NIGHT CREW

NIGHT CREW

READ:
Colossians 3:22-25

Obey in all things your masters
according to the flesh, not with
eye-service, as men-pleasers, but
in sincerity of heart, fearing God.
-Colossians 3:22

Pat's first job was working on the night crew at a grocery store.  After closing time, he and the other employees stocked the shelves.  Pat's boss had instructed them to always turn the soup cans forward so that the label could be read easily.  But he had gone a little further by saying, "Make sure that they're facing forward-three cans back."  One night as Pat was arranging the shelves, his co-workers began to scoff, "Just make sure the front can is turned the right way.  Who's gonna know?"

It was a moment of decision for the teenager.  Should he obey what his boss had asked him to do, or just do what was easy?

We've all been in similar situations where we've had to make a choice.  The apostle Paul encouraged his fellow believers to be obedient even when no one was watching:  "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" (Colossians 3:22). 

Doing the right things should not be dependent on whether our employer is around or if anyone else is watching.  It's not always easy or convenient to be obedient.  But it's right.

Remember, "to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). - Cindy Hess Kasper

Lord, help me to follow Jesus,
To obey Him day by day,
To be His faithful disciple
And please Him in every way. -Fitzhugh
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Our character is measure by what we do
when no one is looking.

INSIGHT
Paul's letters are both doctrinal and practical.  Colossians 1-2 tells us who Jesus is.  Colossians 3-4 teaches us what kind of people we ought to be.  The supremacy and sufficiency of Christ (Colossians 1-2) is the basis and motivation for our spirituality and maturity (Colossians 3-4).  Paul shows us how to be Christ-like.  He reveals that a life pleasing to God is characterized by purity, integrity, and harmony (3:1-17).  He then applies this to our family relationship (3:18-21), the workplace (3:22-4:1), and our interaction with non-Christians (4:2-6).  The slave-master (employee-employer) relationship (3:22-4:1) is also dealt with elsewhere in Scripture:  Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14-15; Eph. 6:8-9; 1 Tim. 6:1-2, Titus 2:9-10, and 1 Peter 2:18-19).