Slavin' Away

"Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men. Because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free." Ephesians 6:5-8

For most of us, real slavery is something we never need worry about. The very fact that the world's leading nations are collectively known as the "Free World" goes to show the wide range of personal freedoms that we enjoy. But it doesn't always feel that way, does it?

In the toil and drudgery of everyday life, it's easy to forget just how blessed we are. Instead, we end up feeling like slaves to our families and to our workplace. Our jobs, especially, can be sources of real frustration. Whether our work is demanding or just plain monotonous, it can make us feel trapped. Financial obligations keep us in a position long after our enjoyment has worn off, or worse – in a job we never wanted in the first place. In such circumstances, it becomes harder and harder to drag ourselves out of bed each morning and into the 'daily grind'. With no end in sight, what are we to do?

Scripture provides our answer, though it's one we may not want to hear. The bible doesn't say that we're forced to keep the same, dead-end job for the rest of our lives, but it DOES dictate how we are to behave while we are there. Ephesians 6:5-8 (quoted above) and Colossians 3:23-24 both tell us that as "slaves", we are to diligently serve those above us, as if working for the very Lord. No matter the task, no matter the circumstances, we are to do our jobs wholeheartedly.

Stop and think about that for a moment – how would you work differently if your boss called in sick, and Christ filled in for him? Would your attitude change completely? Mine sure would! While we may not be in love with all of our circumstances, we cannot use that as an excuse to slack off or to serve grudgingly. With every new responsibility we take on or job we are assigned, we must commit to working as if God is the one who will review the final product of our efforts.

Of course, the concept of having Jesus as our boss is all fine and good – but what if we have a boss we think is better compared to Satan? We've all had them at one time or another…and boy, does it make things difficult! Working with and for someone who has a bad attitude or who belittles, degrades, and attacks us is certainly never fun, and keeping an attitude of servitude is anything but a cakewalk in that kind of environment. And yet, that's exactly what we're called to do. I'm not saying that you have to stay in situations where you are miserable, or that you shouldn't report someone who is harassing you at work. What I am saying is that, no matter the circumstance, we must always serve as if we were serving the Lord.

That concept is never an easy one, but it becomes just a little bit easier to swallow when we look at WHY. As with every other commandment in scripture, there is a very good reason behind this attitude. The act of serving wholeheartedly in an unfavorable or hostile situation is very different from the mindset of our culture. By acting in such a way, you are setting yourself apart from (while still engaging in) the world. An 'attitude of servitude' grabs the attention of the people around you because it is unusual. This attention can then be directed to your savior – in short, by serving wholeheartedly regardless of the situation, you are taking a step away from the crowd and shouting 'hey, look over here!', at which point heads turn, and you are privileged with a golden opportunity to point toward Jesus.

I don't want to imply that any of this is easy. Whether you are spotlighting Christ in front of 2 people or 200, you are still fulfilling a vital ministry. Quiet, unspoken evangelism of this sort is some of the most important in the world, and that takes a tremendous amount of faith and effort. As Beth Moore put it in her study A Woman's Heart, God's Dwelling Place, "For those really fulfilling their calling of evangelism and ministry, purity is neither easy nor accidental. We must guard our minds and put on our armor. A war rages out there. And we are Satan's favorite prisoners." (Moore, 141). Not everyone is called to the kind of ministry that Beth fulfills, but each and every one of us is called to a ministry of some sort. Even if that ministry involves "nothing more" than serving others with a Christ-like attitude, we must fight for the will to do it. Trust me when I say that living in accordance with today's verses will meet heavy, heavy opposition.

But we can take heart – both the Ephesians and Colossians passages follow up their verses with a promise; while we may never receive acknowledgement for our wholehearted servitude in this life, those who work as for the Lord will receive their reward from Christ himself. In the end, though we are serving earthly 'masters', our real work is to bring glory to God…and God is the one, perfect boss who keeps a record of all we've accomplished in his name.

Resources:

The Archaeological Study Bible, NIV translation, Zondervan

A Woman's Heart – God's Dwelling Place, updated edition, Beth Moore