Making much of Jesus in the workplace as an employee...

This week we are looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Ephesians. Yesterday, we saw the Apostle Paul reveal for us another timeless truth when it comes to our identity as a follower of Jesus in that our identity as a follower of Jesus should result in us making much of Jesus in the workplace.

In Ephesians 6:5, Paul began by focusing on the employee’s role and relationships within the workplace. As employees, we make much of Jesus in the workplace when we willing place ourselves under our employer’s leadership. As followers of Jesus, we make much of Jesus when we willingly place ourselves under our employer's leadership by placing our employer first.

We discovered that as followers of Jesus, we willingly place ourselves under our employer’s leadership when we serve our employers with reverence and respect. In addition, as followers of Jesus, we willingly place ourselves under our employer’s leadership when we serve our employers with the right motives. When we work with our employers who supervise and manage us with the right motives, we demonstrate our willingness to place ourselves under their leadership. And followers of Jesus, we should be motivated to work with our employers with integrity in our words and actions.

Today, we will see Paul reveal three aspects of our motivations that demonstrate our willingness to place ourselves under their leadership in Ephesians 6:6. Let's look at it together:

 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

When Paul uses the phrase “not by way of eyeservice" this phrase refers to service that is performed only to make an impression in the owner’s presence. Paul is basically saying "don't just work hard and do the right thing when your master is watching"? Now here is a question: how often are we tempted to do the exact same thing?

How often are we tempted to work in a way that makes one impression on our employer when they are watching, and then work in a way that makes an entirely different impression on those we work with when our employer is not watching?  Paul's point is that, as followers of Jesus, we should be motivated to serve our employers not simply to make a good impression only when our employer is watching.

Paul then hammers this point home with the phrase men-pleasers. In our culture today, we refer to such motivations as being a people pleaser. Paul here is calling followers of Jesus to not be motivated to focus their efforts on being a brownnosing people pleaser who does one thing when the boss is around and another thing when the boss is absent.

Instead, Paul commands the members of the church at Ephesus who were slaves to be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh as slaves of Christ. But what does that mean? Paul’s point here is that while the members of the church at Ephesus who were slaves had sold themselves into slavery in order to take care of their physical, material, and financial needs, they had also become a slave of Christ as a result of placing their confident trust in Jesus by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

The members of the church of Ephesus had become slaves of Christ in order to have Jesus take care of their most profound and deepest need to experience the forgiveness and relationship with God that they were created for. And as a result, their relationship with Jesus should shape every aspect of their lives, including their lives in the workplace.

So Paul was calling the members of the church at Ephesus to recognize and remember that as slaves of Christ, Jesus was their ultimate employer. While the members of the church at Ephesus were working for their master, more importantly, they were working for Jesus, who was their ultimate master and Lord.

And in the same way today, as followers of Jesus, we should be motivated to serve our employers in a way that is focused on pleasing Jesus, who is our ultimate employer. You see, when work with our employers who supervise and manage us with a focus on pleasing Jesus, the result is that we will demonstrate our willingness to place ourselves under their leadership and please them. And as followers of Jesus, we should be motivated to serve our employers with a focus on pleasing Jesus, who is our ultimate employer.

Paul then further unpacks what it means to serve our employers with a focus on pleasing Jesus when he uses the phrase doing the will of God from the heart. When Paul uses the phrase will of God here, this word refers to God’s desires for our lives. When Paul refers to the heart, he is referring to the seat and center of our feelings and emotions. Paul is commanding the members of the church at Ephesus to be motivated to serve their masters in a way that was focused on fulfilling God's desires from the core of their beings when it came to how they lived out their lives in the workplace.

Paul wanted the members of the church of Ephesus to do whatever they did, in word and deed in a way that revealed and reflected Jesus to others, so that they would be the vehicle that God would use to reveal Jesus to those in their workplace. Here is something to consider: where do you have the most opportunities to engage those who are far from God on a day to day basis? Is it not in your workplace? Students, is it not at school, which is your job at this point in your life? While work is frankly work, it is important to remember that God created work to be good and as a means for us to engage others in a way that reveals and reflects Jesus to others.

And in the same way today, as followers of Jesus, we should be motivated to serve our employers with a focus on fulfilling God’s desires from the core of our beings. When we work with our employers who supervise and manage us with a focus on fulfilling God’s desires from the core of our beings, the result is that we will demonstrate our willingness to place ourselves under their leadership as we reveal and reflect Jesus to them.

And as followers of Jesus, when we are motivated to serve our employers with a focus on fulfilling God’s desires from the core of our beings, we will be perfectly positioned to engage in God's kingdom mission in the lives of those in our workplace who are far from God.

So here is a question for us to consider: Do you serve your employer with the right motives? Do you serve your employer with integrity in your words and actions? Do you work simply to make a good impression only when our employer is watching? Or do you work in a way that is focused on pleasing Jesus as your ultimate employer?

Do you work in way that is focused on fulfilling your desires? Or do you work in a way that is focused on fulfilling God’s desires from the core of your beings? Paul then reveals for us a third way that we are to willingly place ourselves under our employer's leadership in verse 7:

 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.

Now to fully understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand what Paul means when he uses the phrase “With good will render service". The phrase good will refers to a positive attitude that is exhibited in a relationship. In addition, to render service is to act or conduct oneself as one in total service to another.

So Paul here is commanding the members of the church at Ephesus who were slaves to, with a good attitude towards Jesus, place themselves in total service to their employer as though they were working for Jesus. You see, Paul wanted the members of the church at Ephesus to clearly understand that they were serving the Lord as they served their employer. And as a result, the members of the church at Ephesus were to serve their masters with a positive attitude that was committed to their success.

Paul then provides the reason why they were to serve their masters with a positive attitude that was committed to their success in verse 8: "knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.” Paul's point here is that the rewards that ultimately matter for all eternity will not come from our earthly employer. Instead, the rewards that ultimately matter for all eternity will come from God, who is our ultimate employer.

And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us the reality that, as followers of Jesus, we willingly place ourselves under our employer’s leadership when we serve our employers with a positive attitude that is committed to their success. As followers of Jesus, we are to serve the Lord with a positive attitude as we serve our employer. As followers of Jesus, we are to serve our employers in a way that is committed to their success. And as followers of Jesus, we are to recognize that God is the One who ultimately rewards us.

So here is a question for us to consider: Have I just described how you approach your workplace? Do you serve your employer with a positive attitude? Do you work with a focus on what you are going to get or on what you can give? Do you serve your employer in a way that is committed to their success? Do you serve your employer recognizing that our ultimate and eternal rewards come from God, who is our ultimate employer?

Friday, we will see Paul shift his focus from the employee to the employer...