Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Your Work Matters to God, Part 23 of 45
TEXT: "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything and do it, not only when their eye is on you, and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Those who do wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. Masters, provide your slave with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven" (Colossians 3:22–4:1).
IDEA: By our work we carry out God's command to love our neighbor.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that in their jobs they carry out God's commands.
When you bow your head to thank God for your food, do you give it much thought?
I. Suppose the next time you said a grace like "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for this food," you asked a blessing on all the people that God used to bring that food to the table.
Who are some of the people you might thank God for?
• farmers
• scientists who worked to help the farmer produce good produce
• bankers who helped farmers with loans
• farm equipment manufacturers and distributors
• truck drivers
• truck stop operators who help the truck drivers
• builders of roads over which food is transported
• supermarket employees
If you stop to thank God for all the people who had a part in bringing your lunch to the table, your food would get cold.
II. Work is a principal way of carrying out the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.
Just as God uses other people's work to serve you, your work serves others.
Sometimes the connection between our work and our benefiting other people is obvious, for example, a police officer or a firefighter.
Other times it is less evident, and you have to think about it:
• a manufacturer of cardboard boxes
• a comedian
• an artist
• a storyteller
