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Putting Forth Quality Labor

If we read any bumper stickers on the rear end of automobiles, we’ve probably seen the axiom, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.” For a vast portion of the workforce in our country, this is the best reason they can muster for going to their job each day.

According to one survey, only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work.

In the first century, Christian slaves had even less reason to be enthusiastic about their work. But Paul gave them a way to grasp a glimpse of glory amid the everyday grind. He wanted them to “adorn the doctrine of God,” that is, to show the beauty of their faith in Christ by how they work (Titus 2:9-10).

A significant and often overlooked way that we serve God, is in our everyday tasks.

Martin Luther understood this when he wrote,

“The maid who sweeps her kitchen is doing the will of God just as much as the monk who prays — not because she may sing a Christian hymn as she sweeps but because God loves clean floors. The Christian shoemaker does his Christian duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship” (source).

Brethren, as followers of Christ, let us put forth quality labor — the labor that God can put His stamp of approval on (cf. Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-24).