PUNCHING THE CLOCK (Part 2)

ATTITUDES TOWARD THE JOB

God created man with the ability to work. In the beginning God gave man only three commands and one of those was to maintain the Garden. Upon man's explusion from the Garden his burden - the amount of work required - was increased: "...cursed is the ground for thy sake...Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee...In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread..." (Gen. 3:17-19). And so, should one's attitude toward the job be one of drudgery? What does God say about one's attitude toward the job one has?

"In singleness of your heart" (Eph. 6:5) - that is devoted and committed to the job being performed. As Salmound states concerning this phrase in his writing on Ephesians in The Expositor's Greek Testament: "It states the spirit [attitude] in which obedience was to be rendered, - not in formality, pretence, or hypocrisy, but in inward reality and sincerity, and with an undivided heart" (378).

"With good will" (Eph. 6:7) - willing to do good for the sake of doing good. Here is the attitude toward the job of doing it to the best of one's ability, not for the expectation of something extra, but because doing it for the good of others is the right thing to do.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily" (Col. 3:23) - give it your best. Wuest says concerning this verse:

It is, "Whatsoever ye do (poieō), do (ergazomai) it." The English reader will observe that the two occurrences of the word "do" are translated from two different words in the Greek text. The first (poieō) refers to the mere doing of something. The second is an advance upon the first word. Ergazomai means, "to labor, do work." It is opposed to inactivity or idleness (230-231).

One should not be doing a job - either secular or spiritual - with an attitude of drudgery. Rather, one should be industrious, dedicated, and diligent towards the job. The attitude will come forth if we but hold to Paul's words from Ephesians 6:7 and remember Who the true Employer is: "With good will doing service,as to the Lord, and not to men."

(to be continued...)