Colossians 3:22-4:1

Godliness in our work.

I have seen several different percentages noted as the size of the population for slaves in the Roman world. It is enough to note that slaves were common, and there is little doubt that there were slaves in the church at Colossae. It’s also possible that some of their masters were members as well.

In this section of his letter, Paul describes how grace must alter the way a slave treats his master and vice versa. Although the modern employer-employee relationship is not identical to first century slavery, there are patterns in this instruction that are directly applicable to our work life today.

Slaves are instructed to obey their master that is here on the earth. In the backgund there is the reality that believing slaves have a master in heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul makes it explicit here that the Lord is pleased when the slaves obeyed their human taskmasters.

He proceeds to clarify and intensify this obedience. The slave should not obey solely when the master is watching. The master should be able to leave and have the slave faithfully carry out the work.

The slave should adopt the work as his own and finish it well with the intention of bestowing the blessing of its completion upon whomever is the beneficiary. Paul describes this as being "with sincerity of heart" and "heartily", the last of which literally means "from the soul."

The perspective that motivates such willingness is the slave’s relationship to the Lord — in three ways.

The slave should fear the Lord. Obedience is the life the Lord wants for us. Rebelling against the Lord is something we should fear to do.

On the other hand, the slave should realise that it is ultimately the Lord whom we all serve. So even if he doesn’t consider his earthly master as deserving the benefit of his labor, he must realise that it is in reality service to the Lord Jesus.

And thirdly the slave must realize that his ultimate payment for the work will come from the Lord Jesus in the form of inheritance that is unfathomably rich.

There is a warning here as well, which fits either the slave or his master. With certainty God will bring the consequences of wrongdoing upon the transgressor. A slave who cheats his master or steals his property will suffer a just retribution. A master who mistreats his slave will face just consequences. God does not play favorites or show any partiality.

The first verse of chapter four addresses masters directly. They are to treat their slaves with justice and fairness. This gracious approach to living will be motivated by the humbling recognition that they themselves are slaves to a Master in heaven. The Lord Jesus has expectations for them, and they would do well to please their Savior. He rejoices in justice.

These requirements of justice, honesty, obedience, and vigorous work are as applicable to us in our work relations as they were to the believers in the first century. It is indeed life-changing to recognize our labor as being ultimately for God. He is present and watching. He wants us to give appropriate attention and care to the tasks at hand. If we feel that our human employment is not paying us sufficiently, then it can be encouraging to realize that ultimately the Lord is our paymaster.

This doesn’t mean that we can never change jobs as we walk along with the Lord. Indeed that is a very real possibility. But if you don’t like the job the Lord has given you and which He wants you to continue doing, then an attitude adjustment on your part in submitting to the heavenly Father will make things quite a bit better.

Pursuit of wisdom for today from the Ancient of Days

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