March 10
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INSTRUCTION HOW TO SERVE YOUR MASTERS
22 Slaves, obey those who are your human masters in everything, not with eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, 24 knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25 For the one who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality. – Colossians 3:22-25
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This letter to the Colossians gives instructions to the slaves and how to treat their human masters. All the letter of Paul to believers may have been addressed to the believers of his time, but these letters are also the same guidelines to all believers in our day and age.
Paul teaches the slaves or servants to be obedient to their masters in all things. In verse 22, Paul cautions those Colossian believers that they need to serve their masters not just to please them, but with a faithfulness and fear of the Lord. In other words, the act of serving is not a performance, but an act of love. In verse 23, Paul gives them the motivation to work for their masters as if they were not just working for humans, but for the Lord and in verse 24 he explains that when they do it for Him, they will receive the inheritance from the Lord himself. When they do it for the Lord Jesus Christ, they will serve their human masters well and they are following God’s law of love. In verse 25, Paul stresses the importance of accountability and the law of sowing and reaping. We are all responsible for our roles, and if we do not take full charge of our roles, we suffer the consequences of the lack of accountability for we have a good and just Father in heaven who rewards the righteous and punishes evil.
In the same manner, those who work for someone like their employers and bosses, the same principle goes for all believers. If we exercise honesty, integrity and hard work out of the law of love, we will reap rewards and blessings from the Lord Himself. Nowadays, it is a novelty to find people of integrity who would still do the right thing even though no one is looking. Even the way employees use company time for personal matters and concerns is not an unusual scene in a workplace. If we work for the Lord, we will always find a way to be honest. He sees everything we do anyway. If this principle of serving your employers or people in authority over you as if you were serving the Lord were followed by everyone, wouldn’t all workplaces thrive?
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REFLECTION
• Why is integrity and serving others key factors in having a joy-filled life?