Working for the Lord

There is another aspect of work that I'd like to talk about. It's an especially appropriate topic this weekend because Monday is "Labor Day"—a U.S. holiday begun 129 years ago and later made official by Congress in 1894.

Labor Day was originally intended, as one early labor leader put it, to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all of the grandeur we behold." Which seems a bit presumptuous and ostentatious, but we'll go with that for now.

To begin the discussion, I'd like to read a portion of Scripture that was addressed to believers who were the blue-collar workers of the first century—Col 3:17,22-24.

Slaves were essentially the blue-collar workers of the ancient world! Slavery was a fundamental institution, for instance, of the Roman Empire when Paul wrote these words. More than half of the people walking the streets of the major cities in the Empire were slaves—hundreds of thousands. In fact, even those with careers we would call "professional" were slaves—owned and ordered by masters: teachers, doctors, craftsmen.

It's difficult for us coming from our culture to realize that the institution of slavery in the ancient world wasn't that bad. Often slaves enjoyed better conditions and comforts than those who were free.

Still, there were abuses. Some masters mistreated their slaves—though that meant they damaged their own property. There were beatings, even deaths. There were no labor unions, no Department of Labor, no Secretary of Labor.

But most masters were careful with their resources and property. To mistreat a horse or hurt a slave would cost them. Furthermore, laws existed in society to protect the rights of slaves. And the OT covered the rights of slaves as well as the responsibilities of slaves owners.

Paul writes about what God expects of believers who were masters over others in the next verse—Col 4:1. In another place he says that for Christians, typical class labels and social standings were to be meaningless:

"...for all of you who were baptized into Christ... There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:27-28).

Why didn't the Bible denounce the practice of slavery? There are a lot of opinions on that question. My feeling is that God's truth was intended to change society from the inside out—one heart at a time—not by conquering the world with force, like an army.
In other words, Jesus didn't come to establish another human kingdom. He didn't come to legislate a new societal order. He said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). What Jesus came to do was to redeem people—to change individuals, to shift their perspectives and reshape their behavior. The Bible advocates changed hearts, which can lead to other changes.

When Paul writes, "whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (v 17), he continues by giving examples from everyday life. He speaks to wives, to husbands, to children, to fathers—and then he speaks to slaves and masters.

It's intriguing to me that he gives slaves about 8 times more instructions in this passage than to any of the others. If you count the words in this section, the instructions for masters are about 11% of the total. For slaves, it's about 56% of the total!

Now God put these words in here not just so we would know how to be good slaves—but to teach us principles for life in our relationships and in our everyday activities. Bob Dylan wrote a song years ago that said, "You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed. You're gonna have to serve somebody..." Dylan recognized a principle for life—that we all have bosses (masters) that we each must work with.

With that in mind, here are some valuable lessons to take away from this passage of Scripture:

1. Serving God means serving others.

When we decide to follow Jesus, that means that we follow him 7 days a week—not just on Sunday.

Following Jesus is about relationships. First, it gives us a relationship with God (vertically), but it also means redeeming our other relationships (horizontally)—with our family, with our boss, with our employees. Col 3:18 - 4:1 speaks to these relationships.

Following Jesus also means that we have a new way of thinking. It means we have renewed minds (Rom 12:2). In other words, we gain new attitudes about life—our view of work, for instance.

Faith is an extremely practical matter. It is about life on earth as well as our future in heaven! So serving God means serving others with a whole new outlook on life.

2. Sin damaged our view of work.

The Bible tells us that sin came into the world and ruined God's plans for his creation. The Fall of man also ruined the dignity and high calling of work.

The original plan was that humans, created in the image of God (Gen 1:26),

were put into the Garden to work and care for it (Gen 2:15). Think of it: Paradise included work!

This wasn't too surprising considering that God himself worked (Gen 2:2-3). He worked six days and rested on the seventh. Tim Keller describes him, "God with dirt under his fingernails."*

And since God created us in his own image, work as part of that image was what God intended for us. When we work, we reflect something of the nature of God. When we refuse to work or expect somebody else to do our work, we bring dishonor to God's name.

God's work as the Creator was to create something, to produce things. Our work, reflecting the image and nature of the Creator, is also to create things.

Some by their work will create music or art or literature. Others will make things—cars, paper, buildings, matches, fine food, gourmet coffee. Others will create new ideas, new medical treatments, new concepts.

You get the idea. Whatever we do or make or produce is a reflection of our Creator. Even menial tasks (turning a bolt on an assembly line) can be seen as part of a bigger project—and a reflection of God's nature.

God's intention was that we should be little "creators" and continue what he began. His plan was that we, as his agents, should expand on his creation. But sin ruined the design God had for us.

Gen 3:17-19. Suddenly work became painful toil, drudgery, and frustration. Work came under a curse! After the Fall, work involved thorns and thistles and sweat and tears.

So work means we have to deal with computers that crash, broken copy machines, interruptions from annoying co-workers, phones that won't stop ringing... Work often means frustration and challenge.

But there's something else as well. Because of the Fall, work has been reduced from an expression of the creative energy of the Creator. Now, far too often, we view work as a means of acquiring selfish goals—we work to pay the bills, to buy our toys, to achieve the recognition and admiration of others.

Work is a drudgery and a pain, and we labor for our own selfish reasons.

We're a lot like Madonna who says in Vogue magazine: "This is what my music is about...every time I accomplish something great, I feel like a special human being, but after a little while, I feel mediocre and uninteresting again, and I find I have to get past this again and again. My drive in life is from the horrible fear of being mediocre, and I have to prove to myself and to others that I am somebody."*

How often do we reduce our labor to that same level? How often do we work primarily to be accepted and approved by others? But acceptance and approval, ultimately, is something we can only find in God. God alone is the One who gives us dignity—not a paycheck, not a five-year award from the boss, not a bonus at the end of a productive year, and not a retirement party after 35 years on the job.

Our significance and meaning are found in God's grace, which enables us to fulfill his purpose.

It's when we sense the futility of work done for the wrong reasons that we sing songs like, Take this job and shove it... Or Sixteen tons and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt... OR If I were a rich man...if I were a wealthy man, I wouldn't have to work hard...

3. God wants to redeem our work.

Into our fallen world, Jesus came not only to redeem us from sin and its consequences of eternal destruction, but to redeem our purpose and function in life. God gives us a reason for our existence. He offers meaning for what we do and assigns value for our work.

Suddenly we're not working just to pay the bills. We're working because we have rediscovered that to work is to reflect the dignity and the nature of the Creator! Work becomes something more than the menial, meaningless drudgery of punching a clock. God elevates work to something we can do to display his own nature and image.

Michelangelo spent 4 years working on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He said: "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." —Michelangelo

So God says to the slave, to the common laborer, to the blue-collar worker: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (v 23).

When we finally discover what it means for God to redeem us—including all the parts of our lives—then we'll see that he redeems our work into something noble and creative. Work can give life and meaning.

Work becomes a place to serve God—not just men. Work can be an expression of worship because we honor God by the labor of our hands! In the process we discover we don't just have a job—we have a calling!

When our motivation on the job becomes to do our best for the Lord, we will transform our work environment. Others will notice the person who works for the Lord. Our work will become another tool to show (not just tell) others about the transforming grace of God! Your job can be a mission field as your work becomes a witness to your co-workers, your boss, your customers, to everyone who does business with you. Christians should be the best workers, the hardest workers, the most diligent employees, the most conscientious workers.

God redeems our work by redeeming us. He gives us a whole new attitude and perspective on the job. And that shift can speak volumes to others! With a new attitude you can:

• Make work a better place to be, more enjoyable (because you find fulfillment in God, not work).
• Raise a sense of purpose and significance and dignity (because it points to God's values).
• Shift your focus from hassles to heaven, from work's frustrations to eternity's goals (because your difficulties are new seen as a means to spiritual growth and formation).

One day we will all stand before the Lord. What we want to hear on that day is, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Matt 25:21). That reward will beat any gold watch or jacket at any retirement party!

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*Some thoughts and illustrations borrowed from Kevin Kim's "Renewing Work: Cupcakes and the Glory of God" published by PreachingToday.com.