I’m a slave. Would you feel better if I wrote, “I’m a bondservant”? Both terms are translations of the Greek word doúlos. Used in I Timothy 6:1-16, the word refers to“someone who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own. This term is used with the highest dignity in the New Testament – namely, of believers who willingly live under Christ’s authority as His devoted followers.”
A DOULOS
You are in good company if you consider yourself a doulos. “The Apostle Paul, in the salutation of Romans 1:1, refers to himself as “a bondservant of Christ Jesus”. Paul lays his will on the line in Galatians 1:10, “For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? … If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”
ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE
We are instructed to have the Eternal Bondservant’s attitude in Philippians 2:5-7. “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bondservant and being born in the likeness of men.” Scholars estimate that about 10% (but possibly up to 20%) of the Roman Empire’s population was enslaved (as noted by the British Museum). Have to confess, some jobs I’ve held have felt like slavery. My attitude has been lacking.
GOD’S VIEW OF WORK
What do bondservants do? They work. The first concept of man’s relationship to work is presented in Genesis 2:15: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Man was assigned work before the Fall. “Work is not a result of the curse, but God’s creative design for the fulfillment of man. For the believer, work is a sacred duty” (John MacArthur). Really, a “sacred duty”???
Gallup’s State of the American Workforce finds that “about 70% of U.S. employees are simply ‘checking out’ mentally, doing the bare minimum, or actively working against their company’s goals.” I can relate to that. So, how does a believer’s attitude toward work relate to Paul’s instructions in I Timothy 6:1-2?
BILL AND THE MACHINE SHOP
My husband spent nine long, grueling years working third shift in a foundry under a boss who had a vicious temper. Once, the manager became infuriated and threw a hammer across the machine shop, just missing Bill’s head. Yet, Bill faithfully and diligently went to work every night. Regarding working carefully, it didn’t seem to bother his co-workers if parts were to be milled to exact measurements. They calibrated the first but didn’t go the extra mile by calibrating the remainder.
THE STORY OF DALE
Why did Bill keep his nose to the grindstone? Because his boss loved him to death? No. He did it because he considered Jesus his Boss. One of Bill’s co-workers noticed Bill’s attitude was poles apart from the majority. Dale, the co-worker, became curious and began asking Bill questions. Over the course of a year, a friendship blossomed, and Bill began to explain to his co-worker who Jesus is. Dale was religious but had never seen Christ lived out in someone’s life, especially in one’s work life. He eventually came to know Jesus as His own Lord and Savior. Little did Bill know that within a few short years, Dale would suffer a heart attack and be ushered into Heaven. Dale’s spiritual quest began because Bill’s attitude about work centered on God.
WORK HEARTILY
“Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.” Dale asked Bill questions because of his attitude at work. The mandate for Bill’s obedience was “Slaves, obey those who are your human masters in everything, not with eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people” (Colossians 3:22-23)
WHO IS YOUR BOSS?
How about you? Are you the bond-slave who works “with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord…heartily, as for the Lord and not for people”? And who is your boss?
For a fascinating series of broadcasts regarding work, click here.