Colossians 1; Colossians 2; Colossians 3; Colossians 4
A Huge Principle That Could Change Your Life!
Scripture
Colossians 3
22 Slaves, 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. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Observation
I have had two people tell me this week how much they “hate” their jobs. When they said it I immediately thought of this passage. We find that Paul is once again writing from prison and he makes a statement that should forever change how you view your work environment. Paul encourages slaves to serve their masters with all their hearts. And he says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Many of the believers that came to Christ during Paul’s ministry found themselves as slaves serving the person who owned them. Think you have it rough?
The principle that the Lord shares in this passage is not only for first century Christian slaves it is a principle for you and me in the work place where we are at right now. And it is for all of us who are serving the Lord in some capacity through our local churches.
During my life time I have had a wide variety of jobs some of which I will mention: bag boy at a grocery store, Millwright in heavy construction, a welder-repairman in a Steel Mill, production of Gospel tracts (I cut the tracts on a cutter machine), director of an inner-city mission, hired hand on a horse ranch, policeman, painting contractor, delivery driver for a maintenance supply company (I also worked in marketing at the same supply company, Minister of Evangelism, Minister of Education, pastor and missionary. I have probably left some out but out of all of the jobs I mentioned there is only one that I didn’t really like and that was being a bag boy when I was in High School. I was not a Christian when I worked as a bag boy and I can say that I strongly disliked that job! It gave Kathy and I money to go out on dates but I dreaded the job.
As I young Christian someone must have taught me the principle of serving the Lord through what ever job I found myself in. It is lesson that maybe you need to take to heart this morning. Serving the Lord by working at your job with all your heart no matter how difficult or how obnoxious the job may be is what we are commanded to do. I will tell you that if you will do this God will use you in a mighty way right where you work. Don’t think that God has placed you in that job for you to be miserable. He has placed you there to impact lives and he has placed you there for the benefit of your coworkers so they can see Jesus in you. Someone needs a personal relationship with Christ or someone needs to come back to the Lord and that is why you are where you are!
This is a huge! I hope someone reads this that has made the statement, “I hate my job” and I hope that person has a different perspective about his or her job after reading this passage!
To you who are volunteering in your church, and maybe find yourself serving out of obligation and maybe serving has become a grind and something you almost dread or something that you do dread. Here are two suggestions: 1. Work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord 2. Maybe you need to make a change and volunteer in an area where you will excel. Everybody is a 10 in some area and maybe you just need to find the right place to serve. It is OK to move around and try different places of services until you find just the right spot. Just remember that you are not going to be content in any work place or any place of service if you are not working with all your heart, as working for the Lord.
Application
I will be content serving the Lord wherever He places me because I know that there will be people in that work place that need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, so many of us go through life unhappy with our circumstances and we just don’t understand that if we would serve You where You have placed us it would change everything. I pray for people today that are miserable and unhappy with their jobs. May what Paul shared through Your word give them a clear understanding and a right perspective of how they should look at their employment and how they should feel about their employer. I pray that You would renew the hearts today of those who find themselves discouraged and depressed and show them that they just need to serve You right where they are and it will change everything. Be glorified through Your church today. Give us opportunities to shine today for You!
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