"She Works Hard For the ..."

Those of you who thought of Donna Summer's hit from the 1980s just put a date stamp on yourselves, lol!

Today's topic is "work".  The text is Colossians 3:22-25 and 4:1 (NIV).

22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.

1Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

These verses pertained to slaves and masters, in Paul's day.   (Some of you are saying, "That's right...describes my workplace perfectly!")  Well, I hope not.  But, I realize that some work situations are very difficult to bear, due to unruly coworkers or overbearing bosses.  I've endured both.  At various times, I've been perceived as both.  So, I'm "widja".  Let's apply the principles of these verses to the workplace, today's modern application.

God blessed me with a wonderful 36-year career in the sphere of education.  For the first 10 years, I taught.  For the next 21, I was "in management".  For the last five, I was a self-employed, free-lance teacher and for part of that a part-time university professor.  Now, I find myself sort of "untethered" as far as "paying work" is concerned.  For the first time since my teens, I am not "bringing in a salary" of any sort, but am devoting a lot of my time to ministry...this blog, video blogs, church work. I'm also still mothering two young adult sons and supporting other family members as needed.  It keeps me busy enough.

Enough about "yours truly".
The urgings from this passage are pretty straightforward.

1.  Regardless of your job or position, throw your heart into it and do your work as though you are working for the Lord...because you are.  Whether in management or on the "assembly line", everyone has a "boss" (if not earthly, then heavenly).  You may think that yours is the absolute worst.  But, ultimately, you are not working for your boss.  You are working for God.  If you cannot support the culture and mission of your employer, though, and after much prayer it still seems "irredeemable", I'd start looking for another position.
The "sweet spot" for the Christian is when you are doing work you believe God designed you and called you to do.  Then is when one's work becomes gloriously fulfilling!  Many young people have trouble deciding what to do as a life's career.  My advice is this:  explore what you are both good at and what you enjoy.  If you can make a living at that, go for it.  When you find the "sweet spot", you'll never dread going to work each day.  That is a blessing!

2.  Your reward is not your paycheck.  Yes, paychecks are welcomed and they are necessary. However, the Christian's reward for doing a job well is the approval of our Savior.  Those intangible rewards are not going to be fully seen until we are with Him in glory.

3.  Don't worry about evildoers getting their own payback.  There is no such thing as "karma", as the world calls it.  God, however, is much more just and real than "karma".  God will right wrongs and avenge injustices.  He does not play favorites.  As godly bosses here on earth, we are to model our leadership after God's.  We are to do our best to deal with our employees in a way that is both right, fair and ... I would add, selfless and compassionate.

4.  The Importance of Teamwork
Regardless of the field, it is important that the employees and management are pulling in the same direction and helping each other.  This is where the "slaves/master" reality from 1st century Holy Land breaks down.  Applying a slave-master paradigm to the current workplace is just ridiculously ineffective, to put it mildly.  Let me give you a more modern twist to illustrate.
There will be times when management makes some rule, and it is "boneheaded".  Usually what happens is that they think they are doing the right thing, but they don't see all the potential results this move would make.  On the other hand, management often has to implement policies or change the work environment according to information that the employees don't have access to and, by law, cannot have access to.  So, this is where a certain level of trust comes in.  Trust is both earned and given.  When something is perceived to be detrimental to the health of the organization as a whole, both parties (employees and management) must approach each other to either get clarification or to address the problem.  Unfortunately, the customary response is to be tone-deaf to each other and then sit back and gripe about it.  This is not productive.

Well, well, I could go on and on until this becomes some sort of mini-book about work and leadership, which I have no desire to write.

Father, thank you for giving each of us a skill-set which we can then choose to use for Your glory. May we use it for the furtherance of Your kingdom, and not for our own self-aggrandizement.  May we deal humbly with each other, not in an exaggerated sense of importance, each Christian seeking to exhibit all the attributes of the holy, godly walk, in our workplaces.  In Jesus' name, amen.

The Workplace

What is your "work"? Do you like to work?  I do, if it is a type of work that lines up with my God-given talents and spiritual gifts.  Given the opportunity to exercise those, work is a source of supreme joy and satisfaction.  I was given the soul of a crusader, basically.  Part of my individual personhood is all about "righting wrongs" and "campaigning for Truth".  I am repulsed by folks who would walk by the person lying on the side of the road, beaten and bloody, and say, "Someone else will do it."  In my world, it is a disgrace for someone to not exercise their faith, their natural talents and/or their spiritual gifts, ignoring opportunities God puts before them.

So, again, what is your "work"?  What has God given you to do?  And, more importantly, are you doing it?  I was talking with a friend yesterday who works with her husband jointly in their shared work.  She said that she cannot imagine them doing anything else.  That's the kind of laser-like focus God wants from all of us, on the tasks He has assigned us or called us to.

In Ephesians 6:5-9, Paul is talking about the workplace, basically.  At least, that is the application to our modern day.  Let's take a look at the economy of the first century in Paul's part of the world.1

The economy of first century Israel was supported by three key segments: agriculture of olives, figs, grains, dates, and vineyards; trade fostered by Israel’s key location on the Mediterranean Sea; and large government building projects sponsored by King Herod.

• King Herod employed many laborers by commissioning many public works (e.g. building temple in Jerusalem, palaces, ports, fortresses, stadiums, ornate stone carvings, etc.) 
• There was a very large disparity between rich and poor.
• The upper class was made up of the temple priests and priestly aristocracy (including the Sadducees – a Jewish sect)
• The middle class was comprised of traders and merchants, artisans (stonecutters, masons, sculptors) and craftsman (metal, wood, cloth dye). The Pharisees (another Jewish sect), sages, scribes, and teachers were also a part of the middle class.
• The lower class was made of laborers (weavers, stone carriers, slaves (non-Jewish person taken into slavery because of debt), and the unemployable (lepers, blind, insane, crippled, etc.)
• The Roman government required heavy taxation of its people. Tax collectors were local employees considered to be outcasts and traitors.
• Jews were also required to give sacrifices to the temple – sometimes in the form of money, and usually by purchasing sacrificial animals to offer to the priests.
• Traveling teachers made their living by traveling from town to town and accepting gifts from those who came to hear them. 
• During the first century, the temple courtyards had often become a marketplace – local merchants would sell sacrificial animals at excessive cost in order to turn a profit from the tourists or religious seekers that would come to the temple.

Paul used the examples of slaves (non-Jews, remember?), who were the very lowest social class and their masters, the very highest, to make his points.  It is hard for us to relate to this social structure in modern-day, first-world countries, such as America.  But, we can read this passage and draw some parallels to the modern-day "world of work".

At the moment, and for the past five years, I have been self-employed, a small business owner who does contract work for other educational agencies.  You may be self-employed, a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) or an employee of a business or government agency.  These parallels I'm going to draw to this passage are primarily for those of you who "work for someone" or to use the common parlance "work for The Man", lol!

5  Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, 6 not like those who do their work only when someone is watching – as people-pleasers – but as slaves of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.  

7 Obey with enthusiasm, as though serving the Lord and not people, 8 because you know that each person, whether slave or free, if he does something good, this will be rewarded by the Lord.

9 Masters, treat your slaves the same way, giving up the use of threats, because you know that both you and they have the same master in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. 

Ephesians 6:5-9

How to view and deal with "bosses":
1.  Realize that they are your boss because God ordained that, at least for now, they are in authority over you.
2.  Have a respectful attitude and deal with them respectfully, out of respect for their position, if you are unable to respect them for their character and/or their leadership.  Sometimes the latter is not possible, because supervisors/employers have values that are contrary to yours.  Sometimes, they make difficult decisions with which you don't agree.  Most times, you are not privy to all of the circumstances that led to the decision either.   So, don't backbite talk-down your employer behind his/her back, as this is the next-highest form of disrespect, coming in directly behind outright disobedience (insubordination).  Both can likely get you fired, or at the very least passed over for promotion.
3.  Maintain your integrity and testimony by working hard for your employer, whether it is seen and recognized ... or not.  That old expression, "When the cat's away, the mice will play", should not be in your cubicle.  Be deserving of your employer's trust.  If he/she does not trust you, that Savior you talk about won't be trusted either.  Think about the negative implications of that!
4.  Ultimately, you are working for the Lord.  So, be enthusiastic about your work!
5.  Have a servant's heart.  Don't think that your job is "better" than anyone else's or more important.  A healthy work culture values each person's work as integral to the success of the whole.

How to be a great "boss":
1.  Remember that, just because you are in a position of authority, God is ultimately your "Master".
Do all your leading as unto Him, remembering that if you don't earn your employees' respect and trust, they will view your Lord unfavorably.
2.  Treat your employees with consideration, compassion and fairness.
3.  See number 5 above.  God does not "play favorites"; neither should you.

Ecclesiastes 3:9&13 says this:

What benefit can a worker gain from his toil? ...that everyone should eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all his toil, for these things are a gift from God.

The work He has given to each of us is a precious gift.  May we each enjoy it and gain benefit from it!

Father God, thank you for the work you give each of us, Your children, to do.  All of us have been tasked by You with spreading the gospel in some way.  I pray that that command will line up with our world of work, so that we can do both simultaneously, so that one is not in conflict with the other.  And, I especially pray for those, Your children, who find themselves in such an unenviable position, where their bread-earning occupations are in conflict with Your spiritual callings on their lives.  I pray that you would open doors for them Lord, in order to reconcile the two competing priorities. Holy Spirit, show them the way!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1   http://www.jesuscentral.com/ji/historical-jesus/jesus-firstcenturycontext.php