Witness in the work place – 1 Timothy 6 v 1 – 2

As many of you know, I came to faith 30 years ago at the age of 32, and at that time I was working as a bank manager for Nat West in the City of London. And I remember that during the first few weeks of becoming a Christian, I couldn’t stop talking about the Lord and the church to my staff.

I used to talk to them about the Sunday Service, the worship, what I had learned from the sermon, what I had been reading from the Bible, and so forth. And when I sat in the staff room during my lunch break, I would either be reading my Bible or listening to worship songs – mainly Graham Kendrick – on my Walkman – remember those!

Although I knew I was getting on their nerves talking about God and churchy stuff, I couldn’t help it. I had an insatiable desire to share my faith and Jesus with them. As time went by, I calmed down, but I continued to read my Bible at work and listen to worship songs.

In the space of a few weeks, I had changed beyond all recognition which was manifested in my witness and in the way I conducted myself and treated my staff, and during my preparations for this morning, one commentator I read described this as ‘taking church to work’.

What he meant by that is because the church is the people of God, wherever the people of God are found, the church is also found – which includes the work place. We do NOT cease to be the church just because we leave this building on a Sunday morning.

At certain times the church gathers in one place. And at other times, the church is dispersed throughout the community and further afield. Throughout the week, we go out into the world to serve God together as the church – and as I said, that includes serving God in the workplace.

Taking church to work involves us realizing our work matters to God; it involves us understanding that work is one of the primary ways we can serve God in this world; and it involves us allowing our faith in Christ to shape our attitude and actions in the workplace.

Friends, we must not fall into the trap of separating our life in Christ from our life at work. We are first and foremost Christian’s.

And because we are Christian’s, it means our relationship with Jesus should affect everything we do both in the home, in the church, in the community, and in the work place which, if you are a full-time housewife, includes your home. June often tells me our home is also her workplace, which I would certainly not dispute.

This morning then we are going to consider what is involved in ‘taking church to work, and the first thing it involves is ‘worshipping while we work’. Now whilst this is not part of our reading this morning, it is, nevertheless, an important principle we as Christians need to grasp.

All of life belongs to God, and as God’s people, we should seek to glorify God in all that we do. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 10 verse 31, ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God’.

This general principle of ‘glorifying God in all that we do’, is applied specifically to our work. For example, in Colossians Chapter 3 verse 23 Paul wrote, ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men’.

And in Ephesians Chapter 6 verses 5 – 8 he wrote ‘Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free’.

As I said, this important principle is not found in our passage and again, according to the commentator, the reason it’s not, is because Paul had already sent these instructions to the Ephesian believers.

Remember, Timothy is now the Pastor of the church in Ephesus, and Paul had written the letter to the Ephesians several years before he penned his first letter to Timothy. So, it’s highly likely the church at Ephesus would have already received this instruction from Paul on how they were to worship and serve the Lord through their work.

Friends, no matter what work we are doing – even boring, mundane work – we can turn our work into an act of worship by offering it to back God in faith and love, which is a principle we considered back in Chapter 4.

In verses 4 & 5 of Chapter 4 Paul wrote: ‘For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer’.

Now as appealing as it may be, this doesn’t mean we should spend our whole time at work praying or singing songs of praise. That’s NOT what ‘worshipping God’ in this particular context means.

Instead, it means we invite God into our work, we offer our work to him – including as I said work that might be boring and mundane – and we seek to glorify him in all that we say and do.

We need to remember that God made us for work, and Jesus is present with us in our work. So it is for these reasons that we should seek occasions to thank God for, and in, our work.

The second thing it involves is we are to witness while we work. I want to now turn to our passage, and in verse 1 Paul wrote, ‘All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered’.

In this verse, Paul is talking about slaves and their unbelieving masters. Now time doesn’t allow me to enter into an in-depth discourse on the evils of slavery. However, what I would say, is that although the Bible in its day and time recognised slavery as a reality, and taught believers – including believers who were slaves – how to live and act in that reality, the Bible also paved the way for the eventual elimination of slavery in societies that followed biblical principles – principles such as the brotherhood of believers; all men are created equally in God’s image; loving your neighbour as yourself; and treating others how you would like to be treated.

In a sense, and in the words of another commentator, ‘The Bible was a time bomb ticking in the world just waiting to explode the institution of slavery into oblivion’. So, although Paul in this verse is talking specifically to slaves, we can still apply the same principles to our working relationships today.

In fact, since these principles applied even to slaves under their masters, how much more should we apply them to our own working relationships. As Paul wrote, ‘Consider your masters worthy of full respect.”

Now whilst we may regard some masters or bosses unworthy of our full respect, the command of Paul to the church is we are to consider them worthy, regardless of what we think of them.

If you have one, then no matter how bad or difficult your boss may be, you are to continue treating them with the utmost respect in all you do and say in your work. And the reason you are to do so, is also made very clear by Paul – ‘so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered’ – verse 1.

The reason we are to ‘consider our bosses worthy of respect’, is because it is part of our witness. As Christians, you and I bear the name of Christ. We represent God and the church before a watching world.

So, if you treat your boss or fellow-workers disrespectfully, not only will it give them the opportunity to mock your claim to be a Christian, but it will also seriously undermine your witness.

In his letter to Titus, Paul gives further instructions in this area. In Chapter 2 verses 9 & 10 he wrote ‘Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Saviour attractive’.

 Demonstrating we ‘can be fully trusted’ and ‘making the teaching about God our Saviour attractive’ is what we should continually be doing, not only at work, but in all of our relationships. Our goal is to attract people to the Bible’s teaching about God and Jesus, not push them away.

So how do you do that specifically in the work place? Well, from the Commentators interpretation of the Titus passage I just read, there are five things we are required to do:

1. We must try and please our boss. We must get to work on time; work hard; follow instructions; do a good job; and get the work done on time.
2. We must NOT talk back to our boss. Dialogue with your boss if you can. Disagree respectfully if you must. But don’t talk back. Consider your boss worthy of full respect. Try to keep good communication lines open.
3. We must not steal from our boss which not only includes money, but also time and company property.
4. We must demonstrate to our boss that we can be fully trusted. This, ultimately, is to be our goal in all of this. As we treat our boss respectfully in all of these areas, we will also demonstrate to our boss that we can be trusted.
5. And if we can demonstrate that we can be trusted, then it may very well lead to our boss also trusting us when we have an opportunity to share with him or her the Good News of Jesus.

Friends, ‘witnessing at work’ in the context of Paul’s teaching, is not so much about God’s people talking constantly about God and Jesus while at work, or placing Bible’s prominently in the rest room or on the desk, or trying to convert our work colleagues, as good as those things are.

Instead, it’s about God’s people being a good witness at work by respecting their boss and fellow-workers, and by proving themselves to be good, hard-working, trustworthy workers in all that they do, and say.

And the third and final thing ‘taking church to work’ involves, is doing good work while you work. In verse 2 Paul wrote: “Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them’.

In this verse, Paul shifts from unbelieving masters to believing masters, and again his message could not be any clearer. The respect we are to demonstrate to our non-Christian boss, is to also be demonstrated to our Christian boss.

You see folks, we must understand that just because our boss may be a Christian, it does not mean we are to treat them any differently. We must not fall into the trap of thinking that because they are a brother or sister in Christ, we can take advantage of them.

If anything, because they are a fellow believer, we should treat them with even more respect, for the simple reason they are where they are because God has put them there, and God has given them authority over you. So, if you disrespect them, then you are also disrespecting God.

The bottom line is that regardless of whether the boss is a believer or unbeliever, we should do our best to respect them and produce good, quality work in all that we do. Just to remind you, not only is doing or giving our best part of our worship, but it is also a powerful witness.

If we are half-hearted in our work, how can we offer that up to God as a worthy sacrifice, and if we produce substandard work, what kind of witness is it to the Lord Jesus Christ? We are to do our best because God deserves our best, and we are to do our best because it is the right thing to do.

In Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 verse 10 we read: ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom’.

At the end of the day, we will not be working forever. So while we still can, let us make the most of the working hours God gives us each and every single day, and while we work, let us do good work, and let us be good witnesses, to the glory of God.

Friends, if you are a Christian – and I will finish with this – then you are a part of the church of Jesus Christ. On Sunday mornings we are the church gathered together for worship, but when we disperse after the service and go back to our homes and places of work, then we are the church dispersed in the community and the work place for service.

So, wherever your place of work may be, I would encourage you to ‘take church to work with you’. Worship while you work; witness while you work; and do good work while you work. This is God’s will for His people. May we be a people who always seek to do God’s will. AMEN.