs. But we must take care that we change jobs for right reasons, not merely to escape something we should see through.
When we work for unpleasant people, we must learn to look past them, to see Christ. Colossians 3:24 says of our labor at work, “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” It is like going to war. The battle is unpleasant, but you are pleasing your commander in chief.