06.03.11 PM Sermon Christ and Christian Relationships # 3
In the Community (Col 3:22-4:6) In the Working World (Col 3:22-4:1)
This evening we consider what Paul says when he speaks to the Colossians about their working life.
He addresses both Slaves and Masters, but I want to concentrate upon what he says to Slaves this evening.
It is helpful to remind ourselves of what kind of slavery was present as Paul is writing.
Slavery was a widespread and commonly accepted feature of the social fabric and economic system of the Roman world.
In earlier days many had become slaves because they had fallen into debt, but by Paul’s time most were either those who had been born into it or were prisoners of war.
It is estimated that over 85% of the population of Rome and Italy were slaves in the first century AD.
Now slavery certainly had its dark side – as it still does.
Aristotle called slaves, “human tools.”
In 61AD, the Roman prefect, Pedanius Secundus was murdered. The law said that if a slave did not prevent the murder of his master, he would be put to death. Pedanius Secundus owned four hundred slaves, and they were all duly executed.
But for the most part, the life of slaves was not intolerant.
Slaves could accumulate wealth and buy their freedom or start their own business.
Whilst some were involved in the menial tasks as labourers, many other became craftsmen or were engaged as architects, estate mangers, tutors, scholars, physicians and administrators.
Some have argued that slaves had certain advantage over freedmen since they had financial security that the freed man lacked.
Now, morally, slavery can never be justified, but it helpful to understand the kind of slavery that Paul is speaking to - This is because, what Paul has to say is applicable to workers paid and unpaid today.
The first thing that Paul points out is that1. Work is worship (v22)
Work, whether it is paid or unpaid, may be demanding or it may be mundane, and we are all tempted to cut corners when it comes to our work – to perhaps do the minimum when your boss’s eye is off of you.
But Paul elevates work above the level of it being a necessity, or an inescapable chore, or merely a way to earn a living – He speaks of it as an act of worship - an offering to God of one’s life - work is a spiritual issue - Work is not separate from faith - it is one way in which faith is outworked in life.
God designed human beings for work, right from the beginning - it was part of his creation plan for us.
We were not made to be idle or to enjoy uninterrupted leisure.
True fulfilment came not from escaping work but in accepting it.
Work was not a consequence of the Fall, it was there before the fall.
Work was a gift from God. It still is a gift from God.
The fall of course corrupted work, and it became a painful toil. Adam, the gardener, found that food would now come only through sweat and hard labour and through the thorns and thistles.
So work today does carry some of the scars of God’s curse.
For some it is drudgery, for some monotonous, for some it is alienating or frustrating.
For others it is creative and enjoyable and fulfilling, but even for the most enthusiastic, it is not perfect.
However Christians are called through Christ to redeem work and offer it as an act of worship to God.
Worship is not what we do only on Sundays it is the way in which we work also, whether in the paid workplace or at home doing the dishes, the hovering, dusting, ironing, gardening, DIY, etc.
Worship is what we offer to God full time, not part-time. We are designed to be worshippers and workers.
Mark Greene says that “Work is not an intermission from the main action, something we do so that we can then do other things, it is an integral part of the main action, an intrinsic part of our walk with God.”
We are to work “with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” Paul says.
He is the one that we ultimately live to please – not our employer, not our husband or wife, or church.
Understanding work as worship will naturally affect the quality of our work and the integrity of our attitude.
Since we are working for the Lord we will want to do the best job possible with the best attitude possible, not begrudgingly, not with complaining or moaning.
We wont be content with just making do, or with shoddy workmanship – we will seek to give of our best, and by doing so, it is not only giving of our best in worship, but also being an example to others that this Lord is worth serving and worshiping. We will seek to imitate his excellence in his workmanship.
Oswald Chambers coined a phrase - “My utmost for His Highest”
Brother Lawrence was a clumsy seventeenth century monk who worked in the kitchens in his French monastery. From his own experience he taught the following principles :
1. The most holy practice, the nearest to daily life, and the most essential for the spiritual life, is the practice of the presence of God, that is to find joy in his divine company and to make it a habit of life, speaking humbly and conversing lovingly with him at all times, every moment, without rule or restriction, above all at times of temptation, distress, dryness, and revulsion and even faithlessness and sin.
2. We should apply ourselves continually, so that, without exception, all our actions become small occasions of fellowship with God, yet artlessly, but just as it arises from the purity and the simplicity of heart.
3. We must do all that we do with thoughtfulness and consideration, without impetuosity or haste, both of which show an undisciplined spirit; we must work quietly, placidly and lovingly before God, and pray to him to approve our toil, and by this continual attention to God we shall break the Demon’s head, and make his weapons fall from his hands.
Part of our difficulty though in practising the presence of God at work is that we mistakenly think that we are taking God to work with us whereas he is already there before us.
David Prior, the director of the Centre for Marketplace Theology quotes one worker who, when he arrived at his office each day, would say as the doors slid open “Good morning, Lord.”
Sometimes it feels that he depends on us to get him involved in our daily lives, whereas we depend upon him to get us into his daily life.
May we turn our work into worship, redeeming our work as we serve the Lord Christ – obeying our masters not only when we feel like it or find it convenient, but always and in everything.
2. Work is rewarding
One of the reasons people do paid work is to get paid – to earn a reward.
Money is part if the system we have in our land for rewarding productive work.
However, Paul reminds the Colossians of a greater reward. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (3:23-24)
What if we were to approach work, paid or unpaid, remembering that we are working for the Lord and that one day he will dish out the rewards – he will hand out the bonuses.
Paul was speaking to slaves who would not have been able to own property or receive an inheritance of their own, and he reminds them to keep their eyes on the ultimate goal of work – to please the Lord.
In Christ they will receive what has been denied them on earth.
On this earth in the world of work there is much injustice – money can so often be a very poor indication of what a worker is worth. The amount of energy or hours or expertise is not necessarily reflected by the pay packet. Sometimes there is no pay packet. And what a person does in a richer part of this world is not rewarded equally by the same task in a poorer part of the world. There is much injustice.
Paul reminds us that our work, as done for the Lord, has its own reward one day.
We may envy the banker whose bonus eclipses our salary tenfold, but one day he or she may find that the tables have been turned and the cleaner who emptied their bin is rewarded by Jesus in an unimaginable way.
3. Work is dignifying
Work is to be seen as a dignifying activity, rather than regarded as a degrading activity.
The apostle Paul made tents to earn his own keep, supporting himself rather than charging his hearers for the opportunity to hear the Gospel - the freely offered news about Jesus.
In Judaism, hard, honest, manual labour was seen as having worth in society, it was not looked down upon but valued.
However, an ambitious mentality in our society can easily lead to manual labour being despised.
Shelf-stacking, cleaning, being an at-home mum, among other roles in society can be poorly regarded, yet God sees them as worthwhile honouring work.
Again, Paul reminds us who we are really working for – doing your job well is not simply serving your employer, but more importantly serving the King of Kings - the Lord Christ.
No matter how humble the job, we are dignified by the one whom we serve – he transforms it into something special - He lifts it up as service to him.
For the nurse as she empties the bed-pan or cleans up the vomit.
For the office worker who day in day out types up invoices.
For the bank worker who has to deal with irrational targets.
For the learning support assistant who gets regular abuse off of the children.
Whatever the task, it is elevated to service to the King.
He is present and we therefore can work with all our strength and with joy for him.
As the customer is served, as the pupil is taught, as the patient is cleaned, we do what we do for them, for Jesus himself. We serve them, we serve him.
Paul makes clear that our work is part of our worship, our reverence, of the Lord Jesus.
It will be rewarded by Him. It is dignifying as we serve the Lord Christ.
So, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col 3:17) Amen.