Work is the curse and blessing of humanity. We labor not just for a paycheck, but to find purpose and productivity. Yet many find their work unfulfilling, a means to an end. There is a better way to view your job—one that can transform how you approach each workday. This passage reveals how to rework your work from the ground up, realigning it with God’s original design. By demoting directors, elevating employees, pushing people pleasers, and reframing returns, Paul shows how to make any work become an act of worship to the Creator.
- Work is good and was God’s idea. God created humans to work and unfold the latent goodness in creation through their labor.
- Paul reworks work by:
- Demoting directors. He calls earthly masters “temporary” and “subject to a greater authority.” He undermines their absolute authority.
- Elevating employees. He speaks directly to the workers and tells them they work for the Lord, not just their earthly masters.
- Pushing people pleasers. He rebukes those who work just to look good rather than actually doing good work.
- Reframing returns. He tells workers to look beyond immediate returns and compensation and focus on the eternal “inheritance” and “reward” they will receive from the Lord.
- The talk encourages workers to maximize God’s investment in them through their labor, skills and productivity. It focuses on working for the Lord rather than just for paychecks and earthly gain.
Your daily work matters more than you realize. It is an opportunity to steward God’s gifts, serve others, and unfold the latent goodness within creation. The paycheck you receive now is just an advance on the eternal inheritance awaiting those who work not for the praise of people, but the glory of God.
It’s time to rework your work—to see each task as an act of worship to the Lord of lords, the master craftsman who made you in his image to create, produce, and build using the abilities he has so generously given you. When you work for him above all, you will find the true purpose and fulfillment that eludes so many. Your workplace can become a mission field ripe for kingdom impact, starting today. Work — not just for a paycheck but for the pleasure of the one who pays the highest wage of all.