You Are the Boss of Me

“Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.  And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;  Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.”  Colossians 3:22-24

Yesterday’s blog covered how children are under so much pressure today from all sides to basically give up their childhood and become little adults, making adult decisions without having the maturity to understand the consequences of those decisions.  The blog also covered how children are to obey their parents and for fathers to be not only present in the home, but to love, nurture, fairly discipline, and provide for his family and not to be a tyrant over them.

In today’s scripture, Paul also had a word for servants, and this would include anyone who works for another person, corporation, or small business as an employee or independent contractor.  He urged all servants and workers to put forth their best efforts in the job that they are given to do, not just when the boss is looking, but when he or she is out of town.  When the employer is away, he or she can’t see that the servant or employee is doing a good job or not, but the Lord can.  Besides, the employer likely has somebody who will tattle on another employee in an effort to make himself or herself endeared to the boss, but most folks don’t like snitches.  I am reminded of the parable that Jesus told in Luke 12:42-46 about the servant who, as long as his master was in the house, he did a good job, but as soon as the master went on a trip, the servant began to beat the other servants, eat the master’s food, and drank himself into a stupor.  The master returned unexpectedly and caught him in the act, punishing him severely.  When the cat’s away, the mice will play, but they never know when the cat will return hungry.

Let’s not make our goal of working to please our employers, but rather to please the Lord.  By following one’s jobs description to the best of one’s ability, the Lord will be pleased and so will the employer.  When a believer is hired for a position, he or she is expected to do what is assigned with purpose in order to represent not only one’s own integrity, but as a representative of Christ.  Let our effort be focused on working for Christ because of our deep respect and reverence for God.  Let’s not claim our allegiance to Jesus and then cheat our employer by not giving 100 per cent of our working hours to him or her.  We should stay clear of office politics and not join in the criticisms of the boss.  That last one is also good advice regarding how we speak about our pastors.  We should be helpful to other co-workers.  Even if the job is boring or not exactly what we really want to be doing, we should still give it our all.  Sometimes hard and efficient work is noticed by the boss who just might promote us into another position for which our talents are better suited.  Even if he or she doesn’t recognize our efforts, God does.

Jesus is the ultimate Boss, the CEO of the entire universe, and if there are any other undiscovered universes out in space somewhere, He is also over them as King of kings and Lord of lords.  There is no boss or CEO who has more compassion, love, and caring for His servants than Jesus Christ.  He is the One who gives us the strength, intelligence, talent, and ability to work and earn a living to support our families and ourselves.  He is the One from whom we will receive the inheritance of eternal life.  His wages are “out of this world”.  No one pays more than He does.  His work on the cross should give us the incentive to work, not to earn His favor, but to show our gratitude in all that He has done for us.   They say that if one loves what he or she does for a living, then he or she will never have to work a day in his or her life.  It is not work, but rather a joy, to serve the living Christ who first served us by His sacrifice on Calvary’s hill.  Thus, Jesus, You are the Boss of me, and the absolute best Boss that I have ever had.