Who’s the Daddy?

Colossians 3:22-25

Introduction

I wonder if you have ever spent a great deal of time pondering about what sort of career God wants you to have. We all know that God is in control of the course of the universe, and that all the details are being directed and steered according to His great sovereign plan. Now by definition that must include our work, and I guess if you’re anything like me you’ve probably spent at least some time wondering, “What does God want me to do in life? Does he want me to be an accountant. I hope not! Perhaps he wants me to be a racing car driver? That sounds alright! What is God’s will for me in this area of work?”

Let’s spend just a few minutes looking at this passage from Colossians because, believe it or not, the answers are here in the Bible.

22Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service, as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 25You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrong doer will be paid back for the wrong he has done and there is no partiality.

Who’s the daddy?

Well, the first and most obvious thing I want us to see from this passage is that these words are addressed to slaves. And we might well wonder why it is that the Apostle does not encourage them to obtain their freedom. If anything he seems to entrench his slavery even further.

In fact what Paul says to Him is that the slave has been set free and is now working for another master / another Lord. He is now to view himself under the authority of Jesus. Just notice that the Lord is mentioned four times in these four verses.

22Slaves, obey your earthly masters … with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord

24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance.

25You are serving the Lord Christ.

Isn’t that fascinating? Serving the Lord Jesus is not optional for him– you ARE serving the Lord Jesus, Paul says. Who’s the daddy? Jesus is. He is the one in charge.

You know when you join a new company and you start in the mail room or wherever it is that you start, it’s not you who decides to put the managing director in charge. He just is and if you don’t realise that your job prospects are not going to be great at that company.

You don’t put the Lord Jesus in charge of your life, He already is. And that is the main thing that must underpin our every action and decision when it comes to work – that Jesus is the ultimate boss.

What’s he want?

Well, what does his new master require of him? What is God’s will for him with regard to his situation? Emancipate yourself? No, verse 22 obey your master in everything!

Stay as a slave (22)

Isn’t that outrageous! In becoming a Christian, the slave he has been set free … but he has been set free to serve his master and he is to continue in the master’s service but with this new outlook that he is now ultimately serving Christ.

Well doesn’t that challenge some of our silly and comfortable notions about work? We think the important thing in our work it to find work that is enjoyable and rewarding, it’s all about job satisfaction! But job satisfaction is actually very low on God’s list of priorities. He is much more interested in employer satisfaction – Obey your master in everything!

The most important thing to God about our work is that we do it remembering the He is boss in the workplace, and that we honour Him in the way we work.

And work

Well let’s get more specific. Exactly how is it that God wants me to work? How will it look to be serving the Lord Jesus in the workplace? Does that just mean evangelism? Does it mean being nice to everyone at work?

Well, perhaps there are some more surprises coming! There are three specific things that Paul lists here.

          Obediently (22)

Firstly obediently. Verse 22, “22Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters” We ought to obey our bosses. Notice that it’s the same word used for children in verse 20. v20 Children obey your parents in all things. v22 Slaves obey your masters in everything.

Now let me see if I can draw out the subtleties of this point: Do what your boss says. That’s it really, isn’t it? Do what they say. Go and get the post Johnny. OK boss. Submit this application Trisha. OK boss. Prepare this report for me Steve. Sure thing boss.

And not just the things you enjoy doing, but ‘in everything’. That means at every level too, doesn’t it? Not just direct commands, but more generally too. You will be employed for a particular purpose, let’s say to prepare tax returns, or to manage a sales office, whatever it is. Fulfil that purpose for which you are employed. Why? Because you are serving the Lord Christ and that is what he wants from you.

Now that obviously does not mean that we should obey our bosses if they ask us to do things that would mean disobedience to God. You can’t in good conscience obey your boss if they ask you to lie, can you? Or if they ask you to falsify a report or to be engaged in fraud or deceit. But the point of the passage is not to restrict our obedience, but to encourage it. We should obey our earthly masters in everything.

          Sincerely

Secondly, we should do that with sincerity. v23 “Not with eye-service as men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God”. We ought to obey our bosses with sincerity. And here the Apostle gives us a helpful negative to clarify it. Not with eye-service.

Here is the radical thing – that because the slave is now serving the Lord Jesus as he works, he is actually to make sure that he is serving his master genuinely, not just when his master is watching him. And why is that? Because the eye of God is on Him all the time. His boss might only see the things done in his presence, but God sees everything he does at work, and the slave is to be working in the fear of God now.

Isn’t the workplace littered with people who are basically there to get what they can from their employers and will do just the bare minimum of effort to avoid getting into trouble.

But God wants us to obey our earthly masters in everything with sincerity of heart and in the fear of God.

!!!           Wholeheartedly (23)

The third thing is there in verse 23, “Whatever you do, work heartily” which means we are to give everything we’ve got to the job while where there. It’s important to God that I am not a slacker on the job and that I work with enthusiasm. That’s not always easy thought is it? I mean sometimes you have a really boring task to do. Sometimes you’ll be doing data entry, or some other mind numbing activity which is very hard to do with all your heart. A friend of mine worked in a BBQ chicken shop for a while and he had to sweep up the chicken guts from the floor each day. He said it was a very difficult job to do wholeheartedly … until he remembered that he was serving the Lord Christ. Then he had a reality check. When he realised he was serving the Lord in that job he was able to take a whole new approach to it and he began to enjoy himself. I can’t say that he began to enjoy the work, but he began to enjoy himself while he was at it. And that is the mindset we need to take. You are serving the Lord Christ no matter what you’re doing, so serve Him in it obediently, sincerely and wholeheartedly.

And here is a great encouragement and a warning for us in verses 24 and 25.

24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. 25You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrong doer will be paid back for the wrong he has done and there is no partiality.

I can imagine that this must have been a great encouragement for the slave. The poor fellow would have probably had no wages to speak of but here he is reminded that there is a reward waiting for him in the next life. There is an inheritance waiting for him and whatever injustice has been done will certainly be rectified in the next life. The wrong doer will be paid back for the wrong he has done and there is no partiality.

And that is the last thing that the Lord wants us to keep in mind as we work in this life – that there is another life ahead and a reward waiting for us. And that is a great help for us to go on working patiently in the ways we have just been discussing?

It will seem to you sometimes that you are hard done by in the workplace. You might not be beaten as a slave, but you might be underpaid. You might be the subject of discrimination. Some of us have actually been sacked for abiding by Christian principles in the workplace. Don’t let it get you down. Keep your chin up! There’s a reward waiting for you in heaven and God will certainly rectify whatever wrongs have been done to you (or by you) in the next life.

Friends, we need to come to terms with this reality – Jesus is Lord in our workplace. We are not going to make Him Lord, He is already, and we need to get a grip on this and serve Him appropriately. Here is His will for us when it comes to work:

Obey your boss in everything

Do it sincerely, fearing God

Do it wholeheartedly, with enthusiasm

Do it patiently, for the reward which awaits you in glory.