5 “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.” (Ephesians 6:5–8 (ESV)
What is to be the Christian’s perspective to their work, whether it be secular or sacred? Our work ethic, whether we are a mail carrier, a meat cutter, a massage therapist, or a manicurist, speaks to the type of person we are and the integrity, or the lack thereof that we possess.
The Apostle Paul continued his divinely inspired thoughts on work in Ephesians 6:7-8. These words serve the employee well and will benefit them whether they are a white collar or blue collar worker. In other words, it doesn’t matter whether you respectively work in an office or dig ditches for a living. All work is to be done for the honor and glory of God.
Ephesians 6:7 says, “7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man.” The phrase rendering service (δουλεύω; douleuo) means to serve in a humble manner. The godly employee is to esteem other workers as better than himself and to never seek to glorify himself.
Additionally, the Christian worker is to humbly do so with a good will (εὔνοια; eunoia). This means to perform your tasks at work with eagerness, wholeheartedness, enthusiasm and zeal. This is done when the Christian employee views their work as done for the Lord and ultimately not for men or the company.
Dr. R. C. Sproul writes, “The fundamental tenet Paul unfolds in Ephesians 6:5–8 is that we serve our earthly supervisors with an eye to the Lord. We are servants of Christ before all else (v. 6), and key to serving Jesus well is doing the will of those in authority over us, insofar as that will does not violate God’s law, of course. Our Creator rules His creation through delegated authorities (Rom. 13:1–7); consequently, to obey the directives of authorities is to obey God Himself. Simply put, we cannot claim to be Christ’s servants if we do not heed those whom God has put over us. Such obedience must be rendered with respect, not begrudging contempt.”
Soli deo Gloria!
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