Secular Servanthood
Titus 2:9-10
Recently, the Princeton Religion Research Center published a landmark survey conducted for the Wall Street Journal on moral conduct at the workplace. The researchers measured a wide range of moral and ethical behaviors at the workplace, such as calling in sick when not sick, cheating on income taxes, and taking company supplies for personal use. The results were disappointing to say the least. But most startling was the fact that there was no significant difference between the churched and the un-churched in their ethics and values on the job.
Christian workers were just as guilty when it came to calling in sick when not sick, cheating on income tax, and using company supplies for personal use. This survey suggests that many Christians are living double lives. At church they swear allegiance to values informed by Scripture.But at work, they follow the values of the world. (http://www.higherpraise.com/outlines/hpserm/Sermon538.htm (Sermon by: Keith Smith)
For many Christians, the workplace is their primary mission field. They spend more time there than anywhere else and they are around more people than anywhere else. When Christians do not honor God in the workplace their witness for Christ loses its effectiveness. On the other hand, when a Christian honors God on the job, they will encounter great opportunities to point others to Christ. So the question for us to answer is this... do your coworkers see a positive reflection of God in your work ethic? Are you a witness for Christ in how you obey your supervisor? Do you faithfully obey those who have authority over you or do you gripe, grumble complain and rebel? Are you submissive or are you insubordinate?
In every area of life we are required to submit to authority. God has commanded us to submit to human authority on many different levels.
1) Wives are to submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24)
2) Children are to submit to their parents - (Ephesians 6:1-4)
3) The church is to submit to the Elders - (1 Peter 5:1-5)
And in several scriptures we see the importance of slaves submitting to their masters. - Ephesians 6:5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; 6 not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
The doctrine of submission is perhaps one of the least liked doctrines in the Bible, but it is clear that God expects His children to submit to authority. During His time on earth one of the most prevalent characteristics of Jesus was His willingness to be a servant.
Consider: Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus said Himself in Mark 10:45 that "the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (to serve), and to give his life a ransom for many".
Jesus is our example... we should model our lives after Him. When we do this, our lives will be marked by service. This service should be evident everywhere we go, including the workplace. I would like to take a closer look at Titus 2:9-10 and preach on the subject "Secular Servanthood".
The word "servant" describes one who is under submission to another. Servanthood is the state or condition of being a servant. Paul is instructing Titus concerning those things that need to be "set in order" in the church at Crete. Titus is a short epistle and of all the things that could have been mentioned, Paul chose to highlight the importance of secular servant-hood. Just as it was important then, it is important now!
Our Father expects us to be decent, respectful and submissive to the authorities in all areas of our lives. Listen to what the Bible says in - Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
It is apparent that submitting to authority is important in the Christian life. These verses show us how to submit to authority. Notice in verse 9:
I. The Proper Manner Of Secular Servanthood v9
It is important that we address the context of these scriptures. The English Bible translations use the word "servant" in this verse. The Greek word here is "doulos" which refers to a literal "slave". For the sake of time we will not debate the horrible institution of slavery. It happened for thousands of years throughout history all over the world. We don't like it, we can't change it but we can learn from it.
I believe it is a safe assumption that if God expected a slave to be submissive and obedient to his master, then God expects a similar response from His children in the secular work force.
The idea of this text is this.... there is a slave who is a born again child of God. He is free spiritually but he is in bondage physically. His master is a lost man who does not know Christ. The slave is commanded to be obedient to that master... to serve him well. In fact he is to serve that slave master in the same manner that he serves the Lord. God wants the slave to see his master as the mission field. His place of servitude is also his place of ministry.
The same can be said about you and the workplace. Each day you have the opportunity to have an impact on your employer. Also, you can be a witness to those who work around you. So, what is the proper manner of secular servant-hood? First of all it is to:
A. Submit To Authority - v9a Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters,
The slave is to obey his master and the employee is to obey the supervisor. It is as simple as that, We are to submit... we are to obey...and we do so because God says so! There are certain exceptions to this rule. We have the right to refuse to obey an order from one in authority if the order is unbiblical, illegal, unethical or immoral. In these cases we should follow Peter's example and say "we will obey God rather than man." But if at all possible we should obey those in authority over us.
- These verses seem to call on us to go a little farther than simply submitting to those in authority. Paul says that we should "desire to please them". Notice another truth concerning the proper manner of secular servant-hood:
B. Seek To Please Your Master - v9b and to please them well in all things;
When you seek to please your earthy master you will please your Heavenly Master! I know that it can be difficult to submit to the authority of certain people. Just remember, ultimately you are doing what you do for the Lord!
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
When the boss is a pain... we should work as if we are working for the Lord! When we are treated poorly... we should work as if we are working for the Lord! When we think the pay should be better... we should work as if we are working for the Lord! When the benefits are lousy... we should work as if we are working for the Lord! When the boss has a bad attitude... we should work as if we are working for the Lord!
The reason so many people struggle with submission is pride. You will never be successful in this process if you refuse to humble yourself. Remember that Jesus "humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant". If you seek to obey God, then you will have to do the same. Each of us must daily, humble ourselves and become servants.
There are many times when we feel that we know more than those in authority over us. And to be honest there are times when we actually do know more than those we work for. We have all had supervisors that were incompetent to say the least. But even still, the word says that we are to obey! Humbleness says "though I know a better way I will obey because I represent the Lord."
Pride doesn't respond that way. Pride says "I refuse to obey because I know more than this guy does." Pride says "I will not obey because my way is better." Pride says "I will gripe, grumble and complain to those around me". Pride says "I will go over the head of my direct supervisor." Pride says "I will argue, fuss and fight with my boss until I get my way". If this describes your approach in the workplace, you are not representing Christ properly. In fact you are harming His cause. You are damaging your witness. and you are guilty of the sin of rebellion.
I have no illusions that submission in the workplace is easy. But we must always remember that ultimately we are serving Jesus. When you serve your employer... you are serving the Lord! When you faithfully obey your boss... you are faithfully obeying the Lord! When you honor those in authority... you are honoring the Lord! When you reject the temptation to be insubordinate you represent Christ well.
- Let's dig a little deeper and examine:
II. The Required Consistency In Secular Servanthood - v9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things;
Notice the phrase "please them well in all things".
This means that we don't get to pick and choose when to obey. This also means that obedience must be consistent. We must be consistent servants of Christ. We are to represent Him when things are going good and we are to represent Him when things happen that we may disagree with. When an order is given, we must submit, obey and serve. In doing so, we will please our Heavenly Master!
- Let's move a little farther. Verse 9 also shows us:
III. The Necessary Caution Concerning Secular Servanthood
In order to be consistent, we must be cautious. Our enemy is always seeking an opportunity to attack. Satan would love to destroy your witness in the workplace.
- We have some words of caution here in this passage. Paul says:
A. Do Not Be Defiant - v9c "not answering again"
This means not to talk back or argue with those in authority. Each workplace seems to have that one individual. That individual who is nice, polite, helpful and fun to be around ...UNTIL THINGS DON'T GO THEIR WAY! As soon as something happens that they do not like they become unhinged. They become loud, obnoxious and rebellious. They are mad and they want everyone in the workplace to know it. They begin to point out everything that is wrong with the company and management. They complain to anyone who will listen.
They gripe about pay, hours, insurance, days off, vacations, supervisors, and work conditions. As they begin to point out these issues, other people around them listen (and many agree). Ultimately this individual destroys the morale of the entire workforce.
It is one thing for a lost man to act like this, but many times it is the so called "Christian" that is leading the charge of rebellion and insubordination in the workplace. This is not how a child of God should act! It is not acceptable. It is not beneficial. It is harmful. It is rebellion and it is sinful!!!
- Verse 10 gives us another warning. Paul says:
B. Do Not Be Deceptive - v10 "Not purloining"
This word means "to keep back" dishonestly or deceitfully. Other translations use the words "pilfering" or "stealing". You would think that it would be common knowledge that a follower of Christ should not be a thief. You would think that until you went to work with a bunch of people who profess to know Christ while robbing their employer blind.
As a former supervisor I have had employees who inflated their business accounts. I've known others who exaggerated their fuel mileage. I have seen people fudge the numbers on their time sheets. I have had employees steal office supplies, merchandise, tools and equipment.
Over the years I have come to realize that the one thing that employees steal most from their employers is ......TIME! Think about it this way... your employer hired you to do a job for x amount of dollars per hour. You are being paid to work, not to spend time on the phone with your spouse. You are not being paid to surf the internet or catch up on social media.
When you take 15 smoke breaks a day, when you take a 2 hour lunch, when you come in late, when you leave early.....when you do these things on the clock you are stealing from your employer. These things are so common in most places that many never give it a second thought. When you get home, take some time and add up how much time that you waste each day that your employer pays you for. If you get money for something you didn't do, wouldn't you consider that stealing? Of course it is! You wouldn't steal from Jesus would you? Then why would you steal from your employer?
The Christian servant should be honest and dependable, We should have character and integrity. The Christian should be the best employee that a business owner has. When we live, work and serve in the manner described in scripture, we will bring honor to our father and we may lead others to faith in Christ.
- This brings us to the final truth I would like to consider this evening:
IV. The Ultimate Goal Of Secular Servanthood - v10b but showing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.
Our ultimate goal in life should be to honor the Father. This must include our actions in the workplace.
Titus 2:10 (NLT) must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way.
This means that our faithfulness to our master is evident and visible to all. In the workplace we will be known for our trustworthiness, reliability, character, integrity, honesty and dependability. When we live this way, our employer and our co-workers will see the transformation that Christ has brought into our lives. Verse 10 says that this kind of service " makes the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way."
This means that we have the opportunity to live in such a way that people would be more apt to listen to our teaching about Christ. Ask yourself this question, “Does the way I work represent my Christian faith?” Or would you have to admit that you are damaging the cause of Christ in the workplace?
Are you a witness? Are you submissive? Are you a servant? If not, something is wrong and you need to make a change! God has called His children to obey a certain way concerning "Secular Servant-hood".
