“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.” (Colossians 3:22-23, Christian Standard Bible)
Living for God involves more than an hour or two in church on Sunday morning. It’s a lifestyle, not something we put on or take off according to the day of the week. Wherever we go, whatever we do, our actions reveal how serious we are about our relationship with the Lord. Those actions are also our witness to others, either positive or negative.
Christian living is practical living. It is doing exactly what Jesus would do in that same situation. When we truly live a Spirit-filled life, we show the world that being a disciple of the Lord means we take on His characteristics.
For many people, a good portion of their time each week is spent in the workplace. This is where our light can shine brightly, even when no words are spoken. It doesn’t take long to discover who’s who on the job. We soon identify the whiners, slackers, insubordinate, and backbiters. We also learn who is diligent, honest, respectful, and cooperative.
One translation of Colossians 3:23 tells us to, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT). Would our work habits change if Jesus were our boss, observing us as work? Actually, He is. Everything we do should be done as “unto the Lord.” When we say we are a Christian, our actions reflect on Him—good or bad. We represent Him to the world around us.
The Bible has a lot to say about our work life, for both employer and employee. When the New Testament was written, slavery was extremely common within the Roman Empire. While the church did not condone slavery, it did teach its converts how to conduct themselves in a way that honored the Lord although a slave. The same advice translates into our work environment today. Here are just a few of the ways we show authentic Christianity to others at our job:
- Be respectful to “prevent the name of God and Christian teaching from being discredited” (I Timothy 6:1-2, NET).
- Be diligent, not “idle . . . not busy but busybodies” (II Thessalonians 3:11, CSB).
- Be honest, trustworthy. “Not pilfering, but showing all good faith, in order to bring credit to the teaching of God our Savior in everything” (Titus 2:10, NET)
- Be obedient. “Do all things without complaining and disputing” (Philippians 2:14, NKJV).
Actually, how we conduct ourselves at work should be no different from how we live out our Christianity at any other time. Wherever we go, we are ambassadors to the world for the Lord. Represent Him well! Let them see that authentic Christianity is a life worth living.
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf: ‘Be reconciled to God.’” (II Corinthians 5:20, CSB)
Prayer: Lord, give me wisdom to live an authentic Christian life before those I interact with each day. Help me to represent You well and never bring shame or dishonor to Your name. I want my life to be a witness to all I meet.
Comments are closed.