In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes,
“Obey your earthly masters … as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as [servants] of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.”
Ephesians 6:5-6
I got my first job in high school doing after-hours filing for a medical office. I would arrive 30 minutes before closing and start the repetitive tasks of putting away the files of the day and pulling the ones for the next. Usually my boss was finishing up with his last patient or in his office getting ready to go.
That first half hour at the office was always my best. I worked extra hard so he could see how responsible I was, how attentive I was and how quick I could get through the tasks set before me. Then he would head home and I was left alone in the office to finish the rest of my work. In an instant my pace would slow and I’d find myself wandering aimlessly around the file room daydreaming or singing songs to myself. The boss was gone and often times my focus and effort would leave with him.
In this verse Paul cautions us about this way of thinking and acting. Labouring simply for the benefit of ourselves or of others is not enough. He reminds us to do all that our earthly masters ask of us with the attitude of servants working for Jesus himself.
As Christians, we need to give our all in work so that our work would be worthy of our true master. God cares about what we’re doing nine to five. He cares about our big, exciting successes at work as much as he does the little tasks we do invisibly in the filing room.
Top image credit: Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, painting by Ford Madox Brown, 1852-56, Tate Gallery London, UK, image in the public domain. Source: wikiart.org
Patricia Ong is a member of the Families for Christ community in Vancouver, Canada.