A GOOD CASE FOR GOOD WORK
1 Timothy 6:1-2 CSB
1 All who are under the yoke as slaves should regard their own masters as worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and his teaching will not be blasphemed. 2 Let those who have believing masters not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.
Paul was giving Timothy instructions as to what to encourage and teach those in the church who were bond servants or slaves. You would think that the message to slaves would be just hang in there, and one day, in heaven, it will all be better. The part about being better in heaven is accurate. But the message to slaves was anything but just hang in there.
Paul instructed Timothy to make sure to let the slaves know that they were to treat their masters with all respect. And not only those masters who were believers. All slaves were to treat their masters with respect, not because it was great being a slave. It most certainly was not the most advantageous place to be, even in the ancient world where food could be scarce. No, the reason slaves were to be respectful, which would include the quality of their work, was so that God and His teachings would not be blasphemed. That is a totally different way of looking at things. Paul wrote in another letter that if a slave could be offered freedom to take it. Paul was not putting his stamp of approval on slavery. But he was advocating that even slaves were representing the Lord. And when slaves did well it looked good on God and His gospel. When slaves were disrespectful and did a poor job, God would be blamed.
And Paul doubled down if the slaves had a master who was a believer. Basically, don’t slide in your work or be disrespectful to a believing master. A believing master was also loved by God. And a believing master would benefit from the slave’s service. So, as the CSB version says, “but serve them even better.” This admonition to slaves was congruent with Paul’s letters to the churches at Ephesus and Colosse. In those letters, Paul encourages slaves to do their work as unto the Lord, for they serve the Lord Christ. Slaves did not get a pass because of their low status. Slaves had the ability to honor God with their service or cause God’s name to be disrespected.
APPLICATION
If the principle of showing respect to masters and working hard as unto the Lord applied to slaves, what about today? Thankfully, slavery has been abolished in the Western world. But do these principles apply to those who are employees? I believe the same principles apply to those who work for someone else. We do not call anyone outside of Jesus master, but we do have accountability as employees. When Christian employees work hard and do a good job, it brings honor to God. Conversely, when Christian employees are disrespectful, it throws a bad light on God’s name.
Many people work for unbelievers. But Paul said that slaves were to obey their masters according to the flesh with sincerity of heart as unto the Lord and to work as unto the Lord, not unto men. So, if we are doing our work as unto the Lord to please Him, we will be consistent regardless of who we work for.
If we take these verses seriously, we should be outstanding employees. We may not be the most skilled, but we can have the best attitudes and effort. Oh, and employers who are believers don’t get a pass. Employers are to treat their employees in ways that are right and fair, remembering they have a master in heaven. So again, Christian employers should be excellent people to work for.
What is encouraging is the fact that if we do our jobs as unto the Lord, He sees and He rewards.