It’s Not Just A Job,It’s An Example! Colossians 3:22-4:1

Adapted from a Jeffery Anselmi sermonhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?

ContributorID=&SermonID=94591

Colossians 3:22-4:1 ESV Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as

people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that

from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving

the Lord Christ.

25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. 4:1 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also

have a Master in heaven.

How many love to get up and go to work each day?

How many cannot wait for the next work day?

How many look forward to Monday as much as Saturday?

How many put as much into working as they do looking for a way to get out of

working?

"For many days an old farmer had been plowing with an ox and a mule together

and working them pretty hard. The ox said to the mule, ‘Let’s play sick today and rest a little while.’ But the old mule said, ‘No, we need to get the work done, for the season

is short.’

"But the ox played sick, and the farmer brought him fresh hay and corn and made him comfortable. When the mule came in from plowing, the ox asked how he made out. ‘We didn’t get as much done, but we made it all right,’ answered the mule. The

ox asked, ‘What did the old man say about me?’ ‘Nothing,’ said the mule.

"The next day the ox, thinking he had a good thing going, played sick again. When the mule came in again very tired, the ox asked, ‘How did it go?’ The mule said, ‘All

right, I guess, but we didn’t get much done.’ Then the ox also asked, ‘What did the old man say about me?’ ‘Nothing to me,’ was the reply, ‘but he did stop and

have a long talk with the butcher.’"

The sign in the store window read: NO HELP WANTED. As two men passed by,

one said to the other, "You should apply--you’d be great."

For many American workers today, time’s a wastin’ - literally.

According to a survey by America Online and Salary.com, the average worker admits

to frittering away 2.09 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and

scheduled break-time.

As a matter of practice, companies assume a certain amount of wasted time when

determining employee pay.However, the America Online / Salary.com

survey indicates that employees are wasting about twice as much time as their

employers expect.

Salary.com calculated that employers spend $759 billion per year on salaries for

which real work was expected, but not actually performed.

http://www.systemsdynamics.net/aeprod/articles/05092.pdf

Why do we work?

Is it just to make some money?

When we work, how are we supposed to do it, are we called to give the minimum effort

or are we to give more?

More importantly does God have a purpose in mind for us as we spend 40-60 hours

plus a week in the workplace?

In the text we are going to seek answers to these work related questions from God’s

Word.The text speaks of the relationship between

a slave and his master.The closest thing we have to this

relationship today is the employer/employee relationship.

We are going to look at four principles of the workplace that we need to understand so that we can please and glorify God in

the workplace.

Understanding these principles will help you to find a deeper meaning and purpose

to work than just drawing a paycheck.

Work Is A PlaceTo Display Integrity

The fact that most spend 40 hours or more per week at work means

some people spend more quality time with their co-workers than they do with their

families.

We spend a lot of time with people and we have a lot of influence over them.

We can be one of the reasons they come to Jesus or turn away from Jesus.

The workplace provides an opportunity to practice what we believe and it is a place where we can display a level of integrity

that matches our faith.

Look at what God’s Word tells us concerning the issue of integrity.

Colossians 3:22 ESV Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as

people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

That word OBEDIENCE shows back up. Slaves were told to obey their masters in

everything.Now if we translate that to the workplace, we would be told that we are to obey our

employers in ALL things.The exception comes when we are told to do something that is contrary to what God

tells us to do.

Here is where the integrity comes in.It is pretty easy to do what the boss wants you to do when they are watching isn’t it?

Look again at what God’s Word says in verse 22. We are to obey…not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with

sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

The Message says: Colossians 3:22 MSG Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the

minimum that will get you by. Do your best.When the boss is not looking, when the

boss is not standing over your shoulder we are to work with sincerity of heart.

A sincere heart is one that is not divided in its’ loyalty.

When we are at work, we are to be loyal to our employer.

That is part of what we get paid to do.

Grumbling EmployeesWe know that no matter what, when we are

at work, we are to work with diligence.Why?

Because we “fear” or we hold God in high reverence!

We work hard because our God would want it that way.

If I am a lazy untrustworthy employee, what will happen when I try to tell others about

Jesus?

I’m sure you’ve seen this VERY thing happen.

How many want life changing advice from a lazy untrustworthy co-worker?

The way a person works will affect how effective they are in reaching others for

Jesus.

We must guard against just trying to look good when people can see us.

Let us look at a second principle that will help us to better understand our roles at

work.

We Need To UnderstandWho We Really Work For.

When you are on the job, who are you really working for?

You are working for the place that is giving you the paycheck, but you work for

someone who is higher in authority than the CEO of the company.

Years ago, a missionary to Africa was responsible for getting the natives in his

area to do certain jobs.He discovered that they were all rather lazy

and would only perform while he was actually watching them.

When he left they would stop work and do nothing until he returned.

This man had a glass eye, and one day when his eye was irritating him, he took it

out and put it on a stump.When he returned he found that everybody

was still working because the "eye," as they thought, was watching them the whole time he was away. That is what the apostle

means here: eye-service! Working only when the boss is watching.

This man thought he had found a great way to free himself, until one day he returned to

discover that one of the workers had sneaked around from behind and put his hat over the eye. Everyone was lounging

around, enjoying themselves.That is eye-service!

Why was that kind of effort not there all the time?

How is the Christian called to work?

Look at what verse 23 tells us.

Colossians 3:23 ESV Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for

men,

We are called to work heartily. This means we are to work faithfully from our

innermost being, putting our heart & soul into it.

Who are we working for?We are told to work as if we are working for

the Lord!Would that change the way you go at your

job?In a moment we will see why it is of the utmost importance for us to understand

this concept.

I know how easy it is to get upset at your employer.

It is easy to justify not giving your best, but that is not an excuse for doing so.

If you are in a job in which you cannot give your best, then for your own spiritual good, you need to find somewhere else to work.

If you realize that you are really working for Jesus, it will change your attitude about

work.We’ve all worked with people who would

profess misery in their job, I’ve done it, but they would do nothing about it other than coming into work every Monday only to go

through it all again.

The truth of the matter is that for many people, complaining about the job is easier

than actually doing something about it.

Realize that when you work, you are representing Jesus wherever you are.

Paul is reapplying this very important command from 6 verses earlier.

Colossians 3:17 ESV And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the

Father through him.

Let us look at an important third principle of the workplace.

Payday Is Coming

Why are we to work heartily?

Why are we to work heartily, as for the Lord?

One day, we will receive a paycheck of sorts from God.

Colossians 3:24 ESV knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord

Christ.

Those who belong to Christ will receive their full inheritance.

This issue of inheritance was a foreign concept to the slaves of the day because

they would not receive any kind of inheritance.

The slave had nothing to really look forward to in this life so the appeal was to realize that God has a wonderful reward awaiting those who are faithful to Him.

This goes back to knowing who you serve. Look at what verse 24 reminds us!

You are serving the Lord Christ!WOW!

In the parable of the talents, Jesus reveals the reward for those who were faithful with

what they were given.

Matthew 25:23 ESV His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You

have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your

master.'

Part of being that faithful servant is remembering that we will receive the

ultimate paycheck from Jesus! Remember our salvation is not earned, but

we will be judged for what we do.2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV For we must all

appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether

good or evil.

25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no

partiality.Verse 25 reminds us of a sobering thought:

those who do not faithfully serve will receive something also; they will receive the consequences of not being faithful.

It does not matter who you are, God will deal with each one of us.

“God’s going to take care of you” can have a positive meaning, “Well done, good and faithful servant, I’m going to take care of you.” & a negative meaning, “You wicked and slothful servant! (Matthew 25:26) I’m going

to take care of you!”

This goes back to realizing that although your earthly boss may not see you, God

does.

We are serving Him.

If we are in a situation where we are just drawing a paycheck, what kind of example

will we be to those around us?

Remember who you serve and remember who writes the ultimate check!

The last principle we need to understand is this:

Employers Have A Boss Also

In the slave/master relationship, masters needed to know they had responsibilities

before God also.

Employers need to realize they too will be held accountable before God for how they

handled their position and authority.

Colossians 4:1 ESV Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you

also have a Master in heaven.

The employer is not to take advantage of the employee.

They are to provide a fair wage.

They are to provide good working conditions and they are to treat their

employees with fairness and respect.

Gayla sure enjoyed working for the insurance company in Montana.

The wages were good and they also provided some of the best working

conditions you would find.

The management treated employees with respect. It was a good place to work.

The employer too will answer to God.

The Christian businessman has a higher standard to work with.

Conclusion

It’s not just a job, it is an example. Many people will spend as much time or more

time at work then they do with their family.

We are called to do our best; the Christian should not just give a minimum effort because we are working for the Lord!

Other people will draw conclusions about our God by the way we conduct ourselves

at work.

Christian and non-Christian employers should want to hire Christians because we

should be the hardest working, most reliable and ethical people they can hire.

I remember when in Bible College it was stressed that businesses wanted to hire the students because they were noted to be hard working & reliable. So when we

took a job we were to keep that reputation in tact.

Remember, we represent Jesus wherever we are.