Ministry Resources

What are God’s Requirements for you as an Employee?

Author: Charles Stanley

The faithful employee has the advantage of double pay: wages paid by the employer and a greater reward from the Lord.

The word bond-servant in the Scriptures is comparable to our word employee. The same principles are applicable to both. You will find God’s code of conduct for the Christian employee running counter to our society’s, which has adopted the theme “my rights.” Examine your attitude and your labor in light of our Lord’s requirements. There are three primary requirements for the employee.

Submit to Authority

First, submit to the authority of your employer. In every text dealing with this subject, this is the first requirement. The employee is to yield to the one in authority over him in a respectful manner, not with mere eternal service, trying to please him superficially. Our labor is to be sincere, doing our best when we are being observed and when we are working alone. In Colossians 3:22, Paul wrote, “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.” Though we may not always like what is required of us, we are to refrain from being argumentative (Titus 2:9).

Submission is the proper spirit, both to the employer who is gentle and thoughtful and to the one who is harsh and unreasonable (1 Peter 2:18). Such response brings God’s favor. First Peter 2:18 says what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.” The employee’s conduct must not be determined by the character of or the treatment by the employer. There are limitations to this submission, as when one is asked to perform a task that conflicts with conscience or that violates a principle of Scripture. It is better to resign than to disobey God (Acts 5:29).

Do Your Best

Second, carry out your responsibility to the best of your ability. Put your whole heart into the tasks you perform, and you will experience satisfaction and joy in the goals you accomplish. Your care and diligence will reward you, too, in tangible ways. Proverbs 20:13 says, “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.”

Work as for the Lord

Third, do your work as if you were working for the Lord. There is emphasis here: “as to Christ”; “as bondservants [employees] of Christ”; “as to the Lord, and not to men” (Ephesians 6:5-7); “you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:24). Look beyond your employer and realize that you have a higher authority to whom you are responsible–Christ. God is our employer.

A Double Reward

The faithful employee who labors according to these requirements has the advantage of double pay: wages paid by the employer and a greater reward from the Lord.

For further insights, read the following passages:

  • Genesis 30:27-31
  • Proverbs 22:29
  • Matthew 20:1-15
  • Luke 3:14
  • 1 Timothy 6:1
This material taken from "PRIORITY PROFILES for Today's Workplace" Copyright © by Charles F. Stanley IN TOUCH MINISTRIES®, ITM, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with Permission

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