Colossians 3:23-24 23Whatever you do, do your work from the soul, as for the Lord and not for people, 24 because you know that it is from the Lord that you will receive the reward of the inheritance. You serve the Lord Christ.
Paul now gives the timeless principle that should guide the work ethic of slaves. This principle is broad and can be applied to any responsibility or job. It is open-ended with whatever you do. There should be no area of our lives that is left out of giving our best effort. There is no place for laziness in the work ethic of a believer. There is a difference between laziness, which is slouching when work needs to be done, and rest, which is a time of restoration from work. We all need periods of rest when our bodies and minds can shift from our labors and be restored.
The interesting phrase is doing work from the soul. The soul (psychēs) represents one’s essential life force, our inner being and what makes us who we are. Paul is basically calling slaves to work with their whole essence, to give it their all, and to put their full effort into whatever they do. He then gives three motivations for this all-in effort. First, slaves must work as for the Lord and not for people. Although they are bound by law to work for their masters, they are actually working for the Lord Jesus because they can provide a witness to their masters of what God’s grace is doing in them (1 Timothy 6:1). This verse is all about motive. Being a “people pleaser” may be helpful for advancement in a job to some degree, but the selfish motives will eventually come out and create problems in relationships. Someone who works as for the Lord will not give up when things get difficult, which is inevitable.
The second motivation is the promise of an inheritance from the Lord. Most slaves did not receive any reward or payment for their work, although there were some who got paid and eventually could buy their freedom. A slave is obligated to obey his or her master. The difference between a slave and an employee is in the compensation. The inheritance which Paul mentions here refers to eternal life. Slaves had a hope that would outlast their lifetime of work and possibly pain. Knowing that what they did counted for something bigger than what they saw could help them through the difficult times. There are times when we may wonder if what we do has any purpose or value. If we look at the big scheme of things and realize that God is watching and that our hope is in eternal life through Christ, we too can endure our own challenges.
The third motive is realizing that we serve the Lord Christ. This is a similar thought to the first motive but makes it clear who the true Master is. Human masters are temporary and do not ultimately have control of a person’s life, even though they may think they do. As long as a slave is a believer and “owned” by Christ (like Paul described himself), he or she is free in the truest and most important sense. This message of spiritual freedom must have been exciting and inviting to slaves in the first century. With little hope of ever being free, a slave could find a more profound freedom from the powerful and controlling master of sin.
For older posts, click here.