Whatever you do, work heartily.
Paul's word about Monday morning — why your ordinary work matters to God.
The episode in a glance.
- 01Paul writes to slaves and masters — ordinary workers, not just religious professionals.
- 02'Heartily' (ek psyches) means 'from the soul' — your whole self invested in the task.
- 03'As for the Lord and not for men' reframes every job as service to God.
- 04The reward comes 'from the Lord' — God sees and values work done in his name.
Read along.
Colossians 3:23 — 'Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.' This isn't written to priests or missionaries. It's written to ordinary workers — some of them slaves — about how to do their jobs.
'Whatever you do' is all-encompassing. Not 'whatever spiritual thing you do.' Whatever you do. Your spreadsheets. Your emails. Your commute. Your parenting. Your cooking. All of it.
'Work heartily' — ek psyches — from the soul. Not half-heartedly. Not watching the clock. Not doing the minimum to avoid getting fired. From the soul. Your whole self engaged in the task in front of you.
And the reframe: 'as for the Lord and not for men.' Your boss might be unfair. Your coworkers might be lazy. Your company might not appreciate you. But if you're working for the Lord, the audience is different. The standard is different. And the reward is different.
'Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.' God sees. God values. God rewards. Your ordinary Monday, done with him in mind, is not ordinary at all.