Worship God as You Work

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable.

Insights:  Contextually speaking today’s verse is really about slaves and masters.  We, however, in 2015 America do not face the issue of slaves and masters.  We do, on the other hand, have employees and employers.  From this perspective we are able to relate and understand Peter’s words to us regarding worship in our workplace.  As with yesterday’s Thoughts by Scott let me return to Paul to help us understand this point.  Paul wrote in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.”  Paul and Peter are helping us understand that we may receive a paycheck from a specific institution, but our true employer is the Lord God Himself.  At the end of the day we have to worship Him in our jobs and do work to the very best of our ability.  At this point in the sermon I began to meddle a little bit.  I asked the congregation if they were grumblers and complainers at work or if they were encouragers.  It amazes me how we are often capable of giving a child encouragement in sports or school, but we do not share the same courtesy to our coworkers.  We all too often take them for granted and fail to lift them up, but if they make a mistake, we are the first ones to be all over them to make certain they know where they messed up.  At this point, I even went one step further and asked the congregation if they had ever taken a company pen, paperclip, rubber band, etc. home with them on accident.  If they had, I then asked if they returned it once they realized what they had done or did they just brush it off with something like, “My job has plenty of pens, they won’t miss this one.”  If you have done something like this, which I am afraid to say I have done before, then you are a thief and that is not honoring and worshipful to our Lord.  Beloved, remember, the Lord God is your true employer.  Worship Him while you work and bring His name honor and glory as your life reflects an attitude that is different than your lost coworkers.

Questions:

1.  Are you a complainer or an uplifter at work?

2.  Have you ever accidentally taken something home from work and realized it, but then never returned it (even something as small as a work pen)?

Prayer: Father, I have been guilty of this charge all too often in my life.  Forgive me for not honoring You in my place of employment and help me to bring You glory from this day forward as I worship You in my office-place.  Amen.