EPHESIANS EXTRA #25

SERVE WHOLEHEARTEDLY

Paul is addressing the slave and master relationship in this passage, but I believe we can apply the admonitions to the modern workplace. Most people are either an employer or an employee, and many are both. The verses above address employees.

Paul says we are to serve. Am I just doing my job in order to draw my pay, or am I really considering what I do a service to my employer? Christ said he came into the world to serve rather than to be served (Matthew 20:28), and we are to be imitators of Christ. We are not in bondage to our boss in the sense of being a slave, but I believe we are bound because of our witness for the Lord to be the best employee we can be.

We are also instructed to serve wholeheartedly, out of benevolence and good will, not with the attitude of just doing enough to get by. If we are truly doing our work as if working for the Lord, our work is praise to Him and can bring joy to us.  I thought it interesting that the word translated “wholeheartedly” appears to have also been a euphemism for conjugal duty.  Since we are the bride of Christ, one way we show our love for Him is to serve our employers consistently well and thus bring honor to his name.

When I was only twenty, I supervised a part-time employee who did only enough to get by. We worked on a quota system, and he was below or right at quota every month. It was widely known that he was a seminary student. After giving him the typical counsel that he might lose his job if his production didn’t improve by next month, I asked if I might speak to him as his sister in the Lord. I explained to him that his work was a poor witness to our bosses and made it more difficult for me to witness as well since we were from the same denomination. He became very angry at me for “preaching” to him and stormed out. However, at his next evaluation, I was able to tell him he had exceeded quotas on every type of work. He apologized for his anger the previous month and said the Lord had set him straight afterwards. The Lord strengthened our bond in Christ as well as our witness to our coworkers.

Father, help us to remember that my goal is to serve You and in the process serve our employers well. Help our work to be a positive witness for Jesus. Let us serve wholeheartedly rather than grudgingly. May it be a faithful duty to our First Love.