“Servants, obey in all things your master according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 23. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. 24. Knowing that of the Lord you
shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve Christ.” This passage is addressed to servants, or slaves, to tell them how to conduct themselves in the work they are given to do. This advice, however, does not just include slaves, but all Christians, for we are all servants, or slaves, of the Lord. Paul wrote: “And whatsoever you do….” This presupposes that we are going to be “doers.” This is reminiscent of James’s advice in James 1:22: “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” Paul informed us in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are “saved by grace through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast." I know that “work” is a four-letter word, but it is not an ugly word in the Christian vocabulary. In Ephesians 2:10 Paul concluded the passage with a reminder that we are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works, lest any (person) should boast.” So we are called to not only serve the Lord, but to serve Him heartily – or with our whole heart. He wrote “do it heartily as to the Lord…” We are to serve the Lord with our whole hearts, because He is the Lord – period. If one is called to serve on the staff of the president of the United States, he or she had better determine that they are going to do a good job or be sent home in disgrace. How much more careful should we be about our service to the Lord. Whether we are teaching Sunday School, taking up the offering, ushering, serving as a deacon, teaching in the nursery, or whatever, we should take the job seriously and give the Lord the best that we can give Him. The service that we render is to be done to please the Lord and not to please people. Specifically, he wrote in verses 22-23: “…not as menpleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. 23. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be glad when people appreciate what we do, but pleasing people should not be the reason that we serve. There are times in the Lord’s service when we will have to choose between pleasing God or pleasing people. Which one we should please is really a no-brainer if we are serious about serving the Lord. I can illustrate this dilemma in my own preaching ministry. There are just times that I have had to preach the Bible’s truth whether people agreed with it or not. That’s one reason that I prefer to preach verse-by-verse from the Bible. When it’s in the Bible, whether people like it or not, I know that it is the right thing. I am not ashamed to say that I like it when people appreciate my preaching, but that should not be my motivation for preaching. But this doesn’t just apply to preachers; it applies to all servants of God. Verse 24 gives us a promise: “Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ.” Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees because they rendered religious service “to be seen of men.” He told them that when they did things to please people that they already had their reward, meaning that God would not reward that service. If all we want to do is to please people, we will not really be effective in helping them live the Christian life. It is a fact that we will be rewarded for the service that we do for the Lord. Our rewards in heaven will depend on the service that we did “heartily” for the Lord. We are not to serve just to get rewards, but to know that we get the rewards because we have pleased God. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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