{"id":3550,"date":"2018-05-23T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2018-05-23T10:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=3550"},"modified":"2018-05-30T20:50:31","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T00:50:31","slug":"work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/work\/","title":{"rendered":"Work . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

On recent Wednesdays, I have been asking what practical steps we can take to influence society positively and create opportunities to talk to others about God\u2019s good news. Benjamin Kwashi, the archbishop of Jos in Northern Nigeria writes in the recent book,\u00a0Reformation Anglicanism<\/em>,\u00a0\u2018In much of the world today there are churches seemingly everywhere and very many Christians, yet with little positive impact on society\u2019.<\/p>\n

As I have said before, there\u2019s something we can do now: we can play our part in our circles of influence \u2013 family, friends, and work. Over the last two Wednesdays, I have touched on Paul the Apostle\u2019s words in Colossians 3 about marriage and family. Today we consider what he says about relations at work.<\/p>\n

In Colossians 3:22-4:1 we read:\u00a0Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only while being watched and in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.\u00a0<\/sup>Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters,\u00a0\u00a0<\/sup>since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.\u00a025\u00a0<\/sup>For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality.\u00a0<\/sup>Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.<\/em><\/p>\n

How are we to understand this? The reality is there has been a massive sea-change in the West since the first-century Roman world.<\/p>\n

FF Bruce in his commentary on\u00a0Colossians<\/em>\u00a0(Eerdmans: 1984, p.171) is helpful: \u2018The household codes (of\u00a0Colossians<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Ephesians<\/em>) do not give detailed advice for the complexities of modern industrialism\u2026 They embody basic and abiding Christian principles, which can be applied in changing social structures from time to time and from place to place\u2019.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, he comments: \u2018The household codes did not set out to abolish or reshape existing social structures, but to christianize them. As far as slavery was concerned, it took a long time for the essential incompatibility of the institution with the ethic of the gospel, or indeed with the biblical doctrine of creation, to be properly assimilated by the general Christian consciousness\u2019.<\/p>\n

What then are the principles we can identify?\u00a0Wholehearted service<\/strong>. Paul calls for a commitment from the \u2018employed\u2019 to do the work they are required to do. Using a word that he may have coined himself (literally,\u00a0eye-service<\/em>), he says that God\u2019s people are not just to be people who work when they are observed. Work is to be done whole-heartedly, honestly and with no ulterior motives of self-promotion. God\u2019s people are to work as serving, not so much their human\u00a0<\/em>masters, but their Master in heaven, the Lord Christ.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, Paul notes (v.24), when we work as serving the Lord we will be rewarded with\u00a0the inheritance<\/em>\u00a0of a good relationship with God.\u00a0Inheritance\u00a0<\/em>here is not about earning salvation, but rather the reward of living as a friend of God and knowing that while we may not be rewarded as we deserve in this world, we will receive our due reward in heaven.<\/p>\n

William Hendriksen in his\u00a0Colossians<\/em>\u00a0(Banner of Truth: 1962, p.174), observes: \u2018This was, accordingly, the most helpful advice anyone could ever have given a slave. Moreover, by means of his\u00a0wholehearted\u00a0<\/em>cooperation with his master, rendering obedience to him in every way, and doing this while his master was fully aware of the fact that the service was being rendered by a Christian, the slave was promoting the cause and honor of his Lord. The master would begin to think, \u201cIf the Christian religion does this for slaves, it must be wonderful\u201d\u2019.<\/p>\n

Integrity<\/strong>. We also need to keep in mind Paul\u2019s words in v.25 which form a bridge between his words to \u2018slaves\u2019 and to \u2018masters\u2019 \u2013 thus applying to both:\u00a0For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done, and there is no partiality.<\/em>\u00a0In God\u2019s justice,\u00a0wrongdoers<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 be they slaves\u00a0or<\/em>\u00a0masters \u2013 will ultimately reap the outcome of any dishonesty. With God, there is\u00a0no partiality<\/em>.<\/p>\n

We see a second set of principles in 4:1:\u00a0Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly<\/em>\u00a0(literally,\u00a0that which is just and that which is fair, to the slaves grant<\/em>),\u00a0for you know that you also have a Master in heaven.<\/em><\/p>\n

Accountability<\/strong>. God\u2019s people who are\u00a0masters<\/em>\u00a0need to understand that in the same way that those under them are accountable to them, so they too are accountable to the\u00a0Master\u00a0<\/em>in heaven. How true and timeless these words are. Whoever said the Bible is irrelevant?<\/p>\n

So, to apply these principles in today\u2019s world, we see that commitment to and responsibility in relationships between employees and employers are an essential part of our Christian living.\u00a0For God\u2019s people, the balance of selfless and responsible attitudes and actions should be evident in the workplace. Employees are to act responsibly and respectfully toward their employers.\u00a0\u00a0Employers are to be totally fair to their employees. When an employer forgets that there is a Lord in heaven, there is the recipe for ill-treated employees.<\/p>\n

Wherever we are and whatever we are called to do, we should understand better than anyone else the responsibility, under God, that we have towards others.\u00a0For we know we have a Lord in heaven<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason \u2013\u00a0www.anglicanconnection.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On recent Wednesdays, I have been asking what practical steps we can take to influence society positively and create opportunities to talk to others about God\u2019s good news. Benjamin Kwashi, the archbishop of Jos in Northern Nigeria writes in the recent book,\u00a0Reformation Anglicanism,\u00a0\u2018In much of the world today there are churches seemingly everywhere and very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-word-on-wednesday"],"yoast_head":"\nWork . . . - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/work\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Work . . . - The Anglican Connection\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On recent Wednesdays, I have been asking what practical steps we can take to influence society positively and create opportunities to talk to others about God\u2019s good news. 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