Honouring Authority @ Work

By David Fernades

Living Word Church

Mumbai, India

‘You serve the church, we shall continue to pay you your salary.’ I could hardly believe what I was hearing! In March 1988, I had informed the Managing Director of the company I worked for of my decision to leave my job in Mumbai to serve the Lord full-time.

My boss could be described as a post-modern Hindu, Harvard Business School entrepreneur and a seeker after truth! He was highly supportive of the Biblically-oriented change in my managerial style after I was born again. His generous gesture was an acknowledgement of the Lord working through me in the company, but that was not always so.  I was drastically changed after I came to Christ.

A combination of ‘Christ in me‘, the Holy Spirit’s leading, the Bible and discipling opened my heart and mind to a totally new way of looking at work and changed my attitude towards my bosses. All of life changed and my work ethic was deeply impacted by Ephesians 6:5-8, ‘Slaves obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not to win their favour, when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing his 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.’

These instructive and insightful verses should transform a Christian’s worldview of work with particular reference to one’s earthly bosses or any one in authority. It definitely changed mine as follows.

1.  Serving the Lord not men.

‘As one would obey Christ like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from one’s heart, as if you are serving the Lord, not men.’

Phew! A whole new standard, involving an inner motivation of the heart. Constant God-consciousness is now expected of a Christian at work. That’s what hit me.

We worship a God who works, and work is His idea. The story of creation tells us about His work. Genesis 2:15 tells us about the work He gave man. ‘The Lord God put him in the Garden of Eden [how’s that for work environment] to work it and take care of it.’

It helps greatly when all is not well at work to know that God is at the centre of work not only generally but also specifically. Seeking His will for the exact job we do is very important. Remember, it is the Lord who opens or shuts doors of opportunity, and He controls the macro and the micro economies of the world.

A good question to ask is, ’Do I, or did I, involve the Lord in the choice of my work?’ After working full-time with the church for fifteen years, circumstances confirmed by a word from the Lord led me to seek part-time secular employment in 2002. Naturally speaking it would be very difficult for a 55-year-old guy to get appropriate work. I sought the Lord and was amazed at how He opened doors, giving me flexi-time to continue serving and leading a church.

Another good question is, ‘Am I grateful to God for the work that I do?’ Our attitude towards our work will depend on the answer.

2.  It’s Also about Serving Your Boss!

Romans 13:1 tells us, ‘…there is no authority except that which God has established.’

This is a sobering thought especially if you have an ungodly boss. Any organisation needs people who do things in a purposeful way towards a common goal, who obey objectives that come from those in authority. Ephesians 6:5-11 spells out the heart attitudes that should accompany a Christian’s obedience at work.

•  Respect

It is easy to accord esteem voluntarily when one has a genuine admiration for qualities in a person, technical competence on the job, computer skills, communication skills etc, but as Christians we are commanded to respect ‘just as we would Christ’ even if our bosses do not merit the respect. Joseph, in Genesis 39, knew something about this.  This challenge calls for the enabling grace of God.

•  Fear

This fear flows from respect. This is not fear that results necessarily from tyrannical oversight even when degrees of this might exist. Nor does it require one to cower into subservient behaviour with a loss of dignity. On the contrary, it is rooted in Christ and the knowledge that the Lord has placed us where we are. We are not expected to obey any ungodly instructions since our ‘fear’ or respect of authority is a result of our fear of God in the first place.

•  Sincerity of heart

That is a heart free from deceit, hypocrisy or falseness of any kind, a heart that is genuine, pure and earnest. Sincerity leads an individual to develop one’s competencies for a job that needs to be done, also freely admitting when one finds the job beyond one’s ability. A sincere worker will seek to upgrade skills and knowledge in order to do a good job. Part of sincerity is honesty.

Honesty leads to being trusted by one’s boss, especially in financial matters. Daniel 6:3-4 says, ’Now Daniel so distinguished himself…by his exceptional qualities…They could find no corruption in him because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.’

•  Not to win favour but doing the will of God

Not working to please men but God. This attitude can have far-reaching consequences. I remember being offered bribes from local government officials and big customers in my job. In impossible situations, I had to stand my ground and am happy to say that God proved faithful. I witnessed miracles even in the face of corruption to the amazement of my bosses. A Christian serves God first.

•  Not when their eye is on you

Character is what we are like when no one is looking. As Christians we should work sincerely even when we are not supervised. The company I worked for had recruited a disproportionately high number of Christians. When asked why, one of the directors said it was because they could trust them to work conscientiously since they feared God!

•  Serve wholeheartedly

To serve is to do what another wants. To do this wholeheartedly can be a challenge as we often do what we want. Wholeheartedness also speaks of working with joy, enthusiasm and passion, something that can be infectious in a cynical world. We need to carry responsibility in our hearts, and match our walk with our talk.
A wholehearted worker is also alive to taking initiatives.

•  Know that the Lord is the rewarder

Work, like all Christian activity, must be an act of faith. The Lord will reward a sincere worker. It often happens that the Lord rewards us through those who are in authority over us.

Many of us spend a significant portion of our lives at work. What a wonderful place to let our light shine before men, that they may give glory to our Father! Godly Christians at work will be a powerful testimony of the Lord Jesus’ work in our lives.