Paraphrase: (2/12/03)
9 In your work, be subject to your masters in all matters. Seek to please, offering no arguments. 10 Do not steal from your master, but prove yourself faithful to him. By these things, you will show that God's ways, what He teaches His children to do, is beautiful in every way.
Key Verse: (2/12/03)
2:10 - Show yourself trustworthy in all things, so that all you do will cast the doctrine of Salvation in a good light.
New Thoughts (2/13/03)
It is not all that hard to put on a righteous face for a limited time. Perhaps we could hide our real nature for the few hours we're in church each week. Perhaps. However, God promises that all things hidden will be brought out into the light. Perhaps for a time we could keep up the farce. Perhaps we have sufficiently conquered our sins that we can remain true to God so long as we know there are fellow believers around to see us should we fail. Perhaps pride is the only thing holding our sinful nature in check. This might get us through both time with the church and time at home. But in this day and age, it is quite probable that the folks we work with have limited knowledge of who we are in our off time.
In work relationships, we are in control to a far greater extent. We determine what our coworkers know about us, and what remains private. It is possible that none of those we work with are aware of our Christianity. This can leave us feeling a greater license to sin, if it is only pride that has been reining us in. These aren't Christians we're around now. Their assessment of us comes from a different perspective. We can be just like them, and it won't bother them. The invitation to become a hypocrite is offered every day in this fashion. Paul is warning us not to take the bait.
The modern worker in large part is focused on doing the minimum required to keep his job. The boss / worker relationship is not all that far removed from the master / slave relationship so common when this letter was written. There are differences, to be sure. We are free to leave off serving our masters, although at present that can be a risky business. There may be no other master looking for servants. Our masters are not quite as absolute in their power over us, although many of them will do what they can to increase their power. In the days of the factory towns, the masters sought to do this by controlling the local stores, by keeping their workers so indebted to the company that they had no choice but to work as hard and as long as the company demanded.
Nowadays, this approach is no longer accepted. But it is still practiced. What has changed, in large part, is that the companies have learned to better disguise their hooks. More and more enticements are added to the workplace so that the worker needn't go elsewhere. Game rooms, exercise rooms, cafeterias, etc. They're all geared towards keeping the employee on site and available. And, hey! It's the computer age! They can be given computers and internet connections so that they can still work even when they're at home! The power may not be absolute, but it is insidious.
The reaction, as I said earlier, has been that workers tend to do only as much as they absolutely must. They have learned the unwritten rules of the game, and they play them with as much finesse as they can manage. Ways not to work abound in the modern workplace. So many recreational activities resemble work activities to the point that they cannot be told apart. Is he reading corporate e-mail, or personal? Is he reading a manual, or visiting a web-site? It's not impossible to find out, but it's probably more effort than it does require effort. So the game continues, the bosses always asking more while appearing to offer more, and the employees always giving less while appearing to be more dedicated.
Enter the Christian. What is he to do in these situations? How will he handle himself in the face of such an environment? If he is true to his calling, he will do exactly what Paul has told us in this passage. He will not be lazy about his work, but will be diligent to do all that is required of him. He will not steal from his employer - neither large things nor small, neither office supplies nor time. He will do his utmost to turn in his best effort, to give his employer good return on his time. He will show himself trustworthy in all things.
Again, the temptation to do otherwise is huge. It would be easy to take a cynical view, recognize that your employer is seeking to take advantage of you, and therefore consider it fair trade to take advantage of him. It would be easy to look busy but do little. But, if we truly love God, we dare not give in to such things. Face it. The control we think we have over what is known of us is largely illusion. As I noted earlier, God brings the hidden things to light. If we are weak enough as to seek to keep our faith hidden (as the world would have us to do anyway), then He will not suffer it to remain that way. Our faith will get out. It will be known to those around us that we are one of them. And, once that is known, all eyes will be on us, seeking after further ways to discredit faith, after further excuses not to believe.
The unbeliever does not want to be uncomfortable in his unbelief. The easiest way for him to avoid this discomfort is to find ways to discount or discredit faith. It's OK not to believe in God if you can show that He doesn't exist, or doesn't matter. Our call is to prevent this approach from working. We are called to make it very uncomfortable to continue in unbelief, not by being rude and obnoxious, not by rubbing their noses in it, but by standing out as living testimonies to the goodness of God. Why does Paul give us these instructions? So that we will live and work in ways that adorn the doctrines of God, so that our example will cast God's ways in a good light. However we choose to live and work, it will cast true doctrine in some light, be it good or bad.
In today's marketplace of ideas, one who will consistently stand for honesty and hard work, one who will not demand his right to have privileges, who will not insist on special treatment in the name of equality, will stand out. He can't help but stand out. There's a world out there in need of something to believe in. It's a cynical world, and Truth will have to fight hard for acceptance, but it's a fight that Truth can win IF its advocates will live in the Truth they proclaim.
Lord, I know I often fail of this example, but I ask that You make of me the example You require. Keep me mindful that even in the workplace I am called to do all things as unto the Lord. Keep me mindful that it is always Your signature on my paycheck, whatever means You may choose to provide it. God, remind me that I am a marked man, a Christian amidst an unbelieving generation, and let my example cause Your glory to shine all the brighter. Make of me the goad that will lead others to see the truth of Your goodness and the goodness of Your truth. Lord, I want to adorn Your doctrine, Your throne. Keep this heart pure today.
