Work As Worship

I have always loved chapter three of Paul's letter to the Colossians. The first seventeen verses of that chapter represent some of Paul's best writing. He is almost poetic in his delivery of God's inspired truth about the way Christians should live. The last two verses of that section sum it all up.

Colossians 3:15-17

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Verse seventeen addresses what I wanted to talk about today. We will also look a little further in the chapter, but the idea that anything we do should be done in the name of the Lord, is at once sobering as well as fearsome in some ways.

Most of us spend at least a third or more of our day in the working world making money for survival, for luxuries and just to buy stuff. Some of us will say that our jobs are not our careers. They are simply a means to an end. Others of us will say that we love our jobs and sometimes, just sometimes we would rather be at work than at home.

Let me suggest that if you are a Christian, neither of these is an appropriate attitude toward work.

"And whatever you do...do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus..."

We need to be working for Him, and since it's for Him, it needs to be better than what might otherwise be expected, even by our employer. Now there's a concept. Work as worship, as sacrifice, as an example of what a Christ follower is capable of as opposed to... to... what? As opposed to those that simply see their jobs as a means to an end or those that are more in love with the company they work for than they are with Jesus. I have seen both attitudes among working Christians. Some resent the hand that pays them and others worship it. We should do neither. Instead, we should work as if we are working for Christ. He is our Lord and Master.

Paul's advice in this chapter to slaves that happen to be Christian, really drives this home.

Colossians 3:22-24

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

I know your first thought here is that you are not a slave and that you are free.

Really? Have you ever thought very long about it? When we sign on to go to work for someone, we give up a lot of our freedom. We become obligated. We have to show up. Quality work is expected. Inferior work is punished. Failure to do what is expected can result in termination. Consider also that we must work to achieve the quality of life we desire. If we do not, we will forever be in need or desire or coveting what someone else has.

We have no choice but to work if we want a life that is more than just survival. And that makes us slaves or at least endentured servants. Knowing this, we should heed Paul's advice to those that must work, that have no choice. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not human masters."

Let me put that in 21st century parlance and context in this paraphrase.

"Whatever your chosen career is, do the very best job you can because you are not doing it for your boss, but rather for the Lord Jesus Christ."

Our work has value beyond what it produces for us and our employers. It is a reflection of who we are. It is a product or our minds and/or bodies, no matter how meaningless it might seem or how important we might think it is. We might be proud of our work and want to put our name to it at the end of the day or we might just be glad we are finished and want to go home.

But if we are Christians, and our work is a reflection of who we are, then really, we must be signing Jesus' name to what we have done for Him right? Paul seems to think so and Jesus inspired him to write it down, so it must be right.

Think about it. Work is worship if done correctly.

I know it's easy for me to say all this since I will soon be in retirement. It's also true that my work attitude has not always been stellar, but on the whole, my work ethic has been good. I have never been unemployed. Ya, that's right. I am so blessed. So why not work as one working for Jesus. It will add a new dimension to work that might be meaningless to you or just a means to another promotion.

Work can be spiritual.