Sorry about yesterday everyone, you didn’t get the blog. My mistake.  🙂

 

Memory verse 1: Everything in the heavens and earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as being in control of everything.  1 Chronicles 29:11

Memory verse 2: “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” Proverbs 22:7

Memory verse 3: “the way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel” Proverbs 12:15

Memory verse 4: “you shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another” Leviticus 19:11

Memory verse 5: “whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men” Colossians 3:23

Today we are going to focus in on what the responsibilities are for working from three perspectives. Gods, ours, and as an employee

The Lord’s Responsibilities in Work

1. God gives us our job skills

“and every skillful person in whom the Lord has put skill and understanding to know ho to perform all the work” Exodus 36:1

In the old Testament, God gave his Holy Spirit to only certain people for a certain task. He often gave men craftsmanship skills when something was required to be built. Nowadays, we all have been given the Holy Spirit as Christians, and His word says we have all been given gifts and abilities. Some of us are really good with our hands, some of us are gifted as leaders, some of us as teachers, some of us as administrators, and etc… As we talked about yesterday, wherever we find ourselves, we need to develop a serving heart and our jobs will become a joy.

2. God gives us our success

“The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man…his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand”  Genesis 39:2

God gave Joseph success because he was faithful in following the Lord and keeping his laws. Now I am definitely not suggesting you will become the ruler of the country because you are a good Christian, but if we follow the Lords commands like being honest, being kind, being a servant  type employee, that is going to get noticed and likely rewarded in some way in your employment.

3. God controls our promotion

Here is a verse I bet you never considered before

“for the promotion and power come from nowhere on earth, but only from God” Psalm 75:6

 

Our Responsibilities in Work

1. We should work hard

“whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” Ecclesiastes 9:10

“the precious possession of a man is diligence” Proverbs 12:27

I love this quote I read “your work should be at such a level that people will never equate laziness with God”.  Wow, now that is a quote to chew on, isn’t it?

 

2. We should not overwork

“you shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest” Exodus 34:21

Here is a verse and an idea that often causes lots of controversy. How can i take a day off when there is so much work to do? The sun is shining, i can’t stop harvesting. What if it rains tomorrow? I just don’t have enough time in 6 days to do everything. I remember my dad always telling me that growing up, no matter what, Sunday was not a work day. The horses needed resting, people needed resting. And my family was far from being Christian. This was a common practice. It made sense and was necessary.  God said this as a reminder that they were once slaves and had to work everyday by no choice of their own, but God said take one day per week to remember that I delivered you from this slavery. So why would we want to become slaves again? Remember debt is compared to slavery? This could be one reason we often feel compelled to work everyday. We have no choice because our debt dictates this. But let’s be clear, I don’t want to get legalistic and say we shouldn’t work at all, but we should rest from the stuff that can wait until tomorrow. Some examples might be that dairy farmers still need to milk the cows every day, but maybe don’t need to build that new fence today,  caregivers need to be at the hospital everyday, ambulance drivers, policemen, etc…  God bless you guys and gals that work in these jobs that do require you to be away from your family and church on Sunday mornings. The danger in that, though, is if it happens a lot you can so easily lose touch and lose fellowship with other Christians. It’s a real balancing act. We need to find a way to stay personally connected with the body of Christ each week. One day per week, take time to focus on God and physical rest from your normal routine.

Responsibilities of a Godly Employee

These are all very practical things each and every one of us should do if we are employed. They should be obvious, and again, these are the small things we need to be faithful in, if we ever expect God to let us be responsible for more. Read the story of Daniel for an awesome example of a Godly employee

1. Absolute honesty

“no evidence of corruption” Daniel 6:4

2. Faithful

“He (Daniel) was faithful” Daniel 6:4

3. Prayer

“now when Daniel knew that the document was signed… he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously” Daniel 6:10

4.  Honoring your employer

What if we have a real miserable boss?

“servants (employees), be submissive to your masters (employers) with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable” 1Peter 2:18

5. Honor your fellow employees

The bible has a lot to say about loving your neighbor, not gossiping, not slandering someone else, not stealing from, not cheating, encouraging each other, etc…  you get the idea.

6. Sharing our faith

We do have a responsibility even in our workplace to spread the gospel. There are definitely workplaces that will not allow open evangelism, so let your lifestyle shine at least. Love your neighbor.

 

Lord, thank you for your faithfulness. You have given us all abilities and the means to work and earn a living. Help us all to be the best employee we can be, to remember we are working as if working for you. Help each of us if we are employers to treat our employees with respect and fairness. God help us to be free of our debts so we can walk in freedom and fully experience the rest you ask of us every week. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Tomorrow- Giving