Life Notes: What Category of Worker are You?
by David Wheeler, Ph.D.

If you started your own business, what kind of employee would you want? My father was a grocery store manager for many years. He worked long hours and would check on the store on Sunday afternoons, even when stores were closed on Sundays. His employees respected him; I remember one telling me that whatever my dad asked his employees to do, he was willing to do himself as needed.

It is interesting that the Bible writes to slaves in Colossians 3:22-24. It says, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all you heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.”

Even as slaves, Christians were to live differently than unbelievers. I think these verses can easily be applied to modern employment situations. Once my father was talking about how difficult it was to get hard-working employees; my mother said that it was that a particular company did not pay its workers well. That made sense to me at the time, but not to my dad. Regardless of what you were paid, if you agreed to do the job, you should do it well.

As an adult, I have tried to follow that principle myself. How many people think something like this – “For what I’m getting paid, I’m not going to work very hard.” How many people write 8 hours on a time sheet for 7 hours of work? How many people sit and visit with other co-workers or talk to friends and family on the telephone for an inordinate amount of their work time? How many work differently when their boss is around than when he or she is not around? Maybe it depends on who your master is…whom you are REALLY working for.

The Vice President at my agency is my boss, but I am NOT working for him. I have a higher Master. If you really believe that you have a higher boss to answer to, it will make a difference in the way you live your life at work. The chances are good that your employer will notice and reward you. But even more important, your Father in Heaven will notice, and His rewards are the most important of all.
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The Life Notes articles are written by staff of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home and are published in The Ruston Daily Leader.