Your Real Boss
Labor Day at TCF
September 6, 2009
I heard a story the other day about a homeless man who walked up to the front door of a big house, and knocked on the door until the owner answered. He said, �Sir, could I please have something to eat? I haven�t had a meal in days.� The well-to-do owner of the house said, �I have made my fortune in the world by never giving anything away for free. If you go around to the back of the house, you�ll find a fresh gallon of paint and a clean brush. Paint my porch and I�ll give you a good meal.� The homeless man headed off to the back of the house. About an hour later he knocked on the front door. The homeowner was surprised. �You�re finished already? That was quick! Come on in and sit down, and I�ll have the cook bring you a meal.� �Thank you, sir!� the homeless man said. �I must tell you, though, you really don�t know your cars. That�s not a Porch back there. It�s a BMW."
Here�s a really loose connection, just so I could use that story to open this morning. The man with the big house valued work, and wanted the homeless man to value it too. And now, here we are on Labor Day weekend, and what do we do? Most of us take the day off of work on this day we have to honor the value of work and workers.
Someone must have forgotten to put up the Labor Day decorations here in our church. After all, it�s Labor Day Eve, and many of us will be opening our Labor Day gifts tonight, while some others will probably wait until the morning. Have you gotten all your Labor Day cards out? And don�t you just love listening to all the Labor Day carols?
Of course not. We don�t think of Labor Day like many other holidays, do we? We don�t really even mark this holiday for its original founding purpose � it was made a national holiday in 1894, and its purpose was to honor America�s workers, particularly those who worked for labor unions, and it had a labor union flavor from day one.
Today, we think of Labor Day as the three-day weekend that marks the last blast of summer for most people. The only trappings that we associate with Labor Day are not cards, gifts, songs or decorations � it�s more like sunscreen, beaches, and another day to sleep in. And of course, a day off of work. It�s not a good weekend for churches, either, because many people like to use this weekend as their last summer-weather getaway of the season,and so they get out of town.
Amazingly enough, even the greeting card companies, who manage to capitalize on almost anything else resembling a holiday, haven�t quite figured out how to get people to want to send Labor Day cards to anyone.
So, there�s no real Christian reason to mark this particular holiday, but there is a very clear biblical reason to understand our labor, our work, and its relationship to our Lord, and our faith in Christ.
God cares about our work, whatever that may be, and He claims it as His own.
Colossians 3:22-24 (NIV) Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
At first glance, you might think, hey, that has nothing to do with our work, or our jobs in this day and age. That�s all about slaves and masters. And yes, that�s the immediate context. But I don�t think it�s a stretch at all to say that, if Paul admonished slaves to do their work well and with sincerity of heart, and to do their work as working for the Lord and not for men, then how much more would that admonition apply to those of us who are being paid to do a job?
We can scarcely imagine the menial, demeaning and wretched tasks that such slaves did in these times. Yet, God himself regarded such work as being done for him.
So, though this passage was originally written to slaves and to their masters, Christ introduced both parties (slaves and their masters) to a higher dimension in their work, to an overriding set of obligations. Jesus Christ reminded them that He was Lord of their specific work environment. Neil Hood: God�s Payroll
When considering the relationships between bosses and workers, versus slaves and masters, clearly the relationships are not exact parallels.
However, when we apply Paul�s teaching here, we can see it does relate to many work situations. There�s still a lot of struggle between labor and management, between employers and employees. There�s conflict, there are accusations of selfishness, and unreasonableness.
Employees don�t want to work as hard, they want fewer hours, more vacation and more pay and benefits. Employers want more productivity and more profits.
So, from God�s viewpoint, what do we do about this? How should we, as followers of Christ, view our work, and how should we conduct ourselves in our workplaces? How should we handle the problems that inevitably surface wherever people interact on any level, but especially in a situation where one has some sort of power over another? I think these are worthy questions, and I believe the scriptures have some answers.
So, I don�t think it�s unreasonable to take this passage and insert the idea of workers and employees, so that the passage might read like this:
Colossians 3:22-24 paraphrased�employees, obey your bosses in everything; and do this, not only when your boss is watching you and to win his favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for your employer, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
So, if such an admonition applies to slaves, it must also apply to carpenters, janitors, accountants, secretaries, fast-food workers, salesmen, computer programmers, teachers, nurses, homemakers, counselors, students, construction workers and so on and so on.
In other words, it really does include all of us in some way. There are a lot of implications for us as followers of Christ if we seek to apply the things in this passage of scripture to our daily tasks.
First and foremost, it tells us who our real boss is. Some of us have bosses that are great to work for. Some of us work for people who might really help us relate to this idea of slaves and their masters, because they make us feel like slaves. Most of us are somewhere in the middle.
Maybe we don�t work for a slavedriver, but often, our bosses or supervisors do leave a little to be desired. But Paul is telling us here that it doesn�t matter. Because, whoever supervises you is not your real boss. He or she is only a delegate of your real boss.
So, whether or not your boss recognizes that he�s not really THE boss, we, as followers of Christ, are to do our work in such a way that we reflect the reality
that we are working for our real boss, we are working for the Lord, and not for that boss who just happens to supervise our us on the job, and maybe signs our paycheck.
This understanding alone, even without the other elements we see in this passage, has tremendous implications.
Paul says you need to go to work every day as eagerly as you would if Jesus were your personal supervisor. Go about that work as if you were typing that letter for Jesus to sign, programming that computer for Jesus to run, building that house for Jesus to live in. There�s no doubt at all that if Jesus really were your boss, you�d be willing to obey without argument and without delay. You would try to give your best all day long. Paul says that�s how a Christian should serve his superior. Alan Smith
We see in this passage in Colossians some very real, very practical elements of our daily work. For example, in verse 22, we see this: very few of us have jobs where our bosses see every task of every part of every work day. Most of the time, we�re given tasks as part of our job, and at least some, if not most of those tasks, are done out of the sight of our boss.
Now, in many of our jobs, our boss can see results that tell him or her whether or not we�ve done what we�re being paid to do. But the reality is, if we�re so inclined, we can get away with some level of laziness or half-heartedness in our work. In most of our jobs, if we cut a few corners once in a while, if we sat around for a few minutes, if we surfed our facebook pages, if we played computer solitaire for a few minutes, or watched that funny Youtube video, at a time when we�re not on break, or when we�re supposed to be doing something else, our bosses wouldn�t know. We might actually be able to get away with it, without threatening our jobs.
As Christians, Paul is telling us that our work calls for a level of integrity that might not come naturally to us. That�s why we started with the idea of remembering who our real boss is. We are to obey our supervisors in everything, even when they�re not watching us. Even when they can�t see what we�re doing.
This is a perfect illustration of how it�s true that the person you really are, not the one you claim to be, is revealed when no one else is around. Do we do the right thing when no one else can see? Do we work well when no one else sees we�re working hard? This is a temptation for all of us � to slack off when no one is watching. But when we do that, it shows that we�re doing what the KJV of these verses calls �eye-service�, and we�re just �men-pleasers.�
This is an expression that only Paul uses in the NT, in only two places,here and in Ephesians 6: 5-7, where he writes:
Slaves, obey your masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
This is almost a parallel passage to the verses we�re looking at in Colossians, reiterating many of the same ideas.
So, we are to do our jobs well whether or not we�re being monitored, we don�t do them just to gain our bosses favor, and we do it with sincerity of heart, or as the KJV says �singleness of heart� � which indicates a singleness of purpose.
When we�re working, even in our secular jobs, or in our classroom, or in our home, we�re to do all these things with this kind of attitude of heart.
Why? Again, because ultimately we�re not serving our earthly boss. Ultimately, we�re not even doing it primarily for the paycheck. We�re serving the Lord. We�re doing what we do as if we�re doing it for the Lord Himself.
Can you see how such an attitude could revolutionize the workplace?
Bad attitudes in the workplace are legendary. It�s very common to join a conversation in a workplace and hear people complaining about almost every aspect of their jobs. Everybody looks forward to the weekends, or days off, because we don�t have to work on those days. Now, admittedly, there�s a cycle of work and rest that we ignore at our own peril, but for many people, they work only because they have to. I owe I owe, so off to work I go.
Can you imagine how, if we really took seriously the ideas in these passages of scripture, how it would revolutionize our attitudes toward work, and how if it spread, it could truly impact the places we work?
Well, you say, Bill, you just don�t understand. You don�t work where I work. You don�t know how difficult my boss can be. He�s a total pagan, and he curses and degrades people. You don�t have to put up with the kinds of people I work with.
And of course that�s true. I don�t walk in your shoes. But I have worked in difficult places. I think most of you know I worked for more than 20 years in the secular work world. I have worked for difficult people and with difficult people. And I admit I didn�t always have the best attitude about my work then. So in some ways I do understand, and I can relate and commiserate. But let�s not dwell on whether or not I understand. That�s not really important here. Let�s look at what the scripture says.
Let�s remember Daniel in the Old Testament. He worked for a pagan too. Daniel wasn�t treated fairly, either, and one of his bosses, who happened to be the CEO, or the king, unjustly threw him into a lion�s den, despite his faithful service to his boss. But Daniel not only faithfully served his boss, his boss almost innately seemed to know that Daniel�s real boss was not the king, but the King of Kings.
Daniel 6:20 tells us what the king said when he came to the lion�s den to see what had happened to Daniel.
Daniel 6:20: (NIV) When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, �Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?�
Of course, God did rescue Daniel from death. But the point is, isn�t it interesting that
Daniel worked in a pagan environment. He worked in a pagan office. He worked for a pagan king. And yet, the one thing (the) pagan king knew about Daniel was that Daniel served God continually. Melvin Newland
See how having the attitude that when we do our work, we�re doing it for the Lord, can impact the workplace? Do your co-workers know that about you? Do they know, as the king knew about Daniel, that you serve God continually � and I guess continually would have to include your work life?
Do they know that about you, not because you�ve been thumping your Bible at them, but because your work is excellent, your attitude toward your work is Godly, your demeanor is Christlike?
Also, when you�re tempted to think, well, the apostle Paul never had to work with my boss, let�s remember who Paul is addressing here. He�s writing this to people who were literally, physically owned by another person. They were slaves.
Now, none of us can truly understand what that�s like � we can only imagine. If we work for a difficult boss or with challenging people, we can escape at the end of the work day, find a respite with our Christian friends, find support from them.
But the slave is always a slave. We might work 40 hours, and in some jobs, we might have to work 50 or 60 hours each week.
But Paul was writing to slaves, and they were slaves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. This is who Paul was addressing in this letter to the Colossians, and in his letter to the Ephesians we just read. And he didn�t cut the slaves any corners. He didn�t say, gee, I know you�re slaves, so maybe these kinds of things need not apply to you.
It is interesting to note the amount of space devoted in the NT to slaves. This is not without significance. It shows that no matter how low a person�s social status may be, he still can attain the very highest in the Christian life through faithfulness to the word of God. Perhaps it also reflects the foreknowledge of God that most Christian people would occupy places of service rather than positions of authority. For instance, there is very little instruction in the NT that refers to rulers of nations, but there is considerable advice for those who devote their lives in the service of others.
Believers Bible Commentary
So, when our work lives are difficult, we could easily and almost understandably be tempted to slack off when the boss isn�t looking. We might in our minds try to justify this idea � after all, he treats me that way, or doesn�t pay me enough, why should I work hard? But we must again ask the question. Who�s our real Boss? And if we�re really doing our work as unto the Lord, who are we cheating when we slack off or don�t do our jobs well? Whatever we do, we are to do it as if we�re doing it for Our Lord.
In every form of Christian service as well as in every sphere of life, there are many tasks which people find obnoxious. Needless to say, we try to avoid such work. But this verse teaches us the very important lesson that the humblest service can be glorified and dignified by doing it for the Lord. In this sense, there is no difference between secular and sacred work. All is sacred. Rewards in heaven will not be for prominence or apparent successes; they will not be for talents or opportunities; but rather for faithfulness. Believers Bible Commentary
This touches on another line of thinking we sometimes fall into. We tend to think there�s the secular on the one hand, and the sacred or spiritual on the other. We tend to create a false divide between these two things.
I think that�s a common mistake, and it can lead to some real problems in our Christian life. If we come here together to worship the Lord on Sundays, to hear His Word preached, and then live like hell the rest of the week, what kind of faith is that? I don�t believe God divides up our week that way. If what we learn here on Sundays does not impact the way we live our lives, the choices we make, the rest of the week, I think we�re in trouble.
One of the things I think this passage is telling us is that there is no such division between the secular and the spiritual. Paul tells us �whatever� you do�
Whatever � if you think about it, �whatever� could include much more than what we�re focusing on this morning. It includes even more than our work. Colossians 3:23 tells us whatever you do, work at it with all your heart. The parallel passage in Ephesians says it this way:
�Serve wholeheartedly.� The NAS of Ephesians 6:7 says: �With good will render service, as to the Lord, not to men.�
So we�re to serve wholeheartedly. We�re also to do it with good will. This speaks to our attitude.
Good will is to be the principal virtue of a slave towards his master: a real regard to his master�s interest as if his own, a good will which not even a master�s severity can extinguish. JFB Commentary
A faithful Christian doesn�t just do the minimum his job requires, much less work only when his supervisor is watching. In fact, he shouldn�t need to be checked up on at all, because he always does the work to the best of his ability, whether or not anyone is around. And he works just as hard when he�s passed over for a raise or promotion as when he�s being considered for them. He does his work with "sincerity of heart", with all his heart. Alan Smith
There are many other things we could look at related to this idea of our work and our faith, but let me briefly touch on just a few ideas before we finish, and begin to enjoy the rest of our Labor Day weekend.
We need to be reminded that how we work and the attitude we display in our work reflects Jesus well or poorly. It either helps to provide us opportunities, or ruins any opportunities we could have to share Christ.
Think about it. Would you listen to the testimony of a Christian who does lousy work � one who is careless, or one who is always complaining about the boss or co-workers? If someone is a lazy employee, or disobeys the workplace rules�if someone sneaks off with office supplies for personal use, are you going to be inclined to listen to them when they begin to talk about the gospel?
These kinds of behaviors and attitudes will destroy any opportunities you�ll have to share your faith with your boss or your co-workers. The only way for you to have a position of positive influence is to live your life in such a way that shows you�re different from the other employees.
The Lord revealed this to me many times in my jobs through the years. He revealed it to me in a couple of ways. First, I saw that I didn�t always have to say something to someone for them to know I was a follower of Christ.
One time, I went into the office of the president of my largest client and he was on the phone. He saw me at the door and waved me in to have a seat, and then turned in his chair to finish his conversation. His conversation was filled with a lot of four letter words, and none of them was �work.�
A few minutes later, he finished his call and turned his chair around, looking momentarily startled, as if he�d briefly forgotten I was sitting there in his office. He said, �I�m sorry, I know you�re a good Christian and don�t use such language.�
At this point, I had never said anything to him about my faith, and I had never commented on, let alone chastised him, for his potty mouth. But he knew � we�d spent enough time together that he somehow knew. So, I do believe there come times when we can and must speak. But our relationship with our co-workers starts with the way we live our lives.
The other thing I believe the Lord revealed to me a few times in my work was that I was the only Christian influence in one of my co-worker�s life. What an awesome, scary responsibility. Coupled with that was the prompting to pray. I know that many of you pray for me, and I have other family and friends who do, too. But imagine having a sense that this person you work with every day has only one person really praying for them.
One more thing. I�ve spoken exclusively to employees this morning, because that�s where most of us live. But if you�re also a boss, you have the same motivation and the same goals an employee has. That is, the first and foremost goal as a supervisor is to please the Lord, to do your work as unto the Lord.
If you�re the boss in some settings, the same admonitions apply to you � do God�s will, obey Him, do your work as if you�re doing it for Jesus, display Christlike character in everything you do.
Just as Christian employees should be the absolute best employees in any organization, Christian bosses and supervisors should be the best, too � reflecting the character of the One they follow in all their attitudes and actions.
In some ways, I think we�ve slipped into the same mindset about work that we�ve adopted from our culture about marriage and having children. We�ve bought into our culture�s idea that marriage, having children, and work, are supposed to make us happy and fulfilled. Now, there�s nothing wrong with finding satisfaction and fulfillment in our work, or in our marriages and families, but sometimes we�re going about it the wrong way. We�re trying to change our work when in fact God often wants to use our work to change us.
Most of us spend at least a third of our weekdays working. Add that up and it�s a lot of hours in our lives. If we�re relying on that for our sense of satisfaction, our worth, our joy, or happiness, we�ll inevitably be disappointed.
But if our goal is to glorify the King of Kings, if our satisfaction and fulfillment is rooted and grounded in our relationship with Jesus, then the satisfaction we find in our work is gravy � it�s a byproduct, not of our relationship with our work, but our relationship with our Lord.
Let�s remember that, as we rest and enjoy Labor Day, then return to our places of employment or our classrooms on Tuesday with a renewed sense of who our Real Boss is.
Pray
