Integrity At Work
Text: Col. 3:22-4:1
Introduction
1. Illustration: Quote: Francis Bacon: It is not what men eat but what they digest that makes them strong; Not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; Not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; Not what we preach but what we practice that makes us Christians.
2. When we talk about being a good witness at work, often times we talk about being a Christian example to those we work with, but what about those we work for? As a professing Christian, what does your boss think of you?
3. Does he/she consider you...
A. Hard worker?
B. Dependable?
C. Reliable?
D. Trustworthy?
4. When it comes to our behavior at work...
A. Act As If You Were Working For The Lord
B. Act As If God Is Watching...Because He Is
C. Act As If You Have A Boss In Heaven
5. Let's stand together, out of respect for the Word of God, as we read Col. 3:22-4:1.
Proposition: We need to work as if we were working for the Lord.
Transition: First, let's...
I. Act As If You Were Working For The Lord (22-24).
A. As Though You Were Working For The Lord
1. In dealing with this passage we have a bit of an interpretation issue we need to heal with, because we don't have any slaves in our day and age, and our view of slavery is based on the slavery system in our Nation's past. However, slavery in Paul's day was considerably different.
A. In ancient Roman society slavery was not only legal, but it also had a major influence on their society.
B. While slaves either didn't get paid for their services, or at least paid very little, there were some economical advantages to being a slave.
C. If a person was in serious debt, or needed money for their family, they would sell themselves into slavery for a determined period of time.
D. In fact, many slaves after their time as a slave was to come to an end would chose to remain a slave. They had a roof over their heads, food to eat and clothes to wear.
E. So for our purposes, rather than seeing this as a slave/master relationship, we are going to look at it as a employer/employee relationship.
2. Now that we have established how we are going to look at the text, let's examine the text itself. In v. 22, Paul says, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord."
A. Paul used the same word for obey here as he used in 3:20 for children to obey their parents.
B. Slaves were also to obey the commands and desires of their masters, not just when they were being watched and hoping for a reward, but at all times.
C. They should no longer merely work for human approval, they should work hard and well because of their reverent fear of the Lord.
D. Believers who were slaves were not set free from serving their masters, but they were set free from slavery to sin. Their ultimate Master was God himself.
E. Paul explained that God wanted the slaves to fulfill their responsibilities in this world even as they looked forward to the next.
F. Slaves played a significant part in this society, with several million in the Roman Empire at this time.
G. Slavery was sanctioned by law and was part of the empire's social makeup. Because many slaves and slave owners had become Christians, the early church had to deal straightforwardly with the question of master/slave relations.
H. While neither condemning nor condoning slavery, Paul told masters and slaves how to live together in Christian households.
I. In Paul's day, women, children, and slaves had few rights. In the church, however, they had freedoms that society denied them (Barton, 886).
J. Now I think a key in this verse for us is the part that says, "Try to please they all the time, not just when they are watching."
K. I think we can all relate to working a little harder when the boss is standing over us then we do when they're not around.
L. According to Paul, we should be diligent in our work whether the boss is watching or not, out of reverent fear of the Lord.
3. Next, Paul goes on to say in vv. 23-24, "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ."
A. "Work willingly" actually comes from a Greek phrase containing the word for soul (psuche).
B. The statement serves as good proof that more than the body is involved. The terminology used shows that attitude is just as important as physical condition.
(Rossier, The Complete Biblical Library – Galatians-Philemon, 279).
C. Slaves had a variety of tasks - running errands, caring for or teaching children, cleaning, preparing meals, or doing menial work.
D. Yet Paul gave their jobs a new dignity because these slaves would do their work for the Lord, serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
E. Slaves received little, if any, monetary compensation for their work. Obviously, they had no inheritance in this world, but Paul reminded the Christian slaves that they would ultimately be rewarded by Christ with their deserved inheritance as children of the true, eternal King (Barton, 886).
F. What this brings to mind for us is the modern "clock watcher," who have entered into an agreement with their employers, who have agreed to reimburse them so much per hour for their work.
G. But Christian slaves, or Christian employees today have the highest of all motives for faithful and diligent performance in their work; because about all they are servants of Christ, and should work first and foremost to please him.
H. Not fear of an earthly boss, but reverence of their heavenly Lord, should be the primary motive for us.
I. This should encourage Christians to work eagerly for our earthly bosses even if they are hard, demanding and ungrateful; for we will receive our thanks from the Lord (Bruce, 168-169).
B. Working For Jesus
1. Illustration: The late great American Methodist clergyman and author, Rev. Charles Livingstone Allen (1913 - 2005), told this story in his sermon entitled "How To Sleep Well On A Windy Night:"
"A boy went to a farmer and asked to be given a job as a hired hand. The farmer asked, "Are you willing to work?" "Please sir, yes sir, I can sleep well on a windy night," was his strange reply. "Can I trust you to look after my things," said the farmer, Again, the boy gave the same answer. The farmer asked several questions seeking to determine if the boy was honest and trustworthy; but, to each question, he received the same reply!
Deciding that the boy might be a little simple-minded, the farmer hired him anyway; because, there was something about that boy that he liked! The boy proved to be a willing worker and everything went well until one night a big storm came up! The farmer heard the howling wind and rushed to the boy's room, "Get up," he shouted, "let's go tie down the hay stacks, put up the tools, and secure the barn doors!" The boy was so sound asleep that the farmer could not wake him!
Fearing to waste time trying to wake the boy and get him up, the farmer rushed out see about his things! When he came to the haystacks, he found them already firmly tied. He found the tools in their proper places in the barn; and, the barn doors securely closed! As he went back into his house, he realized what the boy meant about sleeping well on a windy night! He meant that each day, he did his work well; and, even in the midst of a storm, he could sleep!
2. If we worked as if we were working for the Lord, not only can we sleep well on a stormy night, but we can also look ourselves in the mirror and like what we see.
A. Ephesians 6:7 (NLT2)
Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
B. Paul makes it clear, both in Colossians and Ephesians, that we are to work, not matter what kind of work it is, as if we are working for the Lord.
C. We don't serve earthly bosses; we serve a heavenly one!
D. That means that we are to be people of integrity. That we will work hard from the time we start until the time we finish.
E. That means that we will be honest, responsible, and trustworthy.
F. That means that the phrase, "But everybody else is doing it," doesn't enter our vocabulary. Because we are not "everybody else," we are the children of the living God, and as such, we will conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of that name.
G. That means if it belongs to the company it stays with the company.
H. That means that we do our very best everyday, and not see how little we can get away with doing.
I. That means that we bring honor to the name of Jesus in our workplace.
Transition: We should also...
II. Act As If God Is Watching...Because He Is (25).
A. God Has No Favorites
1. Sometimes those of us who are followers of Jesus operate under the false assumption that because we are saved that we are not held accountable for the things we do wrong.
A. Now that doesn't mean that we are going to loose our salvation if we do something wrong, however, God will hold us accountable for what we do with our lives.
B. Tina and I used to be a part of a rock band, and one of our members used to jokingly say, "It's only illegal if we get caught!"
C. Sometimes we as Christians function under that idea; if no one sees us doing it there's no problem.
D. However, Scripture is clear on this matter, and that is God sees everything. In theology we use a big term called God's omnipresence, which means that God is everywhere at all time.
E. Another theological term is God's omniscience, which means that God knows all things.
F. So even if our boss doesn't see it, God does, and He will hold us responsible.
G. All believers according to Paul, must "appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one will receive whatever we deserve, good or bad, for what we have done in our heavenly bodies" (2 Cor. 5:10) (Bruce, 169).
H. Again, that doesn't mean that we'll go to hell for it, but nevertheless, God will hold us responsible.
2. That's Paul's point here in v. 25, where he says, "But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites."
A. Echoing his words in 3:6, Paul once again explained that judgment would be coming.
B. Whether master or slave, the wrongdoer will be paid back, and those who do right will receive the inheritance as their reward (3:24).
C. At the Judgment, God will judge without partiality. Paul explained the responsibilities of the believers. Both the Christian slave with the harsh and ruthless master and the Christian master with the lazy and untrustworthy slave knew how they were to act as believers.
D. They also knew that God would judge wrongdoing without favoritism (Barton, 886).
E. This verse, set in contrast to the preceding, shows that wrong will be punished, because "there is no favoritism" with God.
F. No doubt Paul meant it as a warning to Christian slaves not to presume on their position before God and think that he would overlook their misdeeds.
G. In the parallel passage in Ephesians it is the master who is reminded that there is no partiality with God, while here it is the slave.
H. In Ephesians, masters are not to think that God is influenced by social position; in the present passage, slaves are not to act unscrupulously just because they know men treat them as irresponsible property (Klien, 220).
3. Interestingly enough, the apostle Paul included failure to fulfill our responsibilities in our vocations in the category of items considered wrong or unrighteous.
A. The principle of sowing and reaping is emphasized in many places in the Scriptures. Just as a person who sows corn can expect to reap a harvest of corn, so a person who sows righteous acts can expect to reap righteousness.
B. No one is foolish enough to think he can sow one type of seed and reap some other type of fruit, but many people seem to think they can sow unrighteousness without reaping the results. The reaping is just as sure as the sowing.
C. Paul reminded the Colossians that God does not show favoritism. The Greek term from which we derive "has no favorites" actually comes from the word for face (prosopon).
D. Therefore, Paul is saying that what a person's face looks like does not make any difference with God.
E. Because of attractive physical features, some people are able to get away with things other people might not be able to get away with in their human relationships.
F. God, however, does not make His decisions based upon the facial features of a person. He will reward according to the inner motives of the individual (Rossier, 279-281).
B. His Eyes Are On Watch
1. Illustrations: Children lined up in the cafeteria of a religious school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The teacher made a note: "Take only one, God is watching." At the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A boy wrote a note: "Take all you want, God is watching the apples."
2. Always remember that God is watching everything you do.
A. 1 Peter 3:12 (NLT2)
12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
B. God is watching even when no one else is around.
C. That means when you do something and no one sees you do it, God sees and he will reward you for it.
D. However, that also means that when you do something wrong and no one sees it, God sees it and will hold you responsible for it.
E. That means that when you just don't feel like going to work, and so you call of sick even though you're not, God sees it.
F. That means that when it's getting close to quitting time and you slack off, God sees it.
G. That means that when the boss isn't around and you stand around not doing your work, God sees it.
H. That means when there's something at work you want to have and you stick it in your lunch box when no one's looking, God is looking.
I. Remember you don't work for your boss, and you don't work for your company, you work for the Lord!
Transition: The good part of all this is, boss's have a boss too!
III. Act As If You Have A Boss In Heaven (4:1)
A. Master In Heaven
1. The fact that God has no favorites is a good thing, because although God is watching you, He is also watching your boss.
2. In chp. 4 v.1 Paul says, "Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven."
A. Now Paul turns to the duty of masters toward their slaves in terms of dealing justly and fairly with them, "what is right and fair."
B. Though in the Roman world slaves had no rights, Paul does not hesitate to teach that duty is not all on the side of slaves. Masters also have obligations (Klien, 220).
C. Whether the master's slaves were believers or not, Christian masters were responsible to be just and fair to all their slaves.
D. Without attempting to overturn the social structure of a worldwide empire, Paul applied Christ's inward transforming principles to the system.
E. Paul did not say that Christian masters should free all slaves; in fact, in some cases, setting them free might not have been humane.
F. Instead, Paul explained that Christian masters should do what is just and fair, treating their slaves as human beings.
G. To some masters, this would mean freeing their slaves; to others, it would mean treating the slaves better in terms of living quarters, remuneration, time to rest, and tone of voice.
H. Why should Paul command this of Christian slave masters? Because the slave masters themselves had someone to report to ”their Master in heaven."
I. The slave masters could hardly expect to be treated rightly and fairly by God if they refused right and fair treatment to those in their charge.
J. Masters and slaves who followed Paul's advice would be able to serve or be served in their daily routines, and yet come together to worship as brothers and sisters in the Lord without any disruption (Barton, 886).
3. Similarly today, employers should pay fair wages and treat their employees justly. Paul's instructions encourage responsibility and integrity on the job. Christian employees should do their jobs as if Jesus Christ were their supervisor. And Christian employers should treat their employees fairly and with respect.
A. Do you treat your employees as people, not machines? Employers should pay fair wages and treat their employees justly.
B. Leaders should take care of their volunteers and not abuse them. If you have responsibility over others, make sure you do what is just and fair.
C. Remember that no matter whom you work for, and no matter who works for you, the One you ultimately should want to please is your Father in heaven. You are accountable to him (Life Application Study Bible, 2036).
B. Treat Others As You Want To Be Treated
1. Illustration: A wealthy businessman, who was well known for being ruthless and unethical, told Mark Twain that before he died, he wanted to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He said that when he got there he wanted to climb to the top of Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments, and there read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top. "I have a better idea," replied Twain, in his typical wit, "You could stay in Boston and keep them."
I believe that Jesus would have preferred that he stay in Boston and keep the commandments as well. But we always prefer some great religious experience to the routine of obedience. We would like some mountaintop emotion rather than actually showing the evidence of a changed life. I have known many people over the years who talked a lot about some spiritual encounter they have had, but never showed much evidence of it when it came to the way they lived, their ethics and the manner in which they treated other people.
2. No matter you station in life, God wants us to treat others as we want to be treated.
A. Matthew 7:12 (NLT2)
12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.
B. If you are the boss, treat your employees the way you want to be treated.
C. If you want them to work hard for you then you should work hard for them.
D. Don't treat them as a number or a time card; treat them like a person.
E. Don't treat them as an ends to means; treat them like as someone with value.
F. If you want them to be fair with you, then you should be fair with them.
G. If you want them to treat you with respect, then treat them with respect also.
H. If you want them to care about your business, then care about them and thier family.
I. It's called the Golden Rule, and it applies to all of us!
Conclusion
1. When it comes to our behavior at work...
A. Act As If You Were Working For The Lord
B. Act As If God Is Watching...Because He Is
C. Act As If You Have A Boss In Heaven
2. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
A. WORK FOR YOUR BOSS AS IF HIS NAME IS JESUS!
B. YOU CAN FOOL SOME OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, BUT YOU CAN'T FOOL GOD!
C. TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO TREAT YOU!
