Colossians 3:23-24, “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. You are serving the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.”
Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” It requires effort. Solomon said in Proverbs 14:23, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Paul just said in Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” Paul said we need to honor Christ in our work, hearts, and behavior, by having a faithful and conscientious performance in our role of duty, therefore, pleasing Christ, our true Master.
Mark Batterson, in his book “Double Blessing. Don’t Settle for Less Than You’re Called to Bless, states on page 97, “We’ve explored the habits of highly blessed people – humility, integrity, generosity, creativity, and praising God for partial miracles. We’ve discussed ways of positioning ourselves for blessing, not the least of which involves praying like it depends on God and working like it depends on us. God won’t bless a lack of effort any more than a lack of gratitude.” That reminds me of Colossians 3:23-24. We don’t have to pray in a King James version. Unique words used repeatedly are unnecessary. We just have to talk earnestly to God from our heart because He is in control of our circumstances.
Here are three other Bible versions on Colossians 3:23-24:
- Weymouth New Testament states: “Whatever you are doing, let your hearts be in your work, as a thing done for the Lord and not for men.”
- HCSB: Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.
- Amplified Bible, “Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.
There is no guarantee on earth of fairness of treatment in our modern-day work environment. By the way, David, in the Old Testament, his boss Saul, did not treat him right. Did you ever think about that? Yet David behaved more wisely than all the servants Saul had because he believed Saul was in God’s hands, that his life was precious, had value, and waited upon God to take matters into His own hands. God did take Saul out in the end in a battle against the Philistines. David ended up ruling as king for 40 years who served as the Lord’s anointed and was called a man after God’s own heart. David is an example of someone who always connected to God and others by his heart and his head. He was a man of influence. David proved himself to be reliable due to his faith and trust in God.
Paul assured the church in Colossae and us today that there is a final rewarding and punishment day coming “and there is no partiality.” God is not influenced by social position and status. He requires humility, integrity, and unselfishness enthusiastically and passionately shown in our daily walks of life before others. We are to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we must pray hard and work hard, giving sincere thanks to God for each day He has given us to live here on this earth. There is a better day coming!
Listen to Casting Crowns Here’s My Heart (Live) November 20, 2015 YouTube