Reversing the Curse: Work

Introduction

Go ahead and turn to Ephesians 6:5-9 with me this morning. We are nearing the end of our series on Paul’s letter, which describes what it means to be a creature of heaven dwelling on earth in this beautiful new society called the church. And this creaturehood is all about how you are freed from the forces of earth that bound you and your value and worth and identity to it; instead, those thing are defined by Jesus and how he sees you and knows you and loves you. And now, as the church, we live that out, every day. We show everyone around us what it truly means to be citizens of heaven, loved by Jesus, and bound by grace and mercy of God.

A couple weeks ago we shifted into this practical stage of Paul letter. It’s like he sits everyone down and says, listen, here what Jesus is all about, and here’s what he did for you. And then he says, look around you: this community is all about loving one another and being there for you as you grow and mature and fully realize the extent of Christ power in you and his love for you. And then he says, now here’s what I want you to do: I want you to walk this out in your homes, and with your families, and let it overflow from there. Let Jesus’ love and service and humility become the framework by you which you now live, so that everyone who sees it will see Jesus in you. And that’s where Paul brings us to this beautiful picture of mutual submission. The ideal Christian community is one that is marked by a willing and self-less service to others, where you make it your life’s goal to position your self, however you need to, so that others might find freedom and love.

A few weeks ago, we hit on marriage. Last week, Don spoke on parents and kids. And now we come to this really interesting passage on slaves and masters. And before we dive in, I want to clarify something. There has been an argument against Christianity in the past that our faith supports and upholds slavery and the ownership of humans. It is one of the blights on American history that slave ownership was a common practice, and that the God’s word was used to justify it. And passages like this one were at the core of that argument. I want to go on the record to say that the Bible does not condone slavery, the sale and abuse of a human being, in any way. In fact, the Bible is somewhat unique in its affirmation of the value and worth of every human being, and just as the Bible was misused to condone slavery, that same Bible was forcefully and correctly used to condemn it.

Let’s pray and then read this passage together before we dive in a little deeper.

PRAY

Ephesians 6:5–9 CSB

5 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. 6 Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. 7 Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, 8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. 9 And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Rather than taking this verse by verse, as we usually do, I want to highlight three characteristics that ought to define a follower of Jesus in the workplace—or really, any time you have the opportunity to serve someone. Let these three things be your guide. Whether you are the employee or the boss, the worker or the master, your spiritual posture will point others to Jesus.

Attitude

First, let’s talk about your attitude. Paul starts by giving a few encouragements to slaves in the Christian community. This, by the way, in radically counter-cultural that he would do so. In the first century, a doulos (slave, servant) was property, not personhood. The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught that a slave is “a live article of property” and “a living tool.” Other ancient moral teachers had plenty to say to masters about ruling their slaves, but nothing by way of instruction for slaves themselves. Paul, however, saw slaves as moral agents, human beings who could choose to act responsibly. By addressing them directly, Paul was honoring slaves as a real people. The first step toward willing, Christ-like submission? You must be freed and empowered to serve. It is a radical statement that every human life has dignity and value.

Paul tells slaves to Obey their masters (6:5); Do God’s will (6:6); Serve (6:7). In other words, Paul is saying, whatever your station, even if its being a slave—you can impact the world through your life. Because it’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.

Notice that Paul’s focus here is not on the action itself, but on the attitude behind the action. Obey, certainly, but obey with fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart—in other words, work humbly and generously. Work as though you have something to offer, and do it to benefit your employer. Again, it doesn’t matter what you do: mechanic, salesperson, teacher, accountant; the attitude behind your work says more about the condition of your heart than the content of it. (Masters have the same attitude! How you treat your employees will show the world what you think being a master is all about)

What does it say about the Christian who acts entitled and bored and distracted? What does it say about the Christian who is stressed and frustrated and nit-picky about his role, or her coworkers, or her boss? Ultimately, it says, that job has more power over you than it should. But to the outside, the non-believer watching you? It says that your circumstances are more important than your God. Seriously, what does my dissatisfaction or pride or inattentiveness say about me? It says that I am not content with my status, and only by getting what I think I deserve will I be happy. And the world sees that and thinks, you are no different from me; you want what I want, and so your God is not nearly as good or as powerful as you say.

This is what it boils down to: The attitude you have toward human masters reveals the attitude you have toward Jesus as your Master. There’s this tiny word that Paul uses a few times in this passage that unlocks the key to your work in the world.

Obey… as you would Christ.

Work… as slaves of Christ.

Serve… as to the Lord.

What this means is that you cannot separate your life with Jesus from anything. It’s not Jesus plus your family. It’s not Jesus plus your work. You cannot place your submission to Christ, your following of him, into one box, and then your work or your play or your home into another. Everything is about following Jesus, and as you follow him, as you line up with his heart and his love, your attitude is lined with him.

So what would that look like for you? What does it look like to serve those around you or above you as you would Jesus? Talk about that in your groups; would that be undermining, or encouraging? Would that be halfhearted, or wholehearted? Would that be selfish, or self-less? Work that out in your DNA group together.

Motivation

Second; Christians ought to be known by their motivation to work. It’s not just the how of your work, but the why.

Paul has this curious phrase in verse 6: Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. Paul uses this curious phrase in Greek. It literally says, Do not be an eye-slave. Don’t be a good servant just to make your master happy with you and gain his favor. That’s living for the wrong hope.

You’ll notice that this is not a message about how to be more successful in work, just as I didn’t teach about how to have a better marriage or Don didn’t teach about how have nice compliant kids. Your motivation in serving your spouse is not so that your spouse will be happier with you. Your motivation for honoring your parents or loving your kids will is not so that they will be happy with you and you will get that picture perfect lifestyle you’ve been dreaming of. I can’t offer you that, because my role as an elder and teacher is not to give you the earthly desires of your heart. So if that’s your motivating for serving, you have the wrong why.

Christ-life submission is such a disruptive force in our culture not because of what you do or what you gain. It’s from where you start.

People pleasing: working to gain your identity, to earn it from other people’s perception of you—this makes you a slave to others.

God pleasing: your identity is intact because of how Jesus freed you and imparts new value into your life—your grateful response makes you a willing, freed, slave to Christ.

Here’s the big idea: do you work for your freedom, or do you work out of the freedom you already have? If you work and serve to make your boss happy with you, or to become more prosperous, than you are living like your identity is found in what other, fickle-minded, wishy-washy emotional humans think of you. And so we bend to the will of others to gain respect, interest, attraction, etc. That’s people pleasing. That’s eye-slavery.

But God pleasers know where they stand with God. It’s grace-filled, it’s lavish, it’s full of mercy and kindness, and nothing you can do will make God love you more or less. What he thinks of you will not change. And it is out of that unchanging love, and the inherent dignity and value we have as a saved and rescued people, that inspires our service to others.

Christian submission entails more than simply deferring to the dictates of another person. It involves choosing to act in the way of a servant, indeed, of a slave.

Look at what Paul says elsewhere in Galatians 5:13:

Galatians 5:13 CSB

13 For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.

Notice that all Christians, including those who are actual slaves, are called to be free in Christ. Notice too that all Christians, including both actual slaves and actual masters, are to “serve one another humbly in love.” The verb translated here as “serve” is related to the noun meaning “slave.” Thus all followers of Jesus, including slaves and masters, are called to exercise their freedom by serving as slaves to each other in love.

So, what’s your motivation? Why do you work, why do you treat others the way that you do? Is it to gain favor and freedom, or is it an exercise of the freedom you already have? Christians choose service not to others, but to Christ.

Goal

The last characteristic of the Christian worker is your Goal. Attitude is the how, Motivation is the why. Goals are the where.

This is about what you are working toward. What’s your aim? Do you work to earn money? Do you work to gain fame? Do you work to have things? What’s your goal? Another way to say that is, what’s your mission?

Paul says in verse 8 that whatever good you do, whether master or slave, will ultimately be repaid by the true master. Your reward, in other words, is heavenly, not earthly.

What does it look like to work for heaven instead of earth? What does it look like to seek your reward from Jesus instead of your boss?

Our earthly ordering does not determine our mission to live.

Everyone serves the same master, and everyone has the same mandate.

All human beings, no matter their earthly station, have one Master. Relationship with him reframes all other relationships.

Paul doesn’t call Christians to destroy culture, but to disrupt it. When we choose good minds and whole hearts over bad attitudes and divided desires, we resist the forces of this world and declare that they have no power over us.

I want Christians who upend the status quo because their station in life does not determine their mission. They do not need to fight for their earthly rights, because they have every right they need in Christ. So husband and wives serve one another without thought to the power they ought to have. Children honor parents and parents are gentle with their children, without the need to codify it in their society. And employees work hard and serve their business without condemnation, while employers treat their staff with dignity and respect. The best way to reflect the person and work Jesus is to free the world by serving it.

I’ve heard some talk about the idea of bringing heaven to earth, that when Christians “christianize” media and education and government, we basically pave the way for Jesus to come in and finish the job. But friends, that is not our calling. You do not bring heaven to earth; God will reconcile all things to himself through his son. Your job is simply to live as one already reconciled. When you live out what Jesus has done in you, you point forward to what Jesus will do in everyone and everything,.