Work 			Col.3:22-4:1     2-3-2002 

For the last 5 months we have been studying the instructions for the Christian household in Col.3.  First it was wives & husbands, then children and parents, and now slaves & masters.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. 4:1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Slavery
22 Slaves
A slave is someone who is legally owned by someone else as a result of...
1. Birth.-The children of slaves became slaves 
2. Debt (or theft)
3. Selling himself (Lev 25:39,47, Dt 15:12-13,17)
4.  Capture in war.

Some people have been alarmed at the fact that Scripture doesn’t condemn slavery.  Our exposure to slavery based on slavery in the United States and around the modern world gives us a sense that slavery is inherently evil.

So why doesn’t the Bible condemn it?

First, it’s essential that we distinguish between slavery in bible times and slavery today.

Contrary to the impression many have, slaves did not constitute a social or economic class. 

Slaves were a widely diverse group that spanned the entire span of the social-economic spectrum depending on who owned them.

An upper class slave was way above a lower class freeman socially.  

In fact, some free day-laborers sold themselves into slavery to improve their situation – to gain job security, or to get an education and to enter a life that was much less strenuous.

Education for slaves was greatly encouraged, because it made them worth more.  Many slaves were more educated than their owners.

Slaves were used for prestigious jobs.  They were sea-captains, secretaries, teachers, overseers, writers, agents, bailiffs, accountants, historians - even doctors.

You could gain Roman citizenship by becoming a slave of a Roman and then being released.

Becoming a slave was often a great career move.  Because there were many jobs – good jobs, that only slaves could have.

At the end of the book of Romans, when Paul and his secretary are passing on greetings, they say, Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. (Ro.16:23)

Most likely Erastus had to sell himself to the city as a slave in order to secure that position. 

When someone did that, they served as a slave of the state until about age 40, at which time they would be freed and become Roman citizens, and then they were given opportunities to pursue political careers. 

And that’s exactly what Erastus did.  The Bible doesn’t say anything else about him, but we know from inscriptions discovered by archeologists that this Erastus followed that very course and ended up being elected a Roman administrator of Corinth.

And even while legally a slave of the city, as director of public works, Erastus was probably the most socially distinguished member of the Christian congregation in Corinth. 

Former government slaves often gained great wealth and influence, including high office such as admiral of the navy or provincial governor. 

One example we are familiar with is Marcus Antonius Felix.  He is the same Felix who judged Paul in Acts 24.

We know from Acts 24 that Felix enjoyed a long, successful career as governor.  How did he manage to rise to such a prestigious position?

Through outside historical evidence we know how he did it.  He became a slave of Claudius’ mother Antonia.  And after being freed, he pursued a career in politics.

We see the same thing in the OT, where slaves could rise to positions of great prominence and wealth like Eliazar (Gn.15:2) and Joseph (Gn.39:4).
5
Slaves at that time did not have a general sense that they were being oppressed.

There were slave rebellions from time to time, but even they never sought to abolish slavery. 

No Greco-Roman author attacked slavery as a legal-economic institution, not even those who had been raised as slaves. 

Of course there were some cruel slave-owners.  But that was not inherent in the slavery system.  

In fact, the Romans and the Greeks both were concerned that the slave system function well and to their advantage, and so they would 
•	provide slaves the security of room and board, 
•	grant them the privileges of owning property (including their own slaves), 
•	of making contracts, 
•	and in some cases receiving wages or even profit-sharing.

Slaves were valuable.  An unskilled adult male was worth about four tons of wheat.  That’s a big investment.  

And for that reason slaves were kept as healthy and happy as possible.  

Just like employees today, the value of a slave depended upon how hard he worked.  And any slave owner with any brains understood that motivation was crucial.

For that reason, slave owners motivated their slaves by offering freedom.

In fact, in Jesus’ time, slave owners in Rome were freeing so many of their slaves that  Augustus Caesar became concerned.  

He was trying to upgrade the dignity of Roman citizenship, and was convinced that too many uncultured ex-slaves were becoming Roman citizens.  

So he made laws restricting the numbers and ages of those who could be legally emancipated. 

Still, in Rome, if you were a slave, you could pretty much count on the fact that by age 30 you would be free.  Slavery was a temporary phase of life.

For Jews, slavery was an even better situation. 

From way back in the OT God programmed Jewish culture to be much more kind to slaves than other cultures were.  

For example, in OT law, God made much more provision for a slave to be freed.

Slaves could gain freedom by…
1 Redemption.- A slave could be purchased or could purchase himself.   Even if he was a thief, once he made restitution he was set free. (Ex 22:1-4).
2 By the lapse of time.- In Israel the seventh year of service brought release from bondage. (Ex 21:2-4), and on the year of Jubilee all slaves were freed (Lev 25:40 f).
3 By abuse- If a master injured his slave, the slave was free.  (Ex 21:26 f).
4 By escape.-(Dt 23:15 f; 1Ki 2:39). 
5 By indifference.-In case of a certain kind of female slave, the neglect or displeasure of her master gave her the right to freedom (Ex 21:7-11; Dt 21:14).
 6 By the master's death

Beyond that, slaves, in the OT, were given the dignity afforded every human being based on the fact that he is a person in the image of God.

The laws governing kindness & respect applied to everyone without exception.

Job 31:13-15 "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, 14 what will I do when God confronts me?  What will I answer when called to account?  15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?  Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? 

In fact, Jewish slaves became so accustomed to good treatment, that there was a saying among the Romans: “Whenever one acquires a Hebrew slave, he acquires a master”  (They were spoiled)

“By why doesn’t Scripture condemn the abuses and the bad kind of slavery – like the kidnapping of men & women in Africa who were sold as slaves here?”

It does.

Ex.21:16 "Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death. 

1Ti 1:9,-10 law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders (menstealers) …

Sinful treatment of slaves is condemned, but the reason Scripture didn’t condemn slavery as an institution is there is nothing inherently wrong about it.

Were there abuses?  If you know anything about what the Romans’ and Greeks’ morals were like, there can be no doubt that the cruelest of the masters were probably extremely cruel.  

But that isn’t really any different than today.  There are employers who get a strangle hold on employees so they can’t quit, and then treat them horribly.  

But the existence of abuses doesn’t say anything about whether the system is bad.

Did the system invite trouble?  Only from evil people.  From good people it invited good things.

When you read about slavery in the Bible, if you picture someone in chains being whipped all the time, your picture is not accurate. 

The actual historical picture is often very different.

In Mt.8 a Roman Centurion approaches Jesus and begs Him to heal his slave whom he loved.

“But mistreatment or not, isn’t it morally wrong for one human being to own another?”

No.  There are all kinds of contexts in which one human being will have a claim on another.  

There is one sense in which you belong to your employer – even to the degree where in certain contexts it may be unethical for one employer to “steal” an employee from another employer.

A player in the NFL may belong to a certain team, and if another team wants him they have to pay not only the player, but the team that owns the rights to him.

Everyone would agree that to some extent, in a relative way, it’s OK for one person to have a claim on another person provided that claim is limited and not absolute.

And that’s exactly the situation with slavery.  It’s not an absolute ownership.  There are plenty of things the master was not permitted to do to the slave.

The reason the idea of slavery itself is repulsive to our culture is partly because we have not been exposed to the type of system they had in the NT which was very workable, and, in some ways, more humane than our system of employment.

(For example, a slave never had to worry about food or shelter.  In our system someone can have a job and be unable to pay the rent.  Other people can’t find jobs, etc.)

All of those points are documented in the Anchor Bible Dictionary.

I wanted to show you all that background so you understand why I believe all these principles apply to our employment situations as well.

Just as we noted with the children, it is unique for ancient literature of this kind for the slaves to be addressed directly like this. 

Normally only masters would be addressed.  But in the church, the slave/master relationship melts into insignificance.  There is no slave or free in Christ.
Obey
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything 
Paul makes sure to point out that these masters (lit “lords”) are masters only in the temporary, limited sphere of earthly human relationships.  

It’s the same term translated “lord” throughout this passage.

Keep in mind, the word means “owner.”  

Slaves, obey your earthly owners in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Owner. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Owner, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Owner as a reward. It is the Owner Christ you are serving. 

(You could do the same thing with the term “master”)

That’s probably why Paul uses the very unusual “the Lord Christ” (used only here and Ro.16:18) instead of the more common “Lord Jesus Christ,” so that it will be contrasted with the earthly lords.

The point is, even though God is your ultimate Master, and these masters are only masters in a very limited way – still, obey them in everything.

Be obedient and submissive to your employer.

Another reason that many in our culture are offended at the very idea of slavery isn’t because of the mistreatment, but because of the belief that serving, humility, submission and obedience are demeaning.

And that is where we as Christians must radically differ.

And it’s hard – it’s especially hard for us to follow God’s standard in an area where our culture has so completely turned against it.

We live in a time and place where the idea of submission to authority is despised.  And don’t think for a minute that that hasn’t infected the Church.

The Bible talks about love, or self-control, or repentance, or prayer – and we take all that very seriously.  

But then the Bible speaks with perfect clarity on authority and submission, and it’s amazing how quick many Christians are to completely ignore it.

* The Bible couldn’t be more clear that wives are to be submissive to their husbands, and we think: “That command must have been for the cave men.  Surely that doesn’t apply for today.”  

And in thousands of Christians homes the wives have no sense of being obedient or submissive in any way when they disagree.

* The Bible couldn’t be more clear about obeying the governing authorities.  We must be submissive and respectful to the government.   

And yet for many Christians it’s no big deal at all to break any law they please as long as it doesn’t seem to hurt anyone, and we have Christians driving around with radar detectors so they can break the law without getting caught.

* The Bible couldn’t be more clear that a congregation is to be submissive to the elders.

Heb.13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden

People read that and say, “But this is a democracy!  Surely God would never have written that if He had only known what a superior system a democracy is.”

What about Heb.13:17 or 1 Thes.5:12 or the many other passages that call us to be submissive to the elders and obey them?  “Let’s take a congregational vote on whether or not we want to include those passages in our constitution.”

Every time the Bible makes a clear statement about being under authority, the Church in the United States just seems to blow it off.

And so it’s no surprise that we see the same thing in the area of employment.

Our society has a long list of concerns about their employment, and nowhere on the list is an obedient, submissive, respectful attitude toward your boss.

High on the list is asserting their rights and getting maximum benefits for minimum work.  

Give them a raise that’s less than what they demand, and they will go on strike and picket your company.

There are constantly strikes, slowdowns, sick outs, sit ins…

And we as Christians can get caught up in all that – especially if you have a union job.  But all we have to do is open to 1Pe 2:13 and we read a very clear command: Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men 

As long as you are working for your boss, you are under his or her authority, and your job is to be respectful and submissive. 

If it’s unwise for you to continue in your job, then quit.  But if the Lord hasn’t made that option available, then He wants you in that job.

And as long as you are in that job, you are under the authority of your boss.

It’s your responsibility to work.  Don’t go on strike.  Don’t call in sick if you aren’t sick.

“But you don’t know my boss.  He’s impossible to work for.  If I don’t stand up to him he will walk all over me.”

Just keep reading in 1Pe 2:18-25
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. 19For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. 20But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 

Being respectful and obedient has nothing to do with the authority’s worthiness.  It has only to do with Christ’s worthiness. (Remember David’s attitude toward Saul?)

Eph.6:5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ

TT Jer.29

In 586 BC Babylon came and crushed Israel.  Then they took all the people from their homes and farms and homeland, and forced them to come to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzer was a vile, wicked, arrogant man who had just defeated God’s people in war.  

How should the people respond once they arrive in Babylon?  Should they picket the palace?  Civil disobedience?  Organize a letter-writing campaign?  
 
Jer.29:4-8 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens…
7Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. 

If that principle applies to ancient Babylon, certainly it applies to your boss.  

You boss may be unreasonable on some things, but I’m sure he’s no Nebuchadnezzer.  He probably didn’t kill several of your relatives and burn down your home and kidnap you.

Notice the rest of v.7 Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

It has always amazed me that people are not more motivated to do a good job at their work – if for no other reason than selfish reasons.  

When I worked at Dominos, when I delivered a pizza, I wanted the person to get a good pizza and have a good experience so they would order again – if for no other reason than so I would continue to have work (the busier the store was, the more money I made).

When you arrive at work, seek the peace and prosperity of your employer. Pray to the LORD for them, because if they prosper, you too will prosper.

But that’s not the only motive.
Work..
Sincerely 
22 and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor,

lit: “Not with eyeservice as menpleasing”

This phrase refers to being conscious only of how your work looks to your boss.

There are some parts of every job that no one will ever know if you do it excellently or not.  If you slack in those things, you know you are guilty of “eyeservice.”  

This is one of those Christian standards that has been so utterly discarded by our society, that it really calls for a radical difference between us and our culture. 

You and I exist in a world where most employers would be thrilled if they could just find some employees who would be submissive and work hard even if it was only to please the boss and win his favor.  Many workers don’t even do that.

We have such high employment that it’s hard for employers to find workers period, much less hard workers.  And so many times they are forced to keep people on the payroll who don’t even care about impressing the boss.

As Christians, we are called to go way beyond even pleasing the boss.

If our only concern is pleasing the boss, we are poor employees in God’s sight.

The solution to eyeservice is twofold:
 but with sincerity of heart and reverence (lit. fear) for the Lord. 

1. sincerity of heart
If you do your work sincerely, then what the boss sees is totally irrelevant, because that’s not what drives you.  The only thing that matters is what your conscience dictates.  

How do you develop that virtue?  

2. The Fear of the Lord
There is always confusion around the concept of fearing God, because so many people have such a negative idea of what fear is.  So they want to reduce the idea to mere respect.

We ought to respect God, but fearing Him is a greater concept.

I think the reason people react against that idea is they associate it with a battered child fearing an abusive parent.

But the difference is simple.  That kind of fear is fearing that God will do something evil.  

This kind of fear is just the opposite – it’s the fear that God will do something good – give me some of what I deserve.

It involves reverence and awe, yes, but also an actual fear of God’s displeasure, and of what might result from His displeasure.

It’s a fear of the possibility that I might grieve Him.  It’s the fear that I might anger Him (we are protected ultimately from the full expression of God’s wrath, but the Bible does talk about God being angry with His people.  He was angry with Moses in Dt.1:37, with Solomon in 1 Ki.11:9, with Eliphaz in Job 42:7).

So fearing God is taking God seriously.  Fearing Him is being primarily concerned with what He thinks, rather than what anyone else thinks.

If you do what you do because you are worried about what people think, you are fearing man.  But if you do what you do out of concern for what God thinks, that’s fear of God. 

And in this passage it is specifically fear regarding judgment, as we will see in a few minutes.

So we should work obediently and respectfully, we should work sincerely out of a fear of God, and we should work hard.
hard
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart (lit. from the soul), as working for the Lord, not for men, 

Laziness in your day to day life is a character flaw.  Laziness on the clock is stealing.  We are to be industrious and to work hard.

We come up with all kinds of excuses to justify our laziness, and most of the time they do nothing but bring reproach upon Christ.

1Ti 6:1-2  All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered.

I heard of one employer who was hesitant to hire a Christian.  He had two seminary students working for him, and they stood around all the time talking about theology instead of working.

One day he noticed one of them go into the bathroom and stay in there for 20 minutes.  He came out with a Bible in his hand and said to his friend, “I just read 4 chapters of John in the john.”

That is no different than just taking money out of the till. 

Instead of reading John maybe he should have read 
Pr 10:26  As…smoke is to the eyes, so is a sluggard to those who send him. (or employ him)

Pr 18:9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys.

2Th 3:10 If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 

Or if he really wanted to read in the Gospels he could have read Jesus’ words to the slacker in
Mt 25:26 `You wicked, lazy servant! 

He could have read all that in under a minute and come right back out for work.

Reading the Bible and talking theology is no excuse for being a slacker – even if you have a Christian boss.

Some people try to take advantage of the fact that the boss is a believer.

1 Ti.6:1,2  Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. 

If your boss is an unbeliever, be an especially good employee so you don’t bring reproach on the name of Christ, and if he is a believer be an even better employee out of love for the Body of Christ.

work at it with all your heart (lit. from the soul),

Whether you are taking out the garbage, working on a major project at work, or cleaning up the sanctuary after church, the drive for the work should come from the inside.

There are two ways something can be animated – by external manipulation or by having a soul.

Pinocchio is the story of a puppet that could only be animated by external manipulation.  Remove the strings, and he goes limp.

But then he becomes a real boy, and he can move himself.  Let go of the strings, and he is still going.

That’s the idea here.  Is your work done because of external manipulation?  When the strings of profit or promotion or prominence are dropped, is there still something that drives you from within?

A contact can only govern what it can see – your deeds.  As a result, people think that when they cash their paycheck, that money is given to purchase certain deeds.

But a better way to think about it is that your employer hired not a bunch of deeds, but you.  

Whenever I have worked for an employer, I have always tried to keep that in mind.  My time on the clock isn’t my time; it’s his. 

My strength is his.  My energy is his.  My creativity belongs to him… You bend not only your back but also your will for your employer.  That’s what it means to work with all your heart.  

23 as working for the Lord, not for men, 

This is the motivation.  

I pointed out before that being submissive is to your own advantage.  

But way beyond the sheer economic motive, we are to have a much higher motive.  By doing my work, I’m serving the Lord.

Many Christians think the only way to work for God at their job is to “be a good witness.”  We seek to tell people the Gospel, to live out the Christian life with integrity, and be a good employee so we can win people to the Lord.

But doing things to win people to the Lord is not the only kind of work we do for Christ at our jobs.  According to this passage, the job itself is work done for Christ.  

Whatever you do, your job is part of what makes this world function, and this world is owned by the Lord.

You have heard of businesses that are Christian owned and operated.  This world is Christ owned and operated.  

You do a good job flipping burgers not primarily to be a good witness, but because Christ wants those burgers flipped.  

You clean the bathroom because Christ wants it clean.  You fill out the paperwork because God Himself wants it filled out as part of His administration of this world.

1Th 4:11-12  Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. 
This is very much in opposition to the prevailling Roman culture which regarded working with your hands, or working every day as degrading and “dirty business” (Anchor “Slavery”)

And since your work is for the Lord, it must be from the heart.

BTW – in case you didn’t already know, this is the way you serve the Lord.  Human religion tries to serve Him with externals only.  That is not acceptable. 

If you are here because you think by participating in the Christian religion you are serving God, you might just as well be in some pagan religion.  You do not approach God by participating in religious activities.

You can only approach God when your heart has been changed and cleansed by Jesus Christ through the forgiveness of sins that comes only through wholeheartedly surrendering your whole life to Him.

So we are to work obediently and respectfully, sincerely out of a fear of God, and we should work hard.  And then v.24 adds another motivation:

for reward
24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

We are to do this in order to obtain a reward.

God wants us to seek reward.  

Some have said that is a low motive.  I believe it is one of the highest, most noble motives.

If there were anything wrong with it as a motive God wouldn’t offer it as a motive.

The reason I say it’s a high motive is the thing that pleases God is faith, and one of the greatest demonstrations of faith is living for a reward you can’t see.

Scripture promises rewards that are very vague, like an inheritance in heaven.  What is that like?  We have never seen it.  We don’t know specifically what it is or what it will be like.

A promise like that, if you don’t really believe and trust God, will not motivate you much.

But if you are highly motivated by it, that proves you really believe God.

You may have seen a caricature of an actor asking the director, “What is my motivation?”  

That’s a great question to ask yourself every morning on your way in to work.

You’re sitting there in front of a pile of paperwork, or if you are a homemaker – laundry baskets full of dirty clothes, ask yourself, “What is my motivation for doing this work?”

If your motivation is to get a raise or promotion, that’s not enough to motivate you when you are working on something your boss will never see.

If your motivation for cleaning the house is so you have a nice living environment, that’s not going to be enough motivation to do a good job on the little things that no one sees.

Your motivation should be to accumulate riches in heaven.

You can’t picture what they will be like – you’re going solely on God’s trustworthiness when He says, “Do a good job on that paperwork and believe Me, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Do today’s housework like you were preparing the house for Me to stay in, and I promise you I’ll see to it that for all eternity you will be glad you did it.” 

Eph 6:8
the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 
There is no such thing as some work you do that goes unnoticed.  The Lord notices everything, and He won’t forget.

He could have just said you will receive a reward from the Lord, but instead he says you will receive an inheritance as a reward.

That’s significant, because an inheritance is something that a son receives.  Paul is speaking to slaves.  What a wonderful choice of tems.

 And it wouldn’t be lost on the readers of this letter who were slaves in Colosea.  Colosea was a Roman city, and under Roman law a slave could not inherit anything.  (I did find one example of a Jewish slave being an heir in the absence of any son, but that was seen as a tragedy – Gn.15:3 ). 

as accountable 
25 for anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

This is where the fear comes in.  The other side of reward is punishment. 

The grammar highlights the fact that the punishment will fit the crime exactly.  That is a frightening thought. 

There is a price to pay for laziness on the job – trying to do as little as possible.  

Aside from the fact that by doing a poor job you are harming your employer, harming the company (which means you are harming yourself and all the other employees), beyond that you are inviting God’s judgment.

Ro.14:10-12
10 we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. 

2Co 5:10-11  we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 
11 …we know what it is to fear the Lord

There will be no tears for Christians in heaven ever, but there will be on judgment day.  On that day we will regret the bad things we have done, no question about it.

“I don’t care – as long as I make it into heaven.”  That’s unbelief.  

If God says there is a judgment worth avoiding, if we believe Him we will avoid it.

there is no favoritism.
Favoritism is when you show someone more or less favor based on invalid criteria.  

“Eyeservice” doesn’t get you anywhere with God, because unlike human bosses He doesn’t evaluate based on the external.

In God’s eyes, whatever you are in your soul, that’s what you are and nothing else.
Masters
We don’t have to say much to the employers, because all these principles apply to them too. 
Eph 6:9 masters, treat your slaves in the same way

4:1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Give them a fair wage.  Create a good work environment.  Don’t make them work in miserable circumstances.

right has to do with what is just.
fair has to do with equality – everybody getting the same treatment.  Don’t treat some better than others just because you like them more.

Those in authority are responsible before God to dispense justice and to be fair.

These terms, used together, describe a fairness that cannot be achieved by rules.  It has to do with your conscience.

Sometimes if a person followed you around and logged your treatment of a certain person, there would be nothing written down in the log that would be clearly unjust, yet you know in your heart you are not treating that person right.

This means caring about their personal circumstances – illnesses, family crises, etc.  

Eph 6:9  Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. 

Don’t intimidate your employees.  Don’t yell at them or make them have to constantly worry about job security.

It is at this point of motivation that, for all their apparent similarities, Paul and Seneca part company (WBC) 

Job 31:13-15 "If I have denied justice to my menservants and maidservants when they had a grievance against me, 14what will I do when God confronts me?  What will I answer when called to account?  15Did not he who made me in the womb make them?  Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? 

Conclusion
Have you noticed that everything that is said to slaves has to do with what they are to give?  Not a word about what they get in return from their earthly masters.

That is the Christian perspective on employment.  Your primary concern with your employment is what you give.

The world cares only about what they receive.  The work ethic is completely lost on them.

You ask how their job is going, and they might say, “Terrific!  I got promoted.  Now I’m getting twice the pay with half the hours.  I have my own secretary now…”

And sadly, that seems to be the approach of many Christians.

You would think, if we were paying attention to the clear teaching of Christ, that if someone asked a Christian how his job was going he would get a response like: “It’s going great.  I feel like I’ve been working my fingers to the bone, by God’s grace.  Thanks to my employer providing this job, I am able to be productive, and I’m working harder and harder all the time.”

There is a dignity to work.  It’s part of being in the image of God – the ability to accomplish something meaningful – beyond just survival.  

God wired us so that we would have a sense of fulfillment over a job well-done.  

Maybe that feeling has been buried by years of influence by this society that is so fixated on money and benefits and rights.  

Let’s see if we can nurture it back to life.  Let’s learn to enjoy work and to enjoy the fulfillment and meaning that attaches to work that is done well. 

Let’s strive to someday hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

BENEDICTION: 
1 Thes.5:12-14  Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.