Be of Good Will
Ephesians 6:7 WELCOME to our today’s topic. This is about our character at our work place. The word of God in the book of Ephesians 6:7 reads as follows. “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
The word of God continues to say that; Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. This scripture confirms; a very important biblical truth, it is God who promotes people. When they work hard.
We should not worry about human behavior of jealousy and backbiting which occurs at the work place. But God will take the right action at the right time, after all it is said that, God’s time is the best time.
Christians are employed in Government, and many private companies. This is where we are advised to work with enthusiasm as we are working for the Lord. We are encouraged to perform our duties in the same way we would perform, when we are working for the Lord. And this follows a very important promise. The Lord himself will ensure that we shall get rewarded for the hard work.
Some of us are retirees, during our time in service; we got this God’s reward, and travelled all over the world. At a particular time, having been delayed in promotion, because of human factors, got a double promotion, this led to travelling abroad, near and far. It is true that God rewards those that perform their duties diligently.
In Ephesians 6:5 the bible says “servants be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ.” Obedience is a cardinal word to observe at every work place.
It is a word that goes together with punctuality. To be punctual on duty is to be obedient to the rules of the workplace. A person, who is never punctual at a workplace, breaks the rule of obedience in the first instance. You must be punctual and then the rest of the rules will follow. Obedience is godly, we do remember Moses, the great leader of the Jewish people, he was so obedient to his master, the Lord God Almighty Jehovah Jireh, to the point that he never tasted death.
If we can work enthusiastically at our work place, then we can make a very good and important impression to our employers, and our work can be rewarded.
We may fail to make a grade at our work place, because we want to steal from our employers. Instead we should wait for our pay day. There should not be any short cut to it. We should not have a habit of taking away, what does not belong to us. Either inform of money or any other item that belongs to our employers. Pilfering on duty can reduce a company to zero. In the end the company may not have the capacity to employ our friends out there, waiting to be employed. It is written in the book of Exodus 20:15 “Thou shalt not steal.” Stealing is sin. If you want to get something, go to the owners of the company and beg. It is very embarrassing for the believer to be caught red handed with an item or with money which belongs to the company. Such people delay their own reward. This is not working enthusiastically at your work place. It is important that this behaviour is avoided to the best of our ability.
To receive money from the government, with a promise to complete work and then abscond with money, is totally not Christian.
In the book of Ephesians 5:18, the Bible says “Do not be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead be filled with the Holy Spirit”.
The effects of alcohol are obvious. Perhaps we may be not sure of the effects of the Holy Spirit upon our lives. With the Holy Spirit, we shall be humble and merciful. Loving kindness shall be upon us. We shall be thankful. We shall be incorruptible, these will remain permanent in us, for as long as we allow Jesus to be in our heart (Rev 3:20-21).
When we are filled with Holy Spirit, whatever we shall say and do at the work place, will be representative of what the Lord will require of us.
Christians should not be involved in talking ill of their fellow work mates. This is not allowed. In the book of Isaiah 50:11; the Bible says: “Behold, all you that kindle a fire that compasses yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your faith, and in the sparks that you have kindled. This shall have mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow.” This means that, if you rekindle a fire for your friends, tomorrow a fire will be kindled against you. The Lord God Almighty will make it happen. If you are in the habit of making life difficult for your colleagues at the work place, you are bound to suffer the same consequences. Let it be possible for your fellow workmates to work in total harmony. Make it possible for your workmate find it a total pleasure working with you. To be at peace with everybody else. This is the best way to preach the word of God. To be good to all. Barnabas and St. Paul, while in a place called Antioch, they acted so well before the people, that they were called Christians. That is Christ-like behavior. Never to be quarrelsome.
As a Christian, we must exercise self control at a workplace. There are a lot of temptations that arise at the workplace. This is where self control is most required. Some temptations are to do with morality.
Remember it is written: “Thou shall not commit adultery”. (Exodus 20:14). It is sin. It must be avoided at all costs. Some people have landed themselves in big trouble because of engaging themselves in immorality at a work place. Comitting adultery takes away “truth” from the Christian vocabulary. You deny what you do, because you realise, it is trouble to say “yes you do”. We then stop to worship Him, the Most High in truth. What is written in John 4:23, will then not apply to us. Because truth will not be in us.
To work with enthusiasm, means to work with great spirit. To work with great desire. To work hard as if we are working for Christ. To work vigorously. To work with the desire to succeed. To work laboriously. To work with enthusiasm is to work with divine inspiration.
Remember that you are the light of the world. Because no person lights up the light or the lamp, and hides it under the bowl. Instead he puts it on the lamp stand where it light to everyone in the house. Matthews 5:14-16. This is your time to cast your knowledge of God into deeds. Let your knowledge of God shine at your workplace. It is at your workplace you are supposed to be the real “salt of the earth”. (Matthew 5:13). To be useful, you must teach others what you know about Christ. You can start a devotion session at a workplace, for everyone to pray and worship our Lord God Almighty. It is by so doing that you will encourage the spread of the Word of God to all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Do not be dormant, but active in spreading the Word of God. And showers of blessing will follow you. It is the word of salvation, that is only found in Christ Jesus, that must be preached, it must be mentioned that salvation only comes from Jesus Christ, because only He Himself is salvation (Luke 2:29-32). This is Biblical truth which must be taught to all nations. And this is the purpose of our faith, it is salvation. (1st Peter 1:8-9). This is the reason why we rejoice with great and glorious joy, which words cannot express.
At a workplace, workers should know that it is only by faith that a person will please God (Hebrews11:6). In everything that we do, as we apply ourselves to do work as appointed by man, there must be faith as a virtue, there is no alternative to this. Faith is necessary in all instances of prayer and thanksgiving. This is because, we are sure that God exists, and that he created the heavens and the earth, what is seen and what is not seen. It is by faith that we believe all these things. If we have enough faith to believe in the existence of God and the creation of the heavens and the earth, then the heaven is ours. (John3:16).
A believer must be of good will at all times. He must be able to pray for fellow workers, especially those in trouble and in sickness. A good Christian is one who will be with those who are mourning. It is important to practice patience. As you work, be patient with difficult co-workers or employers. Pray for them. Let them see the “light” in you. And the power of God will work in their hearts.
It is written in the book of James 1:16-17 thus: “Do not be deceived brothers and sisters. Every good gift and every perfect present comes from heaven; it comes from God, the creator of heavenly lights, who does not change or cause darkness by turning”. When we realize that every good thing comes from God, then we shall be thankful to God for giving us a place where to work. Whatever, we are doing, what is most important is that God has given us a workplace, and we must thank Him for that. As we work earnestly, and to the glory of God rather than to man, we shall begin to taste the goodness of our Lord God Almighty, Jehovah Jireh, the Most High. And the blessings of God, come after a person has put in hard work in all the activities as required at the workplace. Truly, God blesses people; our God promotes those who work hard. If you work hard, you will never be pruned, even if you are pruned, God will receive you, will look after you in times of trouble and will find you a new job. And success will follow you. This is the faith we have in our creator. God Almighty Jehovah Jireh, King of Kings. Be of good will.
May the blessing of our Lord God Almighty be upon our Republican President, peace and love upon our beloved nation Zambia. Amen.