SERVANTS, BE OBEDIENT TO…YOUR MASTERS

‘Customer service’ is something of which most of us are aware. We all like to be treated well, to get value for money and to feel that we are getting what we deserve. Rightly or wrongly that is the way people think in the western world. Yet, we are all servants! Is this a statement with which we can agree or disagree?

It does not matter if we are the chief executive of a large corporation or a street cleaner, we are all serving someone and answerable to someone. Our bosses, our customers, the public, the shareholders - we all serve someone. It could be that we are unemployed or retired. Who do we serve? It may be that we serve our families, or our neighbours!

The point of our passage today is not so much whom we serve, but that we should be obedient to our masters, the people who employ us. In 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 18 Peter instructs the believers to obey their masters, even if they are bad tempered. The Christian does not obey a good employer but refuse to obey a bad boss. In our passage Paul teaches us that when we go to work we not only serve our employer but that we serve the Lord. This fact is stated in every verse in our section.

The word of God provides clear guidelines on good work practice which will benefit all employees and businesses if it is followed. In verse five of our passage we read that employees should show respect to their boss and that when working they should be focused completely on what they are doing. The expression ‘singleness of your heart’ means to concentrate and focus on the task in hand with sincerity and generosity. In other words the Christian employee is looking after the interests of their employer and will go beyond the call of duty. When we read the story of Joseph we see that the Lord made everything he did to prosper because he was working for the Lord as well as his master, Gen. 39. 3.

Finally, we need to note three things:

1. We should work hard whether the boss is watching or not;
2. When we work we are doing the will of God;
3. There will be a reward for doing our work well.