Labor of Love
Ephesians 6:5-9
September 1, 2013
How do you feel about your job? Studs Terkel, the famous Chicago author, interviewed hundreds of people about their jobs and recorded what they said in his 1974 book, Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. He wrote this in the introduction:
This book, being about work, is, by its very nature, about violence — to the spirit as well as to the body. It is about ulcers as well as accidents, about shouting matches as well as fistfights, about nervous breakdowns as well as kicking the dog around. It is, above all (or beneath all), about daily humiliations. To survive the day is triumph enough for the walking wounded among the great many of us ….
It is about a search, too, for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition, as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying. Perhaps immortality, too, is part of the quest. To be remembered was the wish, spoken and unspoken, of the heroes and heroines of this book.
That’s quite an opening to a book about work. It’s really a fascinating, rough, no holds barred book; which also contains stories of success and achievement, along with descriptions of the hardship of work.
When Adam and Eve sinned, God said to Adam, (Genesis 3:17-18) ~
17 Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. Once humanity, Adam and Eve sinned, God made work — even good work — hard. I believe God did this so we would be drawn to become more reliant on Him, than upon ourselves.
Yet, in the midst of this hardship, the good news is that Jesus Christ can give us the victory over the curse. Christ can make our work good again. Today we’re going to look at a text which is about work, and when we read it, we think about slavery, and sometimes that may be how we feel about work, and I want to add that in whatever we are doing in life, whether volunteering, working or in school, the theme remains the same and the One who gives us the victory is also the same! Let’s look at Ephesians 6, as the apostle Paul wrote ~
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,
8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.
Ephesians 6:5-9 was written to slaves and masters. Yet, there are some things that just don't change, and this passage speaks to that which is always true. Most people work, and even the best jobs can be draining and thorny. And sometimes we have those wonderfully difficult relationships at work.
When you read Ephesians 6:5-9, we realize how central Christ is in this passage. I read this quote ~ "Most people don't think work could possibly have anything to do with spirituality. They assume that these two worlds cannot mesh. But if we bring our souls to work then we can transform our work."
That’s a great statement for us to hold onto. And let me tell you, this just doesn’t apply to those of us who work and bring home a paycheck. Whatever we are doing, we are ultimately serving Christ. Our souls demonstrate who Christ is in our lives.
In some ways the problems we experience at work are directly tied to our spirits. Why? Because we can’t help but to bring our heart and soul to work. That’s why work can be so painful at times.
Work does something to our souls. What our passage in Ephesians tells us is that we can bring our souls to Jesus at work, and He will transform our jobs. We can partner with Jesus to overcome the work curse.
Verse 5 tells us ~ Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. The first way you subvert the work curse is by giving your boss what I would call the Jesus treatment.
Obeying your boss can be hard. For one thing, sometimes your boss doesn't seem to know what he or she is doing. What can make it even more difficult is that sometimes you just don't want to do a particular job that you’ve been told to do. But did you notice how Paul ended that sentence — obey your earthly masters . . . just as you would obey Christ. OUCH!! That hits home doesn’t it?
Obeying Christ is the very essence of being a disciple, isn’t it? Even when we don't understand why, we're committed to obeying Him, because we know, we trust, and we have faith that He loves us and died for us. He shed His blood for us.
Verse 5 tells us to obey our earthly masters with respect and fear. That phrase is usually reserved for God. In Colossians, Paul wrote, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." Paul’s saying – the respect and reverence we show our masters is really respect and reverence for the Lord.
In other words, when we show genuine respect to our bosses, it’s actually our reverence for Christ they’re witnessing. For some, our bosses receive something they don’t deserve. Even if they're wonderful and deserve a measure of respect, they don't deserve the reverence and respect we should give to God. Yet that's what they see coming from us. They’re shown grace by our actions.
Paul said, we do this with “sincerity of heart.” We obey because we want to — because we mean it. Our obedience isn't just to pacify our boss, so they shut up, and it’s not just to receive a paycheck. We sincerely do the job for Christ. If Jesus asked you to have the report done by 5:00, would you do it? If He asked you to make those calls or clean up that mess or go to that meeting, would you do it? Sure you would! Well, this is no different.
What I'm talking about isn't some mental game we play to motivate ourselves. This is reality. Doing our jobs out of sincere obedience is a kingdom issue. It's like our company has a new owner, only nobody else knows about it except us. When we serve our boss or our company, we’re serving the kingdom of God.
Think how powerful this approach to work, could be. Giving your boss the respect and reverence due Christ could be a game-changer. For one thing, your work will always be done to the best of your ability. Secondly, your work might transform your boss. When someone is sincerely treated with respect, it stirs something in them. Even the worst of bosses will be affected, because a Christ like attitude can be life transforming. You’re bringing grace to work, and grace is a change agent. Grace changed us, didn’t it? So, give you boss the Jesus treatment!
The second way we can subvert the work curse is by changing our work product. Look at verses 6-8:
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,
8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.
Basically, don't shape your work around what makes you look good or around office politics. Don’t suddenly do work when the boss walks by. Do the work you’re called to do. We don’t have to play the politics game. Let God take care of the posturing and scorekeeping. Instead, focus on obeying your boss like slaves of Christ.
One of my doctoral professors was Dr. Howard Hendricks, from Dallas Theological Seminary. He told of a time when his flight was delayed. The passengers were getting more and more irritated, and some were taking out their frustrations on the flight attendants. Hendricks noticed how gracious and poised one of the flight attendants was, and when they finally took off and she had a minute, he called her over and commended her.
He told her he wanted to write a letter to the airline to tell them what a good job she did. She said ~ "I don't work for the airline; I work for Jesus Christ. And this morning before I left for work, my husband and I prayed that I would be able to serve Christ in my job." She used her job to serve Christ. How amazing is that?!
As a servant for Christ, we are to be "doing the will of God." The point Paul is making is that your job, and all the tasks that go with it, are part of the will of God for your life. All the tedious work, all the struggles and all the successes are part of God’s plan for you. This may not sound like good news, but remember, God is up to something in your company and the people around you don't know that. You're undercover for God, as He works through you.
Paul also calls us to "Serve wholeheartedly." The idea is to have an attitude that comes from having a good heart and an active mind. You put your whole mind and your whole heart into your work because whether anybody else realizes it or not, you are doing God's will as you serve Him.
Finally, Paul has a word for the bosses. Verse 9 tells bosses how they can subvert the work curse ~ Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them. Since you know that he who is both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him." In other words, Christian bosses will answer to the Lord for how they work. And how should bosses work? They must approach their relationships with their employees as their service to Christ, just as much as employees approach their relationship with their boss as a service to Christ.
When Paul says bosses are to "treat their slaves in the same way," he’s really repeating everything he just said. Bosses do their jobs as the will of God. They must put their heart, soul and mind into their jobs. While Christian bosses don’t submit themselves to their employees orders, they do submit themselves to their employees good. That's what's unique about a Christian employer or boss. You look out for your employee. You seek to extend grace to them, not so that they walk over you, but so that they see Christ in you.
Paul also warns them ~ "Do not threaten them." This doesn't mean a boss can't lay down the law, point out the consequences for poor work, or offer a bad job review. It means that Christian bosses should never lord it over their employees, using fear and intimidation to get their way.
Sometimes I like watching the program Undercover Boss. Here's the premise: A CEO goes incognito and gets a low-end job in their own company. Nobody knows who he or she is, and they learn and watch how their employees work. And how hard the job really is. They see how their employees treat other employees and how their managers work with others. As you would suspect, they learn a lot. To those of you who are bosses, your master — your true boss — is undercover at your company, and He is watching. That’s pretty scary!
Paul reminds the bosses ~ (1) Christian bosses and their Christian employees have the same master, and their master watches out for all. (2) The true Master is much higher on the organizational chart. (3) The true Master is not partial to the boss or their position. There's no favoritism.
Emma Daniel Gray died on June 8, 2009, at the age of 95. Her official position was that of "charwoman." A charwoman is a woman who cleans a house or office. You may think, so what? Yet, when she died there was a big story about her in the Washington Post. For 24 years she was the charwoman for six different U.S. presidents. Each day she dusted the office of the President of the United States.
Wouldn’t that be a cool job? It isn't always about the work. It's about who you serve. We all desire to do tasks that are meaningful and fulfilling. When we see our work, whatever it is, as serving the Lord and not people, our work takes on a holy dignity and an eternal significance. When we realize that any work we do, no matter how ordinary or lowly, can be transformed from work to good, then that job is of utmost importance.
What made the story of Emma Gray even more interesting was that she was a devout Christian. She would stand and pray over the president's chair every time she dusted it. Her dusting cloth in one hand, her other hand on the chair of the president of the United States, she would pray for blessings and wisdom and safety. That’s what turned her work to good. After she died, her pastor said that Emma "saw life through the eyes of promise." Friends, of all the places you've got to go and all the jobs you've go to do—some of which are nasty—that is how Christians work. That is what makes our jobs different.
