You Serve A Higher Master

Last week, I posted a word about slavery in Paul’s address to bondservants in Colossians 3. This was, basically, an excerpt from a sermon i preached on the entire passage of Colossians 3:22-4:1. It is a passage often used to speak to how Christians are to work. I think that is the right way to approach the text, and i wanted to provide another excerpt from my sermon today.

In Colossians 3:18-4:1, Paul shows the fullness of Christ for our home life. In the first four verses, he addresses husbands, wives, children, and parents. Then, in verse 22, he addresses bondservants, or slaves. It’s the same word. In this address, we might expect Paul to start a different way. Why address the slaves before the masters? But this is how Paul arranged the entire section. Why not the husbands before the wives? Why not the fathers before the children? Paul started with the powerless because the powerful are always first. He started where there is the least natural hope. There is grace and mercy in even the arrangement of the verses. God’s word is amazing.

Paul tells the bondservants to “obey in everything those who are your earthly masters.” This is similar to his command to children. Of course, Paul is not condoning sinful behavior. Bondservants are not to be disobedient to their masters, but if their masters ask them to do something sinful, they have a higher master. They are to obey their earthly masters, but they are to fear the Lord. Jesus not only limits the slave master’s authority but also frees the slave to disobey when morally necessary. Their earthly master is only earthly. Jesus is the big boss.

We all have an earthly boss. Someone demands our time and attention. How are we to obey? How are we to work? “Not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.” There are two things here—a positive and a negative. Negatively, we can’t slack off when no one’s looking. Jesus’s eye is ever upon us. Positively, we don’t have to hope someone notices our hard work. Jesus’s eye is ever upon us. Both of these are good news. There isn’t a meaningless moment. The King of the Universe is right there with you. When the King notices you, you can’t slack off. You don’t want to. When the King notices you, you need no other praise. His is enough.  Someone once asked G.K. Chesterton, “If the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?” Chesterton looked them squarely in the eye and said, “He is.”

So when you’re sitting at your desk, tempted to slack off, remember Jesus is watching. Your work matters to him. How you work matters to him. He wants you to work hard because that is how his people work. It’s like the Patriot way or the Yankee way. There is a certain way Christians go about their work. It looks like Jesus—always about his Father’s business. And when you’re sitting at your desk, wishing someone noticed the care you put into every task, remember Jesus is watching. He sees the effort, and he rejoices in it. That care you put into your work is putting the glory of Jesus on display as you devote yourself and your work to him.

This changes our Mondays, doesn’t it? As we serve our earthly masters, we are serving the Lord himself. We are working, most truly, for him. Verse 23, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” This is the fullness of Christ for the worker. Some of us work joyless jobs. All of us have some joyless tasks in our jobs. But Jesus is saying it doesn’t matter what you do. “Whatever you do.” Our work, no matter how small, isn’t too small for Jesus. Our work matters because it matters to him. He is that involved with us. Our little work life isn’t so little. Even the slave’s work is cherished by Jesus and received by him as unto him. That’s amazing.

We all have earthly masters. Some of them are good bosses. Some are not. But we all have a higher master who is good and does good, and he is who ultimately matters. What kind of boss is Jesus? He’s a good one, I promise you. He’s forgiving. He’s gracious. He’s merciful. He’s kind. He expects a lot. He doesn’t coddle us. But he cares for us. He asks us to work hard. Working as unto the Lord means the work actually gets harder—no eye-service, no people-pleasing—but it’s far more rewarding. Jesus makes even the most menial task an important one—not because of what we’re doing but because of who we’re doing it for. We won’t slack off because his eye is always upon us. And he will send his help by the power of his Spirit to give us energy for the task. He will give us rest at night after a hard day. He will give us peace during the tough parts. He will be all we need anyone to be for us and far more. He may ask us to do hard things, but he won’t be hard on us. No matter our current situation, the deepest truth about our work is that Jesus is over it and in it all. His gospel goes everywhere.

Jesus is saying to us today that the motivation for our good, hard work is not to be noticed by him but comes from already being noticed by him. We are under his kind watch. He is not only infusing our work with his grace to honor and glorify him and provide goods and services to others that help them flourish, but he is also receiving all our work unto himself as service to him. No task is meaningless. How could it be? Jesus is in it.

Isn’t that amazing? Is there an area of life that the gospel does not change? There isn’t. That’s the point. Even slaves have meaning now. Even tasks no one else notices are holy moments of service to the King of the Universe. He sees it. He honors it. He rewards it.

So, let’s go and do it, looking to Jesus and trusting him moment by moment.