In 1966, British rocker Ray Davies penned these lyrics to the Kinks’ song “Dead End Street”:
What are we living for?
Two-roomed apartment on the second floor,
No money coming in;
The rent collector’s knocking, trying to get in.
We are strictly second-class,
And we don’t understand
Why we should be on Dead End Street.
Davies perhaps thought that if only England could fix poverty (certainly a worthy goal), then all in the country would go swimmingly. The problem is, for men and women of any and every nation, our true predicament—spiritual poverty—is classless. One can climb the ladder of economic success and still find oneself asking, “What am I living for?”
The apostle Paul had an answer to that question: “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). Life—the whole gamut, “facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need” (Phil. 4:12)—may have true, eternal purpose and hope only through faith in Jesus, through whom and for whom all things exist (Col. 1:16). Even our best work—no matter how suited to us, no matter how remunerating—cannot give life the meaning that is found in knowing and loving the Lord Jesus Christ.
In parallel passages in both Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6, Paul encourages (of all people!) household slaves to turn to Christ for purpose in their daily work. Though the particulars he addresses are unique to the time and place in which he lived, the principles Paul lays down are relevant to every Christian who labors under someone’s authority, even today.
How We Work
To those who labor under authority, Paul first writes, “Obey in everything those who are your earthly masters” (Col. 3:22), and again, “Obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling” (Eph. 6:5). Christians, simply put, are to be obedient workers, not rebellious—and we’re to be obedient not only in matters agreeable and pleasant but also in matters that are unpleasant and disagreeable.
Of course, there are times when the demands of employers run contrary to the demands of God—and in such cases, “we must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Paul, however, is dealing here not with the exception but with the normal course of things.
Christian employees are to be obedient employees. They should, in fact, aspire to be the best employees: the kind who work hard not only when the boss is watching, not only to win his favor—“not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers” (Col. 3:22; cf. Eph. 6:6)—but even when no one is watching and there is no possibility of promotion. They should seek neither to benefit the most while doing the least nor to slip out unnoticed at the end of the workday. Rather, they are to keep aware that the Lord sees and values their labor, even if their bosses and coworkers don’t.
The Christian worker, in other words, is not to be like the man in the old joke who had been on the jobsite for a couple weeks when he went to the foreman. “I’ve got no shovel,” he complained. The foreman said, “Well, who cares? You’re getting paid, aren’t you?” The first man said, “Yeah, I’m getting paid, but all these other guys over here have something to lean on, and I don’t!”
Christian employees are to be obedient employees. They should, in fact, aspire to be the best employees.
To be an obedient Christian is to refuse that kind of ethic. Whether the task is menial or grand, the Christian worker is to be wholehearted, letting his or her light shine in a world of people who are simply trying to run down the clock. And we don’t live this way because our bosses deserve it, necessarily—though God may bless us with honorable supervisors if He sees fit. Even then, though, we recognize that ultimately, we serve the Lord Christ. And that revolutionizes what we do on the jobsite.
Who Do We Work For?
Christian workers are therefore to have a different motivation from the people around about them. Whether they are sweeping factory floors, running washing machines, preparing sermons, flying planes, taking temperatures, or whatever else, they’re to keep in mind what Paul said: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:23–24).
Whenever you find Christians who don’t give their best to their work, you have found Christians who have forgotten the one for whom they’re truly working. But when someone’s heart is stirred with the privilege of working for Christ, it fills even the most mundane tasks with purpose.
The story’s told of a little boy many years ago watching the King of England’s procession toward Buckingham Palace. He was so eager to see the King’s carriage that he fell over a man, who shouted, “What are you doing, you nuisance!” But the little boy said, “Did you see the golden lamps on the carriage? I polished those lamps!” He expressed the joy of playing a small part in the King’s grand business.
Whenever you find Christians who don’t give their best to their work, you have found Christians who have forgotten who they’re working for.
Think, then, what Paul’s words must have meant to a household slave who got kicked around, who received food and board and nothing else to speak of, who had no hope of advancement. To such a man Paul essentially says, “When you lie down tonight, remember that you have served the Lord and that you will have a reward from Him that no one on earth can give you.” Christians today may feel they have little to gain from doing their jobs well. But when they see the Lord Jesus on the last day, they will understand the significance of a job well done.
The Employer’s Own Master
Of course, it’s not just workers whom the Gospel changes. Christian employers, supervisors, and the like should also demonstrate the fruit of their faith in how they deal with their workers, understanding that they are together accountable to the same Lord: “Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven” (Col. 4:1).
Again, we’ll be helped by thinking of what this meant in Paul’s day. The sad truth was that there were very few limitations on how masters could abuse their slaves. They could chain them, sell them, beat them, get rid of them—do virtually whatever they liked to them. Paul’s instructions, then, are striking in their contrast: “You’re a Christian master. That means you’re to provide your slaves with what is right and fair.” Why? “Because you know that you also have a Master in heaven, and you will one day have to answer to Him for how you have treated men and women made in His image.”
The Christian employer today is fenced in by societal norms and labor codes that demand a certain treatment of employees. Even so, they ought not to limit themselves to merely fulfilling the law. Paul, after all, elsewhere instructs the believers in Rome to “outdo one another in showing honor” (Rom. 12:10). Those who follow Christ should recognize that even if they hold a position of authority, they remain servants of a generous heavenly Lord, and they represent His interests in how they treat their employees and so will answer to Him.
The Horizontal and the Vertical
Paul’s primary concern in his instruction is not first of all man’s relationship with his fellows but man’s relationship with God. He tackles the issues first on the vertical plane, understanding that that is the key to the horizontal plane.
That’s why no political or economic system in the world will ever fully cut it when it comes to the workplace. Some may make a better approach than others, but ultimately, unless employees and employers together fear God, any system will eventually face breakdowns due to selfishness. It is (as Ray Davies perhaps would agree) a dead-end street. But when Christ comes to rule and reign in a heart of an individual, that individual becomes a new boss, a new employee, invested with a new purpose and a new hope.
In whatever sphere we find ourselves laboring—at home, in a cubicle, in a trade, or in a high-rise corner office—God is intently interested in how and for whom we endeavor to work. In the days ahead, whether they be full of tasks that energize and enliven us or duties that tax and test us, may we endeavor always to look first and foremost to Christ as the Master whose “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21, 23; cf. Luke 19:17) ought to be the prize we seek above all else.
This article was adapted from the sermons “The Christian at Work” and “Wholehearted Obedience” by Alistair Begg.
Truth For Life Blog