Working as unto the Lord

"Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ;  not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,  with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,  knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free."
Ephesians 6:5-8 (NKJV)

It can be difficult working for an earthly master like your boss in the workplace.  We can feel like we are serving under a Saul or even feel like we are a Daniel serving a pagan king in a foreign place.  It’s easy to get discouraged when serving under others who have vastly different beliefs than we do.  But let me encourage you that there is hope even as you serve under difficult people.  As we serve in the workforce, we need to be attentive to where we have our focus and whom it is we are serving.  This verse helps us a lot in this sphere of life.  First, notice that we are not simply serving our earthly masters, but our heavenly One.  Our focus should not be pleasing men, but pleasing God.  Everything we do should be as unto the Lord.  This makes life all that much easier – knowing that the Lord sees our work and will reward us accordingly.  With that change of focus will come the motivation to do all things well, not just what you need to do to get by without getting in trouble.
Have you ever wondered how Daniel, a man of God, was so successful while serving ungodly kings in a pagan nation?  It was because he served, in everything, as unto the Lord.  In fact, even evil men who were jealous of Daniel’s success said of him, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
If we are good Christians, we will be good workers.  Don’t focus on your boss at work because they are ultimately flawed but set your sight on the ultimate Boss – Jesus Christ.  Work for Jesus in all you do and see if that doesn’t change your outlook on life in the workplace.  I’ll bet it does.

Anchored in Christ,
Aaron R. Force