IDEA: Your job today is the will of God for you.TEXT: "Servants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him" (Ephesians 6:5-9).
PURPOSE: To help listeners see the dignity in their work.
There was a factory in England where the workers pushed their wheelbarrows, except for one slow worker: he pulled his wheelbarrow. A visitor asked the foreman why this man was so different from the others. "Oh, him!? He hates the sight of the bloomin' thing!"
Do you think many people feel what that worker felt about his job?
What are the consequences of being in a job you hate?
It’s a tragedy when you spend the greater part of your life doing something you despise.
It affects your family, your attitude toward recreation, free time, etc.
What are some of the changes Christians can make as they look at their job?
I. If you can’t change your job, you can change your attitude.
Paul demonstrates this in Ephesians 6:5-8.
You can understand that your job is the will of God for you: ". . . doing the will of God from the heart."
What difference does that make?
II. Realize that on the job you serve Jesus Christ.
Look at what Paul writes to Christian slaves and masters.
Look at the way the workers and the owners are to think about what they do.
Whom are they serving?
What is the vision of God in this passage? Jesus Christ is your employer.
In the passage, what difference should it make if you know that when you’re doing your work, you’re really doing it for your Lord or Master, Jesus Christ?
III. Do you think the church has really underlined this truth for workers?
For example, if you think of a carpenter or plumber or housewife going to church, what do they hear about their Christian duty?
What should we have told these people?
If in the work we do, we fail to do it up to its own standard, the work becomes a living lie.