ethos of work place

we must have the right understanding of who we are. We are the bond-slaves of Jesus, the Doulos of Jesus.

We must carry this ethos of being the Doulos of Jesus all through our life. “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.”— rom 14:8. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. There is no time when we take off our role or our position as the Doulos of Jesus Christ. And appropriating this position of who we are, we need to be the Doulos of Jesus in our workplaces.

Colossians and other similar passages of scripture, were written in a context, when the slave and master relationship was the norm. We, today, live in different times but yet the principles remains unchanged.

“Bond-servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.” —Col 3:22-24

As the Doulos of Jesus in our workplaces, we carry the ethos of obeying the authorities over us in everything. So, obedience must be unquestionable from us and we do so not as an eye service. Whether we are being watched or assessed or not we will obey and do those things that have been entrusted to us. In other words, our supervisors should know that when they assign a task to us, they need not worry about that task anymore, for we will get it done. Is this how it is with us today?

“Obedience must be unquestionable from us and we do so not as an eye service.”

We will also obey, but not as men-pleasers. This is the amazing combination that we carry as the Doulos of Jesus into our workplaces. We will obey our supervisors but we will not go along when the task is not right before God, for we fear God.

Our Doulos-ship makes men and women of integrity. We cannot be bribed or enticed to bend the rules. This needs great wisdom and tact to handle on a day by day basis. It is the Holy Spirit, who gives us the wisdom to handle such matters. We should not try to handle these matters in our own strength and understanding. If we do so, we will experience painful consequences.

Verse 23: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,“ We are to be joyful and joy-giving people in our workplaces. We ought not to be those, who are complaining, grumpy and constantly finding fault. Yes, we take positive action to rectify the things that are going wrong in our workplaces but in a positive spirit.

Verse 24: “Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” We know that our Master knows our needs and concerns and that He will reward us. The organisation too may reward us and we may accept it graciously, but we are never troubled if some perceived injustice is done to us, or we feel that we have been overlooked and favouritism and partiality have been done.

As the Doulos–bond-servant of God, we serve the Lord Christ and the Lord will reward us at His time, in His way and His ways are delightful.

It is only when we are being the Doulos of Jesus Christ in our workplaces that people around us will be challenged to enquire of us about our Master. Sadly, at times, even in Christian organisations, we do not see the ethos of the Doulos of Jesus Christ being exhibited. How is it with us? Are we being the Doulos of Jesus in our workplace?