The Preeminence of Christ in Our Work | Resources
Sermon Text: Colossians 3:22–4:1
“Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism. Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.” (CSB)
Devotional
One of our deepest desires as Christians is to please and glorify God in what we do. When I was preparing to graduate from college, this was a struggle. The campus ministry I was involved with brought in people from various missionary organizations and seminaries to talk to the seniors about what full-time ministry would look like. However, I didn’t necessarily feel called to either of those paths and was about to start a corporate job. Deep down, I felt that I was shortchanging God and was of less value to Him than those going into missions or ministry.
Often, it seems that church teaching on work implicitly elevates full-time ministry as a higher calling. Or it promotes “secular” work as a good opportunity to evangelize to non-believers but not much else. Our workplaces are certainly not exempt from the Great Commission, but that viewpoint still needs to give more value to the work itself that we spend a substantial portion of our waking hours doing. However, when Paul instructs us in Colossians 3:23 that “whatever” we do should be done for the Lord, he is not only tearing down this sacred-secular hierarchy but also building on a rich theology of work found in the Bible:
• God created us to work – In Genesis 1:20, God instructs man to fill the earth and subdue it. The idea of subduing the earth is directly related to productivity and creativity. Further, in Genesis 2:15, God puts Adam in the garden to “work” it. The Hebrew word used here for work is used elsewhere in the Old Testament in the context of manual labor. God designed work as a good thing that we do in relationship with Him.
• Work was cursed by the fall, not caused by it It may seem like we have to work as a punishment for our sin, but work remained as God designed it until Genesis 3:17-18. These verses say that our work will be painful and filled with thorns and thistles, which we could relate to things like bad bosses, untrustworthy coworkers, and career frustration. Those things, however, are temporal and not ultimate.
• Jesus walked this path – Mark 6:3 explicitly identifies Jesus as a carpenter. He actually would have spent quite a bit more of His life in that profession than His public ministry. In fact, in Mark 6, the people of Nazareth, His hometown, reject Jesus due to His perceived lack of professional prestige. He could certainly relate to some of the frustrations we experience in our work but faithfully served His Father nonetheless.
Wherever we work, whether in a cubicle, warehouse, field, or classroom, our work has value to God, and we can honor Him by doing it with integrity and competency.
Discussion/Reflection Questions
1. How do we apply this passage about bondservants to our culture and context?
2. Define the fear of the Lord. How does the fear of the Lord impact our daily actions?
3. How does the proper perspective lead to the right action or response?
4. In what area(s) of your life do you feel like you are not ‘working heartily for the Lord’?
5. In light of this text, what does it look like to obey the prompting of the Spirit this week?
Memory Verse
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7 (CSB)