IDEA: We’re to serve Jesus Christ on our jobs because it is there that we reflect the deepest commitments that we have.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" (Ephesians 6:5-8).

PURPOSE: To help Christian workers understand that there is significance in their labor.

Do you enjoy your work?

We sometimes think that other people have dream jobs and that work for them is a constant delight, but that is seldom the case.

Paderewski was one of the most diligent concert pianists about practicing. He once played before Queen Victoria. She said, "Mr. Paderewski, you are a genius." He replied, "That may well be, but before I was a genius, I was a drudge."

It’s not what we do, but the attitude with which we do it that can make a difference in our jobs.

In Ephesians 6:5-8, Paul gives Christians a new way to look at their jobs.

I. Your job is a calling.

Studs Terkel, in his book Working, reminds folks that most people find their jobs confining and stifling. He illustrates that with Nora Watson, an editor, who put her concern this way: "I think most of us are looking for a calling, not a job. Most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirit, jobs that are not big enough for people."

What is a calling?

A calling is a place in which we sense we are doing the will of God.

In the film Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell remarks, "When I run, I feel His pleasure."

II. Think of your job as service rendered to Jesus Christ.

Look again at Ephesians 6:5-8 and look at the attitude that comes when you are serving Jesus Christ on the job.

We do our work as sacred service with fear and trembling (with reverence and awe, with respect and trembling) (v.5). We fear and tremble before whom?

We do our work in sincerity of heart (v.5).

We do our work with integrity, not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ (v.6).

What picture comes to mind when you think of "eye-service"? Paul coins this word.

We do it with goodwill, a good spirit (v.7).

We do it with goodness (v.8).

You do good for your employer, you do good for those who get your product, you do good for those around you by the way you work.