Most workplaces are far from ideal. Bosses make decisions in their own interests without considering the interests of their employees. People are treated unfairly and unkindly. Bad behaviour is rewarded, while good work is often overlooked. In many workplaces a level of antagonism arises between the workers and the managers, and a work-to-rule atmosphere develops in which workers do the bare minimum that their employment contracts require.
In the sixth chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul had some interesting advice about how a follower of Jesus should approach work:
Slaves, submit to your human masters with respect and fear and with a generous heart, as if to Christ. Do not just be people pleasers, working only when you are being watched. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God wholeheartedly, serving with good will, as if for the Lord and not for people. You know that when you do something good you will be repaid by the Lord, whether you are a slave or free.
Today’s workers are not slaves, but Paul’s advice is still relevant to those who work for employers. Life is too short for us to be filling the bulk of it with half-hearted and poor-quality work. Servants of Christ should be serving wholeheartedly and with good will, even if the work is being done for unfair and unkind employers.