2 minute read.
Daily Reading: Jeremiah 37:1-38:28 ESV, 1 Timothy 6:1-21 ESV, Psalm 89:38-52 ESV, Proverbs 25:28 ESV
Daily Verse: “Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.” (1 Timothy 6:1 ESV)
ZUGOS (2218): “A yoke,” serving to couple two things together; is used of bond service to masters, 1 Tim 6:1.”[1]
Couple together.
About half the population of the Roman empire lived as enslaved people in the first century. Paul’s concerned about how they treat their masters. In other words, followers of Christ must treat their bosses with respect; in doing so, we share Jesus with others through our actions.
Thankfully, slavery no longer exists in America. But we do have jobs and people in authority over us. Whether or not you think your supervisor deserves the position doesn’t matter; they still have it.
God’s authority
Ultimately, God’s our authority. We will all stand before the Lord one day and give an account of our actions. And God places authority over us on earth.
“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (Romans 13:1 ESV)
God knows your boss and how they treat you. The Lord knows all the people in authority over us because He placed them there. How we respond to the bosses in our life depends on our hearts. God wants us to treat them with respect and dignity. In other words, do your job well.
The best way to honor God and your boss happens when you do your job. As an ex-manager, employees who didn’t do the job they agreed to do wore me down. But those precious ones who came to work on time did their tasks and respected my authority; I couldn’t help but love them.
God wants us to do our jobs well. When we take pride in our work and do it to the best of our ability, we’ll also respect our boss. Nothing pleases God more than a heart set on Him.
[1] Strong, J., & Strong, J. (2010). The New Strong’s expanded exhaustive concordance of the Bible. Greek Dictionary of the New Testament (p. 110) Thomas Nelson
