At Work, Work for God Not for Man

“In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people. Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ.”- Colossians 3:23-24

As children of God, God requires us to work if we can. God does not want us to be lazy. There are consequences if we are lazy and do not want to work. Paul reminds us of one consequence of not working in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “Anyone who refuses to work should not eat.” God knows the importance of having a job. A job will provide us with the income we need to provide food, shelter, and clothes for our families. To God it is a sin if someone can work but does not to care for his family. In God’s eyes that person has turned away from his faith and is worse than someone who does not believe in God (1 Timothy 5:8).

When we are working, God also wants us to care about what we are doing no matter what because we are working for Him not for man. That means taking pride in our work, doing the best job we can but also treating everyone with respect and kindness, and even praying for those who are mean and controlling. Our actions show others we are true children of God. We are called to act differently than non-believers in the world and even at work. People will see how we act and how we treat others. As a result, God will get all the glory and praise.

God even promises to reward us for doing what He says. He will reward us how He sees fit. It could be by giving us a raise, a promotion, or food to eat for dinner each night.

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

You are a great example for us to follow because You have been working hard from the beginning. You created the world and everything in it only in six days. We know since You work hard then we should too. Help us to work hard for You and to stay focused on our jobs. We know we must work with others who are hard to deal with so please help us to show kindness to them, even if they are mean. Thank you for our reward You promise us. All the glory and praise belong to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!