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Guest (Male): Describing what one is said about his motivation for work. Here's pastor Tom Keller.

Pastor Thom Keller: I do not cobble shoes for just the 50 cents I get from my customers. I cobble shoes for the glory of God. And when I went to explain that just as some men are called to preach, so he was called to fix shoes. And that only as he did this well would his testimony count for God. It was a lesson I have never been able to forget. Often when I've been tempted to be careless or slipshod, it has stirred me to seek to do as all for him who died to redeem me.

Guest (Male): Why do you do what you do? Some do it for money, others for fun, but few do it for the glory of God. Trust that's your motivation. It's certainly ours here on Study the Word with Tom Keller. So glad you're with us. We've come to Colossians chapter 3 which gives practical instruction on employee and employer relationships. Starting with some tips for the employee, here's pastor Tom.

Pastor Thom Keller: Colossians 3:22 says this, slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and that the master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done, for God has no favorites.

Now let's see if we can settle one thing once and for all cuz this is a million dollar question. Can we legitimately transfer the same teaching in verse 22 dealing with slaves and masters into our culture regarding employee-employer relationships? I've always wondered that. Colossians 3:22 again by itself, slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Well, let's take a look at the Greek. In Greek, the word for servant is the word doulos and strong says that it is a slave involuntarily or voluntarily.

Vine says that it is quote a general word for servant, listen, frequently indicating subjection without the idea of bondage. Strong says it can mean involuntary or voluntary subjection. So I think we have to say that an employee today is in fact one who voluntarily places himself or herself in subjection, which Webster says means subjection to place oneself under someone's control or influence or authority. And a good employee does this. So the Greek, I think, clearly allows us to carry this application into a employee-employer relationship. So let's make the application. Let's look at these verses again.

Think of it in employee. Employees, obey your earthly employers in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward. And the master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

What he says is you employees must obey your employers in everything you do, except of course where it would compromise biblical mandates and prohibitions like stealing or cheating or lying for them or in your setting. Again with those exceptions quote, you employees must obey your employers in everything you do. Obey them willingly because of your reverent fear of the Lord. So a question for you, apart from not compromising your biblical convictions, do you obey your bosses, your managers, your supervisors willingly, willingly placing yourself under their control and authority? Always obeying, trying to please them all the time, not just when they're watching you.

This same point is made in 1 Timothy 6, all slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame in the name of God and his teachings. If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves, those employees so work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved. And then Ephesians 6 verse 5, remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free. So both Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 say to work hard and not just when they are watching.

A retired man became interested in the construction that was taking place in an addition to a shopping mall. Because he was retired, he could observe regularly and he was especially impressed by the hard work done by a conscientious operator of a large piece of equipment. The day finally came when this observer had a chance to tell the man how much he enjoyed watching his hard work. Looking astonished, the operator replied, you mean you're not the supervisor? Work as unto the Lord. The story is told of the first governor of Australia, an man by the name of Lord Hopton.

One of his most cherished possessions was a 300 year old ledger that he had inherited from John Hope, one of his ancestors. Hope had owned a business in Edinburgh where he first used this ledger 300 years earlier. When Lord Hopton received it, he noticed that his ancestor had inscribed on his front page of this book, listen to this, oh Lord, keep me and this book honest. Keep me and this book honest. Are you honest at work? When I first started, I worked at Car Village in Lebanon and we had about 10 employees there and we had a time clock and everybody was on the time clock.

And I'd go through time cards at the end of the week just watching them. And I started to notice that everybody clocked out exactly at 59 4:59, 5:59. They clocked in but they clocked out at that time. And I thought, what are the odds of that? Everybody clocking out at 59. And I went out at 59 and I looked at the card and the card and the time clock would go four would go 3:58 3:58 3:57 3:58 3:50 3:58 4:59 4 Did you get it? The hour jumped at the last minute of the hour and so they gained an hour in their time card.

So it went 3:57, 3:58, 4:59 4. And everybody was punching out on the 59 mark to get another hour. Clever. I took all the time back. My brother one time, my brother really was genius. My brother caught somebody stealing. And he brought them in his office and he had a a yellow tablet and he wrote down he said I have in this piece of paper, he didn't show him, opposite the desk he said I I have a list here of everything that you've stolen. And he said and I want you to bring a list of everything that you've stolen.

And if your list doesn't match my list, I want to call the police. And the guy came back the next day with a list three times longer than my brother's list. When I first started here, I can't tell you how many people, I mean, I'm going to guess five different people came up to me and say hey, I feel really bad now that you're my pastor, but I stole from you when I worked at Keller Brothers. Or I remember one guy came up to me and said he said I have apartments and he said I wanted you to know that I rented an apartment to one of your one of your employees and he's was there for five years and when he when he left, I have a room in the basement filled with Space Saver tires that he stole out of cars and put in that room.

So you know, the question is how honest are you in those settings? Harry Ironside when he was a young boy started working for a cobbler, a shoe repairman. And he asked his his boss, why do you spend so much time doing these shoes with all the detail you do and all the pounding when you could stop sooner? And he said Harry, I do not cobble shoes for just the 50 cents I get from my customers. I cobble shoes for the glory of God. Then he went on to explain that just as some men are called to preach, so he was called to fix shoes.

And that only as he did this well would his testimony count for God. Ironside said it was a lesson I have never been able to forget. Often when I've been tempted to be careless or slipshod, I've thought of dear devoted Dan Mackey. And it has stirred me to seek to do as all for him who died to redeem me. You know, the same principle then applies to employers and supervisors. Colossians 4:1 says masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a master in heaven. You employers, Paul says, must be just and fair.

Forbes magazine did an a survey of the seven attributes of a great boss. Here they are. Number one, great bosses are passionate. They have to care. Number two, great bosses stand in front of the bus. They take the lead looking ahead. Number three, they play chess, not checkers. They're in the long game. You know, I just want to encourage you. This will take 30 seconds. If you're young, in college, going to college, I would really encourage you to think about before you take a job with a Fortune 500 company, a publicly traded company, a publicly traded company because those guys play checkers, not chess.

They want the stock price for this quarter. No one's looking ahead. They're incentivized on the stock price this quarter and so whatever is expedient to make money this quarter, that's what we're going to do. No one's looking five years down the road. That is not true in non-publicly traded companies. Be very very careful. Number four, they are who they are all the time. They're ethical all the time. They're moral all the time. They're trustworthy all the time. Number five, they are a port in the storm. They don't get rattled. That's kind of boss you want, isn't it?

Number six, they are human and aren't afraid to show it. And number seven, they are humble and admit their mistakes. They don't seek praise for themselves. And both employees and employers and supervisors verse 25 should be a warning to us in the back of our minds. It says but if what you do is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites. And listen folks, if you mess up, if you mess up, please be one that admits it and is honest about it and doesn't make excuses. A truck driver was traveling down the freeway.

A sign came up that read low bridge ahead. Before he knew it, the bridge was directly in front of him and he got stuck under it. Cars were backed up for miles. This is on making excuses. Finally the police arrived. The policeman get out of the car, walked around to the truck driver, put his hands on his hips and said got stuck, huh? The driver replied, no, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas. You know, always remember excuses sound like excuses to everyone except the person making them. Excuses always sound like excuses except the person making them.

Since these last nine verses have been dealing primarily with family life, I thought I'd read something that my mentor, long time mentor, John Drescher wrote in a book entitled if I was starting my family again. Here's what he says. Number one, I would love my wife more. In the closeness of family life, it's easy to take each other for granted and let a dullness creep in that can dampen the deepest love. So I would love the mother of my children more and be freer in letting them see that love. I would be more faithful in showing little kindnesses, placing her chair at the table, giving her gifts on special occasions, writing her letters when I'm away.

I found that a child who knows his parents love each other needs little explanation about the character of God's love. Love between a father and mother flows visibly to him and prepares him to recognize real love in all future relationships. When a mother and father join hands as they walk, the child joins hands too. When they walk separately, the child is slow to join hands with anyone. Number two, I would develop a feeling of belonging. If a child does not feel that he belongs in the family, he will soon find his primary group elsewhere. Many who live in the same household are worlds apart.

Many children see their father only at dinner. Some never see him for days at a time. For others, father-child time together may be only a few minutes a week. I would use meal times more to share happenings of the day instead of hurrying through them. I'd find more time for games or projects in which we all could join. I would invite my children to become involved in the responsibility of the work of the family. When a child feels he belongs to the family, he has a stability which can stand against the taunts of the gang and the cries of the crowd.

Number three, I would laugh more with my children. It's been said that the best way to make children good is to make them happy. And now I see that I was many times too serious. While my children love to laugh, I far too often must have conveyed the idea that being a parent was a perennial problem. Number four, I would be a better listener. To most of us, a child's talk seems like unimportant chatter. Yet I now believe there's a vital link between listening to the child's concerns when he is young and the extent to which he will share his concerns with me when he's a teen.

If my children were small again, I'd be less impatient if they were interrupted my newspaper reading. He says there's a story about a small boy who tried repeatedly to show his father a scratch on his finger. Finally his father stopped reading and impatiently said, well, I can't do anything about it, can I? Yes, daddy, the boy said. You could say oh. Number five, I would be more encouraging. Probably nothing stimulates a child to love life and seek accomplishment more than sincere praise for a job well done. I know now that encouragement is a much better element of discipline than blame or reprimand.

Fault finding and criticism rob a child of self-reliance while encouragement builds self-confidence and moves the child onto maturity. Deep in human nature is a craving to be appreciated and I would say a parent especially by parents. So he says if I were starting my family again, I would persist in daily praise seeing not only what the child is now but who they can become. And lastly, he said six, I would seek to share God more intimately. He said we are spiritual beings and if the world is to know God and his will, parents must be the primary conveyers.

For my part, I would strive to share my faith with my children using informal settings and unplanned happenings rather than discuss abstract theology or impose rigid rules of family worship. I would pay more attention to the things my child notices and what concerns him or her. And find in these a natural way to discuss spiritual truths. He said I remember a little fellow frightened by lightning and thunder who called out late one night, daddy, come, I'm scared. Son, the father yelled, God loves you and he'll take care of you. I know God loves me, the boy replied, but right now I need someone who has skin on.

John ends by saying if I were starting my family again, that is what I would want to be above all else. God's love with skin on. One man close to death summarized his list of life regrets this way. Listen. I would agree more and argue less. Can't you picture yourself being at the end reflecting over your life? Listen to this. I would agree more and argue less. I would listen more and talk less. I would produce more and advertise less. I would confess more and accuse less. I would laugh more and worry less. I would give more and receive less.

Do you want to get to the end of your life with as few regrets as possible? Then listen once more. Agree more, argue less, listen more, talk less, produce more, advertise less, confess more, accuse less, laugh more, argue less, give more and receive less. There's an ancient tale from India that goes this way. Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned. The first said I've mastered a science by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it.

I said the second, know how to grow that creature's skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones. The third said I'm able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin and the hair. And I concluded the fourth, know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete. Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialties. As fate would have it, the only bone they could find was that of a lions. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs and the fourth gave the lion life.

Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast rose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle. It ends by saying we too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us unless we first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these things will be added.

Guest (Male): You're listening to pastor Tom Keller on Study the Word and we're in a study of Colossians right now. Would you like to give this a second listen? Either go to our website at ccleb.com or visit our YouTube page. Simply subscribe to our channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon and you can watch our services live or on demand. That includes this series in Colossians. For those interested in a CD copy, call 717 273 5633. Once again, that's 717 273 5633. Study the Word is listener supported. With your help, we're able to reach thousands of people all over the world.

Please consider sending in a gift today and you can give online at ccleb.com or call 717 273 5633. Or if you prefer to write, jot down this address, Study the Word 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania 17046. And we also want to invite you to join us for a Sunday service either in person or online. For more information or to watch the live stream, visit ccleb.com Or again go to our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. You're with a sneak peek of our next broadcast. Pastor Tom once again.

Pastor Thom Keller: Continue steadfastly in prayer being watchful in it with thanksgiving. In Greek, the word for continue in prayer is and it means to continue to be earnest toward to persevere, to be constantly diligent in to continue on in prayer. And Paul adds that there is a very real danger for those who don't continue on in prayer, who don't remain constant in prayer, who don't remain diligent in prayer. Because in verse two, Paul adds that we are to pray with an alert mind. In Greek, the word for alert there is and it means to take heed or to be careful, listen, lest through inattentiveness some destructive calamity overtakes you.

If through failing to pray through inattentiveness to prayer some destructive calamity suddenly overtakes you. In other words, Paul is saying prayer protects you from destructive calamity.

Guest (Male): More on how prayer protects you next time. Join us in, won't you? Here on Study the Word with pastor Tom Keller, a presentation of Calvary Chapel Lebanon.