22 Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. Col 3:22–24
In the 1800s, the Russians would send prisoners to Siberia to work in the salt mines. From this, we acquired the saying, “back to the ol’ salt mine,” when referring to work. These prisoners, of course, had no choice, as did slaves (doulos) in Paul’s day. Workers under these conditions would naturally possess a “bad attitude,” but I’ve been around long enough to witness free men and women trudge through their jobs as if sentenced to work in a salt mine in bitter cold, God-forsaken outer Siberia. What’s more, they’d like nothing more than to “stick it to the man,” suggesting the goal of sabotage rather than faithful, cheerful service.
I’ve always considered these verses as written directly to me as a worker. While I inherited the “company man” gene from my dad, I’ve been exposed to my share of slave drivers in my jobs, and the natural tendency under oppressive conditions is to resist, undermine, and sandbag, rather than to obey and do the work cheerfully and heartily. But Paul is saying, of all people, we Christians should be capable of pulling this off. Is there a more powerful testimony than to be a “good worker with an excellent attitude?”
I remember a dark time in my work life that conditions were oppressive both in terms of working conditions, but more so due to corporate politics. My head was on the chopping block. Rather than fight back in the ordinary sense, I made the conscious decision with God’s help to model these verses. I recall a meeting with my bosses meant to deliver news of my “probationary period” in which I stated my intentions to rely on my faith to get me through. I recall the extraordinary peace I sensed at the time, kind of a Daniel moment. From there, I did everything I could to cheerfully and wholeheartedly discharge my duties, praying constantly for the assistance I needed from the Lord to do what I set out to do.
Remarkably, the tide turned with respect to results, but not so much politically. In the waning hours, God provided me with a new vocation in an emerging profession in which I’ve thrived for the past 33 years. My new boss told me at a later date that he had to “drag me kicking and screaming” from my old job. More importantly, on exiting that previous job, because of my attitude and my refusal to disclose my underlying saga to any coworkers, my immediate superior admitted to me in our last conversation that he’d never worked with someone more “professional.” What I heard was, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
I say all this to attest from personal experience the value and benefits of following Paul’s advice. In your work life, people should see Christ in action. We should be compelling and winsome, cheerfully fulfilling our tasks, not bitterly and begrudgingly. It is the Lord Christ whom we serve.
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