The way we work

(The following is a highlight from the message preached on July 26, 2020.)

Text: Ephesians 6:5-9

There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about the way we work. This has come about mainly because of the coronavirus. The way we work has changed a lot this year. Many people are now doing tele-work, or “tele-commuting”. So instead of getting on a train or getting in a car to go to work, people are switching on their computers and web cameras, plugging in a microphone, and sending themselves to work through cyberspace.

There have been a few benefits of the new system. I mean, it takes me one hour to get to campus and one hour to get home, so if I work from home, I have an extra 2 hours every day. And if my class start at 11:00, I can lie around the house until 10:55. Then I just put on a shirt over the top of my pajamas, log in to ZOOM, and we’re all good.

Of course, not everyone is able to do telework. But even those people who still go to their workplace, their way of working has changed. There are face masks, and face shields … there are rules about opening windows and washing hands … there are plastic screens and marks on the floor that tell you how close you can stand to someone.

Our whole way of working has changed a lot.

The way you work is incredibly important. God cares deeply about how you do your job.

I mean, the Lord cares about all areas of your life, but especially your job. 

In Ephesians Chapter 6, verses 5-9, it says:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour 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.

And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favouritism with him.

So, we see the word here “slaves”.

That means you. If you have a job and someone pays you a salary, you’re a slave. OK, sure, in Japan in 2020, if you’re unhappy with your job you can quit and find another job. Slaves in biblical times weren’t able to do that.

But essentially, when we read this word “slaves” in the bible, this is talking about you and I. We all have to work. We need to buy food and clothes, we need to pay the rent, or pay back a home loan.

So in one sense, we all have to work. Lying round the house every day in our pajamas is not an option. We’re all slaves.

What does this verse tell you to do?

“Obey your earthly masters”. And, because this is so important, Paul writes it again: “Obey them”.

What does that mean in your job? What work do you do? It might be teaching lessons and correcting homework. It could be changing diapers and singing songs. It could be vacuuming floors or washing windows or making a budget spreadsheet. Any of these. Are all these jobs really work that the Lord has given you?

Yes. It says so right here. When you obey your earthly masters in the right way, you are:

“doing the will of God”

If you answer phones and send emails and teach classes and wash dishes in the right way, you are doing God’s will.

However, if you don’t do your job in the right way … In other words, if you go to work and do all the tasks you’ve been given in the wrong way … Then you aren’t doing the will of God and you’re not doing anything good at all.

So, how do you work in the right way?

Well, I can see four guidelines here in this passage.

1. With an attitude of respect and fear

It is the easiest thing in the world to do everything that your boss asks you to do, while you’re grumbling and complaining to everyone around you. People do that all the time. And even if you don’t actually complain to anyone else, you can mutter and say nasty things inside your head.

Followers of Christ, when they work, have an attitude of respect. One reason why this is so difficult is that your masters are “earthly”. The things of earth are not perfect. The things of earth are sinful, and fallen, and have a lot of bad mixed in with the good. Your boss is like that. Imperfect. And he or she will make mistakes, will misunderstand the situation, will lack love and mercy and generosity. But we need to have an attitude of respect and fear.

2. With sincerity of heart

This word here, “sincerity”, can also mean “simplicity”. Have a simple and sincere heart. In many workplaces there are people who are constantly scheming and making plans. Trying to climb the ladder to success. And everything becomes complicated. Some people think,

“If I do that, then he will think this, and then he’ll give me this job to do, or I’ll get that position, and so then if do say this …”

You know what I mean? I think we all know people like that. Nothing is ever simple with those people. The boss gives them a job to do, and they overthink it. “Why was I given this job? If I do this job well, then he will owe me a favor, and then I’ll be able to …”

Engaging in office politics. Don’t do that. Don’t make it complicated. Obey your earthly masters in simplicity, with sincerity of heart.

3.Not only to win their favour when their eye is on you

Don’t work hard only when someone is watching you. Don’t work hard only when you know that you’ll get some kind of credit or recognition.

In your job, there are probably some tasks that people will recognize. There are some tasks, and when you do these tasks, someone will see it and go, “Wow. You did a great job here. Well done.” You might get your name printed in the company newsletter.

And then there are some other tasks, which are just as important, but probably no one will notice. None of the people you work with may notice, but the Lord will. The Lord sees everything you do. Christian men and women don’t work hard to impress their earthly masters when they’re watching, but they remember that they’re working for the Lord, whose eye is always on us.

4. Serve wholeheartedly

Put your whole heart into your work. If you’re going to do a job, do it to the very best of your ability. Do your best in everything.

“as if you were serving the Lord, not men”

Remember what we said before: The job that you are doing has been given to you from God. That doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever. You’re free to move around, find another job, work in another place. The Lord may call you somewhere else, where he has a different job for you.

But, while you are employed somewhere, and you are getting a paycheck from that place, your duty is to put your whole heart into your work, just as if you were serving the Lord.

So, that is the way we are to work. With respect and fear, with sincerity of heart, not only when you are being watched, but all the time, putting your whole heart into your work.

Why?

“because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.”