“Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things.” 1 Timothy 6:1-2 ESV
The principle here is that which applies to us, you guessed it, at work. The bondservant/master relationship detailed is directly applicable to the employee/employer dynamic of our time.
Now, as always, we must take some trash out. We’ve all had that problem where we throw something out and it starts to stink up the kitchen in short order, so we have to immediately get that bag out. Well, the real garbage is our actions that are guided by the world’s principles rather than Scripture. And, save the Bible’s teachings on sexual purity, nothing is less liked – even and especially by Christians – than the principle that we’re to treat our bosses with all honor. In fact, those who would be quick to condemn sexual sin are quite often great guilty here.
Such excellence and wisdom here! God would have us forewarned of sin’s schemes and truly free if only we will heed His word, which provides the true path to victory.
“But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:11-12 ESV
We’re to flee sin. Like Joseph running from Potiphar’s wife, we’re to recognize the danger of flirting with sin and literally get out of there. But not just that, we to pursue righteousness. To fight the good fight means to take hold the promise of our salvation. Christian living is as simple as this and yet the hardest thing to do. Simple doesn’t mean easy; on our own powers we fail, but in the Spirit, in faith and abundant gratitude for our status in Christ, we will fight the good fight.
This is the key to all of it – especially when it comes to work. We’re to work out our faith in our vocations, even when they’re hard…even when they’re unfair. And we can’t do this in our own power, only in the Spirit.
Notice a few key truths.
First, the Bible recognizes that work is often a yoke. Do you feel that your job is a burden? Does it cause you stress? For most of us, the necessity to work is a source of continual frustration. We yearn to be free of this particular yoke…any yoke really…any limitation. That’s the flesh yearning to be comprehensively free and, yet, that freedom is only found in Christ alone. We live for now in a world of fences, not absolute freedom. That’s the main thing to understand. Why do so many people play the lottery? Because they falsely conclude that their problem is having to work and that the good life is one of freedom from responsibility. That’s unbiblical.
The world speaks of rights without responsibility; it teaches employment without production. Thus, it perverts the reality of God’s created order wherein man is called to vocation. If you’re a teacher, a chef, a driver…whatever you do, if done in the Lord, for His glory, it’s a holy calling (Colossians 3:17). In our culture we always ask what someone does for a living. It’s a valid question, of course, but it’s problematic if it’s used to evaluate one’s worth. Do we treat a bank owner differently than we do a janitor? That’s sin (James 2:2-9) because both are God’s men and their earning power says nothing at all about their spiritual power.
The clear logic of 1 Timothy is that we can tell false believers by their sexual behavior and, surprise, work history. These aren’t the only issues but they’re front and center since sex and money are such easy things to worship. One’s heart devotion to Christ is played out through their work-ethic and sexual fidelity within marriage. Many churches fail to teach this, much to their shame because we’re to be progressively made holy by our dedication, in gratitude, to the principles of our faith. Sexual sin and covetousness are marks of idolatry, which is why they’re the easy “rotten fruit” that indict false believers and teachers.
If a man isn’t faithful to his wife sexually, that’s obviously a sin. Just the same, if he can’t hold down a steady job, or won’t work at all, he’s equally as sinful. Justification by faith is an instantaneous action; sanctification is a process of our continued, even if sometimes sporadic, progressive conformity to the principles of Christ. Justification is proven through our sanctification. The logic is simple: those declared righteous by faith will grow more righteous in that faith.
Again, and this is important, the Biblical ethic is that we work out our faith through our vocational calling. We’re called to a life of action and service, not to be served. The socialist ethic is one of organized theft and demand of security. The Biblical ethic is the recognition that we serve God and one way of doing that, the primary way for most of us, is through our labor. We’re called to produce values that make the lives of others better, in the name of the Lord, for His glory, regardless of income. The goal isn’t the highest paycheck, though that’s nice, but the highest quality of labor to the glory of God and benefit of neighbor. A preoccupation with self, which is preached by all modern institutions, turns everything into a “win-lose” transaction; the Christian, loving his neighbor in the Lord, seeks a “win-win” relationship in every detail of life.
All Christians are called to work. If we don’t work, we force others to support us and this is a violation of the command to love our neighbor. Forcing others to support you is ungodly (2 Thessalonians 3:10). The issue isn’t how much money we make but that we work to provide for our (and family’s) needs.
Second, the Christian is commanded to honor his/her boss.
Every boss.
Worthy of “all honor.”
There are no qualifications.
Jacob had a terrible “boss” in Laban, one who tricked him and used him and yet God blessed Jacob’s work-ethic and used the period of yoke under the unjust boss as a means of sanctification. God is absolutely sovereign so if we find ourselves working for an unjust boss we shouldn’t be surprised in light of the fact that we’re living in a fallen world. Thus, we’re never allowed to be disrespectful or to murmur and complain against our boss since the Lord has brought us to this point. If we choose to avail ourselves of other employment that’s fine, but the pattern of our lives shouldn’t be poor workmanship, unreliability, or grumbling. It should be honorable conduct, excellence in performance, and reliability. Why? Because a Christian’s conduct shows the world Christ (1 Timothy 6:1)!
This very well may be the most broken commandment in the lives of every Christian employee and it stems, as we said, from bitterness at having limitations upon oneself. The issue is, therefore, a theological one, not economic. It harkens back to two central commandments. The prohibition against stealing means that property is sacred. The prohibition against covetousness means that we’re to find our ultimate satisfaction in Him alone, not our possessions or circumstances. To know that God is truly sovereign and that we’re saved completely by His grace guides us to recognize the pattern at work in economic relationships.
We often bear a grudge against our bosses or managers for the simple reason that we want the power to call the shots. The problem is, we don’t have the resources – the property – to do so. This is the spiritual issue at the root of resentment. Now, it’s not a sin to seek a job that one enjoys more and/or finds more equitable and fulfilling – in fact, the life of faith requires that we pursue excellence insofar as it depends upon us. It’s good to a seek a job that pays more and doesn’t require loads of overtime. We have that privilege in modern life and should rejoice. Throughout history this was impossible for most laborers.
The problem is when we resent the boss and believe he has no right to run his/her business in a way that inconveniences us. It’s not our property and we must not covet it and/or the power our boss/manager has. Indeed, the problem is our showing a lack of honor, a begrudging spirit, a bad attitude, toward our boss. If we find ourselves in the throes of this we must repent and return to the Word of life and meditate upon it.
Grumbling and complaining are dangerous sins because they expose discontent and discontent proves a lack of trust in God. In this context it displays an irrational focus on one’s comfort rather than work-ethic. The content Christian is the one who trusts God in all things and literally shows it with his/her vocational behavior.
Socialistic philosophy and America’s humanistic self-esteem obsession have all but obliterated our understanding of work – its nature, purpose, and joy. Listen to people talk about work and money and you often hear the effects of socialism’s poison. There’s a movement right now called “quiet quitting.” Its premise is that you show up to work but do as little as possible. The Lord calls that theft. And unrepentant thieves have no place in the Kingdom of God.
The self-esteem movement has assailed the Christian work-ethic by tricking unproductive people into thinking they’re doing a business a favor by simply being there. The reality is painful but we need to hear it: we’re saved by grace but get paid by work. The only reason any of us should get paid is because we’ve produced something of value or solved a problem for someone else. This is why socialists and narcissists hate work. They either want to be served or have an entirely too optimistic view of the value of their labor. If you stink at what you do, or you cause divisions at work, or are mediocre when you think you’re aces, you should absolutely be unemployed. The fact that God loves you doesn’t mean that you’re economically worth more than the value of your labor.
Entitlement and narcissism are at epidemic levels in America and that has caused us to hate this clear commandment. If we’re a Christian worker we ought to be the best employee our boss has. Period. If we’re causing problems we’re bringing dishonor to Him and need to stop. If our boss is a Christian too it’s even more important that we check our sinful impulses and not presume upon grace. Every boss is worthy of all honor because God commands it.
The issue is settled.
And, just like with sexual sin, bad work ethic must not be named among us. How much would the world be changed if Christians were known as the best employees out there? How much could the gospel be spread if even the most staunch atheist business owner/boss wanted Christians for workers for the simple reason that they were the best?!
So, stop whining and put away bitterness. Start being so good at your job, and in such a joyful mood about it, even when mistreated, that your boss can’t wait to give you a raise. Or other businesses want you for themselves. Our sanctification includes becoming so good at what we do that we show our love of God, recognition of His sovereignty, and trust in Him. To disagree with this is contrary to Scripture (1 Timothy 6:3-4). It shows a hardened heart because there’s not a single verse in the Bible that condones “quiet quitting,” grumbling and complaining, poor work quality, inconsistency, or entitlement.
In all, we were saved by Him who calls us to work out our salvations with fear and trembling. It’ll show at work. Work isn’t a burden but a joy and privilege. And the way to do this isn’t to say, “oh, stop whining,” but to say, “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith love…”.
Yes, indeed. Pursue Christ and these other things will be added to you.
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