DEC 10

Colossians 3:22-23
Memorise Colossians 3:23
“…do it heartily…”

Paul continued his exhortation to servants: “…but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” (Colossians 3:22c-23) Perhaps the greatest disservice the servant can do to their masters is to have mixed motives: apart from the motive of ‘currying favour’ as mentioned earlier, employees sometimes work only the bare minimum, or use working time mainly for their own pleasure. Is it not hypocritical to take a whole day’s wage, when one has spent most of the day on personal pursuits? These hypocrites do so thinking that no one notices, but the Christian worker knows that his omniscient God notices him, and he fears God. The Christian must be different from the world. Even if the boss is a bad boss, the Christian will do his best. The Christian does so not because he has to, but because he wants to, as he realises his ultimate master is the Lord, not man. Thus he puts God first in his work: his primary motive in work is to willingly and happily serve God in his work, rather than to please others or himself. When his boss sets him an assignment, no matter how difficult, he will endeavour to cheerfully complete the task well, as if it is God Himself who has set the assignment and given him an opportunity to serve. In completing this task, he gives glory to God for the strength necessary to do so. Even if the assignment ends in failure, no one can fault the employee for lack of effort or willingness. Even if the boss then treats the employee badly, the employee knows God has counted his effort. This is what it means to serve with a singleness of heart, motivated by his love and fear of the Lord. 

Thus, when your teacher gives you homework, no matter how much homework you already have or how difficult this homework is, don’t murmur and complain, for that is not doing it heartily. Realise that God has allowed all these to happen to you for a purpose, so rejoice in trials, and endeavour always to put God first. Remember that God is watching, so do it to the best of your abilities. If you do not know how to do parts of it, ask for help, and never resort to copying or plagiarising. After you hand in the homework, if you have done all the above, don’t be overly concerned about what grades you will get from it, or how you have done compared with other students. Rather, if you can honestly say that God is pleased with how you handled all aspects of the trial, be content, and thank God.

Thought: If I put leisure before holiday homework, am I pleasing God or myself?
Prayer: May I do all things as to the Lord, even if assigned by man.