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Ingleside Presbyterian Church A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America |
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Ingleside Presbyterian Church A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America |
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A guy came home from work and
told his wife, “I had a terrible day at the office, honey.
The computer network crashed and we all had
to think.”
Another guy was the victim of a computer
error.
He took home a plank check in his pay
envelope.
When he opened it up he said, “Just as I
thought.
My deductions have finally caught up with
my salary.”
A non-productive employee came in to see
his boss and said, “Boss, your assistant just died and I was wondering
if I could take his place.”
The boss replied, “It’s all right with me
if you can arrange it with the funeral home.” This is Labor Day weekend.
Labor Day is an unusual holiday, because
while we call it Labor Day, we try to do as little labor as possible and
most working people have the day off.
Nobody has wished me a “Happy Labor Day.”
We don’t get Labor Day cards or decorate
our houses or give Labor Day gifts.
The florists and greeting card
manufacturers have not found a way to capitalize on it.
To a factory or office worker, it’s a day
off, but for policemen, who deal with extra traffic and alcohol abuse,
it’s a tough day.
For farmers, it’s just another day to feed
the cattle and tend the fields.
For pastors, it’s an opportunity to talk
about work…so I will. Salary.com released job
satisfaction statistics for 2009.
In this crazy economy, most of the
respondents were grateful for a steady paycheck, many workers are
searching for something better.
65% reported being “somewhat satisfied”
with their jobs, while only 15% said they were “extremely satisfied.”
Employers think that 30% of their employees
are “extremely satisfied” but workers often complain that management is
“out of touch.”
Also, 65% reported that they are looking
around for something better.
The top ten most satisfying occupations
are:
The Ten Worst Jobs in
How would you rate yourself as
satisfied with your work?
It is a known fact that we spend a majority
of our lives working.
We actually spend up to 70% of our waking
hours at work.
I believe that it is important that we
enjoy our work, rather than endure it. Let’s look at what Scripture
says about this subject (Col. 3:22-4:1):
“Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by
way of eye-service, as people pleasers, but with sincerity of heart,
fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord & not
for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as
your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be
paid back for the wrong he has done, & there is no partiality.
Masters, treat your slaves justly & fairly,
knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” Now, the opening salutation may
be a little disturbing to you to think of your being a
“slave.”
Of course, that is reminiscent of the old
sign that read: You Can’t It is probably not hard to
imagine how slaves felt about their masters.
In the midst of this tension, Paul gave
some clear instructions for Christian slaves and masters.
Thankfully, slavery is not part of our
culture, but these principles apply to us in the 21st
Century.
The masters represent the employers and the
slaves are the employees. The key phrase in this passage
is found in verse 23, where we are told to
“work heartily.”
Another translation says,
“Let your hearts be in your
work.”
Is there anything to work other
than the pay?
Are we doomed to be frustrated at work?
Or is it possible to find fulfillment on
the job?
We are called to enjoy work.
When we enjoy our work, we will work at it
with all our heart.
Our heart will truly be in our work.
Now, how do we know if we enjoy our work?
We excel at work. Jack Nicklaus, one of the
world’s golfing greats, said: “I firmly believe that people only do
their best at things they truly enjoy. It is difficult to excel at
something you don’t enjoy.”
Do we have that viewpoint about work?
For many of us, we look at work as a curse.
A burden instead of a blessing.
Was work at curse from God? Genesis 1:28 was about Adam and
Eve before they sinned in the Garden of Eden.
It reads:
“And God blessed them. And God
said to them, ‘Be fruitful & multiply & fill the earth & subdue it &
have dominion over the fish of the sea & over the birds of the heavens,
& over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
Now,
we often focus on the “be
fruitful & multiply” mandate here, but God also commanded the first
man and woman to subdue the earth and rule over everything on the earth.
Now, I see that as a job description.
Even before the curse…the fall of man,
there was work.
Work was and still is God’s blessing to
man.
It was not part of the curse.
In Genesis 2:15, we are told
“The Lord God took the man & put
him in the garden of Eden to work it & keep it.”
God’s original design was for us to work.
Now, when Adam and Eve sinned,
the curse was the STRUGGLE to earn a living.
God told them in Genesis 3:17-19
“Cursed is the ground because of
you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns &
thistles it shall bring forth for you; & you shall eat the plants of the
field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to
the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust & to dust you
shall return.”
In God’s original design, work was to be
for our SATISFACTION.
Now, it is for SURVIVAL.
Prior to the fall, work was FULFILLING.
Now, it became FRUSTRATING. In spite of sin entering the
world, the original design was not changed.
Ecc. 3:22
“So I saw
that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work,
for that is his lot.”
The Contemporary English paraphrase
says, “We were meant to enjoy our
work, & that’s the best thing we can do.”
Now, practically speaking, your work
situation may not be ideal.
But our calling is to ENJOY our work. Jerry White has written
discipleship books for InterVarsity Press for decades.
He and his wife, Mary, co-authored “Your
Job: Survival or Satisfaction?”
They write, “Work was satisfying. Man was
not made to dread labor, but to be fulfilled by the creation of his
hands or mind.”
God is so supportive of our work.
Deut. 8:17-18
“Beware lest you say in your
heart, ‘My power & the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You
shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to
get wealth.”
When you’re successful, don’t say, “I’m
rich because I earned it all myself.”
Don’t forget that the Lord gave you the
strength and abilities to produce wealth.
Work is very important to God.
It is mentioned over 800 times in the
Bible, more than all the words for worship, music, praise and singing.
Your work matters to God. Now, some of you are retired
and are thinking, “This sermon doesn’t apply to me.”
Well, I’ve been looking for the biblical
teachings on retirement and I don’t see anything about merely spending
your time in leisure.
Retiring from a job should free you up to
serve God in other ways.
Your new work may not draw you an income,
but it can definitely be rewarding as you volunteer and serve others. Back to our passage:
“Whatever you do, work heartily,
as for the Lord & not for men…You are serving the Lord Christ.”
Point two…
Jesus is the reason that we
enjoy work.
People often have the misconception that
only pastors and missionaries are in full-time Christian service.
Wrong! All of us are full-time in the
ministry.
We serve the Lord through our work. Our
work is our ministry. 1 Timothy 6:1
“Let all
who are under a yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all
honor, so that the name of God & the teaching may not be reviled.”
Our poor work reflects on God.
When we look at the Fourth Commandment from
God’s Top Ten List, we focus on the Sabbath and the fact that we
shouldn’t work on the Lord’s Day.
But notice the second half of the
commandment (Ex. 20:9-10):
“Six
days you shall labor, & do all your work, but the seventh day is a
Sabbath to the Lord your God.”
Six days you are to labor and do all your
work.
Another quote form the White
book Your Job: Survival or
Satisfaction—“Emphasis is usually placed on resting one day a week.
But note what it says, ‘You shall work six
days.’ That is a command, not a choice.”
Folks, that means that we disobey God when
we don’t work.
That is why 2 Thess. 3:6 tells us,
“Now
we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you
keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness & not in accord
with the tradition that you received from us.”
Further in the chapter, Paul writes (vs.
10-12) “For even when we were
with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to
work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness,
not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command &
encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly & to earn
their own living.”
Now, our Colossians passage
reminds us obey our earthly masters in everything.
Let me qualify—Obedience does not include
the illegal.
If your boss tells you to make two books,
one for the IRS and the other for the company, don’t.
It’s illegal.
Obedience does not include the immoral
either.
But if your company asks you to do that
which is right, not only in the eyes of the law but in the eyes of the
Lord, then do it. Verse twenty-two also reminds
us not to render merely
“eye-service.”
One translation says,
“Not only
when their eye is on you & to win their favor, but with sincerity of
heart & reverence for the Lord.”
We are to work in such a way that at
the end of the day we can honestly say, “I earned my keep.”
And you can sleep well because you knew you
put in a hard day’s work.
Verse 24 tells us that
“from the Lord you will receive
the inheritance as your reward.”
However, verse 25 gives this warning:
“For the wrongdoer will be paid
back for the wrong he has done, & there is no partiality.”
In the Greek, that word for
“paid back” also means
“reward.” In other words, God will make us pay for doing what is wrong,
but He will reward us for doing what is right.
When we serve Jesus through our work, we
will “receive the inheritance as
your reward.” A guy was on business out West
and was stranded in his hotel by a storm and flood.
He emailed his office in But employees, if you are not
paid or treated well, if you serve the Lord through your work, He will
reward you.
Think of it this way: We are already paid
salaries here on earth, but the Lord will also compensate you with
rewards in heaven.
(I don’t believe that is really
“double-dipping.”) The great reformer, Martin
Luther, wrote: “The maid who sweeps the kitchen is doing the will of God
just as much as the monk who prays, not because she may sing a Christian
hymn as she sweeps, but because God loves clean floors.
The Christian shoemaker does his Christian
duty, not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good
shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.” I’m not aware of the work
situation of everyone here this morning.
You may not be getting your due now.
Your boss may underpay you and overwork
you.
But someday your Savior will balance the scales.
This paycheck you receive on Fridays is not
all of your salary.
Someday Jesus is going to give you the
reward of the inheritance because it is really Him that you are serving
on the job.
If you are a Christian, it can’t help but make a difference in the way that you work. Christianity isn’t only for this room on Sunday mornings. It is for the workplace as well. If you allow Christ to be seen in your life from 8-5 Monday through Friday, then the people you work for and work with won’t have a hard time accepting what you claim to believe on Sunday. Whether employed worker, homemaker or student, let us do our “work heartily as unto the Lord.” Let’s pray. Please visit us at our next worship service.
In Christ,
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| Copyright © 2010 Ingleside Presbyterian Church | |
