Whistle while you work

Let’s start with a brutal truth: work is hard and it’s by design. The stark reality is that God created work and He created play and the two are very different.

When God spoke to Adam after the fall He made it clear that earning a living by working the soil would require effort. God said,

“All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. All your life you will sweat to produce food, until your dying day.” Genesis 3:17-19 (NIV)

For all of us who are familiar with what it means to put in a hard day’s work, we understand that this passage speaks a universal truth.

We will sweat and toil to earn our daily bread. But it isn’t meant to be a joyless venture. He gave us the ability to do it with a smile. Even Grumpy of the Seven Dwarves eventually had to figure out that he to whistle while he worked.

The Red Letter Believer has a higher calling, a mission that extends to the everyday world.

In his letter to the Church at Ephesus, Paul shared these words about how we need to approach our daily work as employees:

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.” Ephesians 6:5-9.

Paul wasn’t necessarily making a moral judgement on slavery. He simply acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining the proper attitude. If slaves were to keep this attitude, what about the free who still had to answer to the “boss-man.”

Paul wasn’t the only teacher on this subject. Peter had the same take although he took an even tougher stance.

“Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.” 1 Peter 2:18-19

Peter’s words were direct and clear: we have to respect our “masters” even in the face of discomfort. We Christians are held to a higher standard – a standard not commonly found in the rest of humanity.