If you think it’s hard thinking about working hard so you can be pure and blameless upon Jesus’ return, try thinking about Jesus while engaged in everyday responsibilities. I’m not talking about the old cliché “What Would Jesus Do?” I’m talking about the Scriptures that command what your standard behavior should be when you work for and supervise others.
Servants, obey in all things [your] masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do [it] heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons (Colossians 3:22-25).
A similar scripture passage in Ephesians (6:9) includes how masters should treat their servants, but I want to revisit the scripture that I used in my last entry:
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, [and] look well to thy herds (Proverbs 27:23).
We see that whether you are working for someone or supervising someone, you are commanded to be selfless. Yes, there are great personal benefits for working hard, as we saw last time, but these scriptures show that keeping others in mind should be our focus: our supervisors, our subordinates and, above all, Jesus to help us do the right thing with both groups.
So the next time you want to sigh about your boss’ request, ask yourself would you sigh at Jesus. Or when you want to just sit your ADD son in front of the television instead of engaging him in a calming activity so you can have time to yourself, ask yourself 1) is watching TV doing him (or you) any good and 2) would you leave Jesus to Himself while you took care of personal pleasures.
What we see is that the Bible considers a hard worker as one who works at things they desire to do AND one who works hard to do the right thing even when they don’t want to (1 Peter 2:13-19). Working hard to please God and not man (even you) is the righteous standard. This is not always easy, but because God requires it and has given us His Holy Spirit, His requirement is more than fair; in actuality it should be a cinch. I don’t know about you, but I had to say ‘ouch’ to that.
Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith