More of Employers and Employees: What Is the Word of God to You?

Previously, we discussed the employer-employee relationship as we are admonished by the word of God. How should Jesus followers act in the workplace? Well here’s one example of how we definitely should not act. The September 2, 1996, issue of the Wichita Business Journal carried a disturbing front-page article on employee theft that began: “Everyone is honest and trustworthy, right? That’s what some clients thought when they started their small businesses. In just a short time they were out of business because of an employee skimming from the cash register and theft of warehouse goods. “A little here and a little there… who’s going to notice? You should take notice. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, approximately a third of all business failures each year can be traced to employee theft and other employee crime. “While managers and owners would like to think their employees are all trustworthy and honest, large-scale anonymous surveys have shown almost half of the employees admitted to stealing.”¹ Are these disturbing facts to you? Do they bother you? Jesus followers aren’t to represent God just in the church house. They are to represent Him to the world. That’s why we are talking about – More of Employers and Employees: What Is the Word of God to You — all on this week’s Light on Life.

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Four Holy Spirit Secrets on Life and Living

[Tweet “People of integrity bring their lives in line with all that the scriptures say about what it means to live a pure and holy life.”]

Read the Notes

You can view a basic transcript of this podcast at the bottom of this section.

Accept the Challenge

Each week’s podcast contains a call to action. The Word of God will not produce in your life unless you put it into operation.
This week’s call is:

Employees are to submit to their employers at work. This is God’s order and it is right and true.

Join the Conversation

Testimony is vital to a believer’s life. We overcome by it (Rev. 12:11). Each week’s podcast also contains a question designed to encourage testimony.
This week’s question is:

Question: How has your work life changed since you have practiced God’s divine order for the job? Share your story in the comments section below.

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Emery committed his life to the Lord Jesus Christ over 45 years ago and has served as both a full-time pastor and an itinerant minister. He and his wife Sharon of 40 years emphasize personal growth and development through the Word of God. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is the focus and the hallmark of their mission. Read more about them here.

Subscribe to the Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

Note: Pocket Casts is available on the App Store or Google Play.

Stitcher Radio Pocket Casts

iTunes PlayerFM

Share the Love

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate it on Stitcher Radio and leave a review. If you have a suggestion for a Bible topic, you would like to see taught, or if you have a question, please e-mail me at emery@emeryhorvath.com

Podcast Notes

Employers and Employees: The Gospel of Jesus in the WorkPlace

So in a previous podcast, we looked at Paul’s admonition to the church at Ephesus about the workplace and the relationship between employers and employees.
We saw how being filled with the Spirit continually leads to a humble spirit of submission, that is, voluntarily submitting to one another in love could impact the workplace.

Ephesians 6:5 (ESV): – 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling,

Now, this is as far as we got in that previous podcast.
There will be a link in the show notes so you can reference that material in case you want to refresh yourself or if you didn’t get a chance to hear it.
There was a great amount of background and historical information in that podcast.
We left off talking about fear and trembling and how that is reverential respect that should exist among people.
This reverential respect must permeate throughout all facets of life.
The particular area we are focusing on is the job — you and your boss — you and your supervisor or manager.
You and the company that you work for that you represent Jesus too.
Jesus-followers are disciples not just on Sunday — they must represent Him every day in every place.
And so, bondservants, obeying their earthly masters with fear and trembling, or reverential respect is as far as we got in that previous podcast.
But there are other realities that should exist between employer and employee.

Ephesians 6:5–9 (ESV): – 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

And so, we have the following distinguishing characteristics that should mark any employee.
- Work with sincerity – that is, have a sincere heart.
- Not with eye service.
- Not being a people pleaser.
- Working as unto God not man.
Let’s take these up one at a time.

With a Sincere Heart

Let’s talk about having a sincere heart.
The Greek word ‘sincere’ means having personal integrity in word or action.
And with that thought here is the Illustration of the Day.

In the early days of jet aviation, Boeing and Douglas Aircraft were competing for sales to Eastern Airlines, headed by the famed aviator Eddie Rickenbacker. He told Donald Douglas that their specifications for the DC-8 were close to Boeing’s in everything but noise suppression. Then he gave Douglas a last chance to outpromise the competition. After consulting his engineers, Donald Douglas told Rickenbacker he could not do it. Rickenbacker replied, “I know you can’t. I wanted to see if you were still honest. You just got yourself an order for $135 million. Now go home and silence those jets!” Doesn’t this story make you wish you had known Douglas and Rickenbacker? Aren’t you stirred by the account of a good man who stayed good amid tremendous business pressure? The impact of this story flows from this single truth: Incredible power exists with one who has a blameless reputation and practices integrity.²

Donald Douglas didn’t lie.
He didn’t promise something that he couldn’t deliver — that’s an example of integrity.
This author, who is listed in the show notes, went on to define integrity as “consistency and sincerity, with no deception or pretense.”
Integrity’s overriding quality is wholeness.
Other synonyms include soundness, solidness, stability, toughness, stoutness, and sturdiness, — you get the idea.
The opposite of integrity is fragileness.
Something that is whole is sound, solid, stable, and all of the other synonyms that we used.
Wholeness means there is no discrepancy or inconsistencies between a person’s insides or outsides.
There is no variance in what a person says and does.
he does what he says and says what he does whether anyone is looking or not.
Who are you when no one is looking? — that’s a great question that goes to the heart of the issue of integrity.
For the Christian specifically, integrity means we live according to what we say we believe, per the Scriptures.
In other words — a person of integrity walks their talk.
What are some examples of this?
People of integrity, keep their word, even when it costs them.

Psalm 15:1–4 (ESV) — 1 O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

People of integrity bring their lives in line with all that the scriptures say about what it means to live a pure and holy life.
We are talking about right sex, as opposed to wrong sex.
We are talking about honesty and being able to be trusted — an essential trait for any leader.
And if you are in Christ, you are a leader and an example of righteousness.
Former President Teddy Roosevelt tested one of his ranch employees by asking him to steal from a neighboring ranch. The man agreed to do so, and Roosevelt immediately fired him, concluding, “A man who steals for me will soon steal from me.” He knew the first dishonest step would likely lead to many more in the same direction.³
Now in defining integrity, you can add the word loyalty to this and you wouldn’t do the definition a disservice.
You can throw the phrase ‘purity of motive’ in here and you wouldn’t alter the definition at all.

Sincerity of Heart at All Times and In All Ways

Notice what the scripture did not say – It did not say to be loyal to your employer only if they are loyal to you.
What if they are not loyal — what if they are not nice to you?
How do you as a person of integrity defines your next move?
What if you didn’t get the raise or promotion that you thought you should get?
What if a supervisor spoke to you in a cross, unsympathetic way or you find yourself working in an environment with difficult people?
Well, did the Lord put you in that job — did He open the door for you to receive that job?
If He didn’t, that may be where the problem lies.
If you know that He led you there, then the following verse should be comforting to you.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV): — 13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

The short version of this? — if you are in the will of God, you can handle it.
Identifying the source of who or what is leading you can dictate the appropriate action.

The Spirit of God lead us several years ago to move out of our home. It was totally a supernatural no-doubt-about-it leading. I won’t take the time to share all the details but everything about the move had an air of the miraculous about it from the initial leading to the purchase of the new home to the outfitting of the new home once we moved in. A year after we had moved in torrential rains brought a threatened flood to our doorstep. I mean my neighbors on all three sides of me were sandbagging the entrances to their homes. We didn’t join in – instead we hired painters to paint our home. We knew that though there was a threat of flood it wasn’t going to manifest at our address. How did we know that? We knew that from the supernatural leading we received from the Lord. I think you will see why we took the course of action that we took if you ask yourself this question – ‘Why would a God who is good and whose mercies endure forever lead someone to have everything that they owned wiped out?’ We knew the flood wasn’t going to come to our door — because He was leading us. And, you know what, it did come close but it did not come into our neighborhood. It came within 1/2 mile of us. And, since the Lord lead us the way He did, the appropriate response was evident. — paint the house!

We might have looked silly to our neighbors, do you think?
It was no more silly than how Noah looked to his neighbors when God led him to build a boat when it had never rained.
So get the whole of this now; the trail we are on is investigating who or what is leading you.
Is the Lord leading you to make the move you are considering or is it an offense that’s leading you?
We should never be led by offenses — we should always be led by the Spirit.
If you’re offended, then your emotions are involved, your soul is involved and this part of your being is an unreliable guide.
Be led by the Spirit, not your soul.
The best thing to do when your feelings are involved or, can we say it this way, your emotions are high is to wait.
Know that God has led you to your place of employment and then serve him with fear and trembling and with a sincere heart even when you have a less-than-favorable day.
Isn’t that what we call integrity?

Employers and Employees: Jesus as a Person of Integrity

Jesus was a person of integrity – even the religious leaders thought so.

Mark 12:14 (ESV): – 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”

So, that’s sincerity of heart.- we know that you are true.
But, there’s more to this verse.
Listen to it again.

Employers and Employees: Sincerity of Heart As You Would Christ

Ephesians 6:5–9 (ESV): – 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,

Now, here’s a potential solution to negative relationships between employees and employers.
Our service to our employers should be as our service is to Jesus.
We should obey our Father in heaven with fear and trembling, that is, with reverential respect, with sincerity of heart or integrity.
If we do, then it’s an easy transition.
If we are already in the habit of operating in reverential respect and integrity where God is concerned, the scripture now says you just switch that over to your employer.
But, if we don’t have the reverential respect or fear and trembling that we should have for the Lord, if we are somebody else on Sunday then we are the other days of the week, then you’re not going to treat your employer any differently.
If we call in on the Lord on Sunday and we skip His things, it’s no problem to call in on your employer.
We don’t realize how much the spiritual and natural are connected.
We segment and segregate the spiritual and the natural side of our lives and we don’t realize it’s all one pot.
We separate church and Sundays from our Monday through Saturday lives.
How we treat the Lord is how we treat people, period — how we treat people is how we treat the Lord, that’s a fact.
They are all intertwined — it’s all one life.
We should obey our employers as we would obey the Lord because obedience is obedience.
Let’s move on.

Employers and Employees: Not with Eye-Service As People Pleasers

Now, here is the next part in verse six — so we are in Ephesians 6:6.

6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

What is eye service — how is it defined?
And with that thought, here is the Definition of the Day.
The Greek word eye service comes from two words, the Greek word for eye, and the greek word for slave or servant.
The Greek lexicon BDAG has it as a service that is performed only to make an impression in the owner’s presence⁴
Louw Nida defines the word eye service as serving in order to call attention to oneself.
So, Paul, by the Spirit of God, is instructing the people in the first century, the believers in Ephesus to not work according to the eye.
Twenty-one centuries later mankind is still doing the same thing.
Instead of working hard, instead of working with integrity, we are working to get by — we are working to get around.
So, instead of being a first-century phenomenon, eye service is clearly a work of the flesh.
And, with that thought, here is the Question of the Day.

Is working hard, a lost art?

I mean isn’t that what eye-service is pointing its finger at?
We want to appear to be good and hard workers only when somebody is watching.
If that’s the case what are you going to do about this next verse of scripture?

2 Timothy 2:1–7 (ESV) — 1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Three groups of people all are called out in these verses: soldiers, athletes, and farmers.
Ask yourself this question, do soldiers, athletes, and farmers work hard?
You bet!
Have you heard about the extensive training and hard work that has to go into developing a soldier?
Think Boot Camp here.
Think about the training that it takes to become an elite combat fighter like a Navy seal, or a Ranger.
It’s incredible how much work they have to put in.
What about athletes — like those who train for the Olympics?
Have you heard about the phenomenal amount of work Olympians put in to compete for a gold medal?
There are many examples of these kinds of things available all over the Internet.
And, what about farmers — aren’t they known for working sun up to sundown to make the fields yield their harvest?
Hard work is a God thought.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (ESV) — 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

With that thought, here is the Quote of the Day.

Nothing worthwhile or long-lasting can be achieved without hard work. Former basketball great Sen. Bill Bradley once said that during his Princeton days, his father would tell him, “Son, when you’re not out practicing, someone else is. And when you meet that person, he’s going to beat you.”⁵

Work hard for both God and man.
This gets us to the next part of how employees should respond to their employers.

Doing the Will of God from the Heart

Let’s read the scripture again.

6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

The heart is the source of all that is right and true as far as a person’s actions go.
Jesus said it this way.

Matthew 15:18–19 (ESV) — 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

Negative stuff comes out of a person’s non-regenerated heart.
Righteousness and integrity come out of a born-again heart.
So, doing the will of God from the heart — means first that you have the will of God, you know the will of God, and your heart leans toward doing the will of God.
Look at what the word of God says about Hezekiah.

2 Chronicles 31:20–21 (ESV) — 20 Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. 21 And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

Hezekiah sought God with all his heart — he did for God with all his heart — and the end result of that was that God prospered him.

Employers and Employees: Rendering Service with a Good Will

7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Here’s the last part of this for employees: rendering service with goodwill — again note, this is unto the Lord first — then it should spread out to men.
What do the words ‘with a good will’ mean?
The Greek word ‘goodwill’ means a positive attitude exhibited in a relationship, a good attitude, and willingness.⁶
So, now we are talking about working with a good attitude.
You may have heard the saying, ‘attitude determines altitude.’
How high you go is based on your attitude.
Here’s the marvelous truth — if you have a bad attitude, you can adjust it.
Chuck Swindoll said the following as we get ready to close.

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude in life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company … a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past … we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one thing we have, and that is our attitude.… I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it. And so it is with you … we are in charge of our attitudes.[ 7. Chuck Swindoll, Roy B. Zuck, The Speaker’s Quote Book: Over 4,500 Illustrations and Quotations for All Occasions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1997), 23.]

Now, Father God in the Jesus Holy Name, I ask you to help us to see the truths of your Word concerning our work life responsibilities. Grant unto us the insight that we need so that we might walk in the light of that and be the true and shining witness to the world that you would have us to be. We ask that in Jesus Name.

You guys have a great God week and we will see you next time for another edition of Light on Life.

The Ninth Commandment: Why Honesty is Indeed the Best Policy

__________
References:

Robert J. Morgan, Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, and Quotes, electronic ed. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2000), 444. ↩
Discipleship Journal, Issue 104 (March/April 1998) (NavPress, 1998). ↩
Discipleship Journal, Issue 104 (March/April 1998) (NavPress, 1998). ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 744. ↩
Rep. Gary Franks, Searching for the Promised Land: An African American’s Optimistic Odyssey (HarperCollins), quoted in Reader’s Digest, August, 1996, p. 147[5. Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002). ↩
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 409. ↩

emeryhorvath.com

Equipping people to pursue God's glory

More of Employers and Employees: What Is the Word of God to You?

Podcast: Light on Life Season Ten Episode Five

by Emery Horvath

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Employers and Employees: The Gospel of Jesus in the WorkPlace

With a Sincere Heart

Sincerity of Heart at All Times and In All Ways

Employers and Employees: Jesus as a Person of Integrity

Employers and Employees: Sincerity of Heart As You Would Christ

Employers and Employees: Not with Eye-Service As People Pleasers

Doing the Will of God from the Heart

Employers and Employees: Rendering Service with a Good Will

Listen to the Audio

Click to Listen | Right Click to Download |Subscribe in PlayerFM

Read the Notes

Accept the Challenge

Join the Conversation

Episode Resources:

We are currently teaching in the book of Ephesians. You can click on the links below to listen to some of these podcasts.

About Emery

Subscribe to the Podcast

Share the Love

Podcast Notes

Employers and Employees: The Gospel of Jesus in the WorkPlace

With a Sincere Heart

Sincerity of Heart at All Times and In All Ways

Employers and Employees: Jesus as a Person of Integrity

Employers and Employees: Sincerity of Heart As You Would Christ

Employers and Employees: Not with Eye-Service As People Pleasers

Doing the Will of God from the Heart

Employers and Employees: Rendering Service with a Good Will

Related posts: