“Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ.” (Colossians 3:23)
Thoughts... Who is your boss?
Years ago, Tom Peters and Bob Waterman wrote a landmark book on successful companies called, In Search Of Excellence. In their research, they discovered the main ingredient to succesful businesses was found in, “Unusual effort on the part of ordinary employees.” When they found a string of unusual efforts from a host of ordinary employees, they knew they were on the trail of an exceptional business—a company with a corporate climate that rained excellence.
One of those outstanding companies was Nordstrom. They tell the story of an executive who wanted to buy a suit. His wife and daughter were Nordstrom fans, and always pestering him to shop there. Frankly, he suspected that Nordstrom charged an arm and leg for everything. But he badly needed a suit, and there was a sale, so he figured there wasn’t much to lose. He went shopping, and found the service was actually good, so he bought a suit on sale and another one at full price.
Nordstrom promises same-day alterations, unless there’s a sale, then alterations are the next day. So he came back the next day, wanting the suits for a business trip that night. To his surprise, his salesman greeted him by name. The guy ran upstairs for the suits, but after 5 minutes, reappeared empty-handed…they weren’t ready! Though he needed them for his trip, he felt happy because their failure confirmed his original suspicions.
He left town without the suits, but when he checked into his hotel, there was a package waiting. The Federal Ex fee of $98 had already been paid—by Nordies. And there were the suits, with three expensive silk ties thrown in for free. There also was a note of apology from the salesman, who’d called the guy’s home and found out where he’d be.
Needless to say, this executive was now a Nordstrom fan, too! The salesman had not only did his job well, he went above and beyond the call of duty—and Nordstrom got the credit.
Now wouldn’t you say that as followers of Christ, we have a calling that’s fundamentally higher than Nordstom to work with an attitude of excellence? Because of “Who” we serve, going above and beyond the call of duty ought to be just be a part of a good day’s work. Because God is both our boss, and our customer, our passion ought to be to do our jobs well, and then some! Because of Who and what our mission represents, people ought to be able to look at our excellent lives and see the excellent God we worship.
Paul talks about this very thing in Colossians 3:17,
“Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Imagine what would happen if you and I—just ordinary people—gave sustained effort to live out this verse every day!
Paul goes on in verses 22-24,
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Imagine if each one of us did everything as unto the Lord. Instead of people bubbling about Nordstrom, or whatever else they may gush over, they’d be bubbling about our Jesus.
Let me unpack these verses a little more, because Paul’s call to the Colossians is God’s call to all Christians today. And I want to get you to think more deeply about this by posing 3 questions: What? How? and Why?
First off, what is excellence? Very simply, I’d say it is doing everything for the approval of God. If that is truly my motive, then my work will be done with excellence. I will leverage what I have to the best of my ability to produce something that is fitting for the King of all creation. It will be the very best I can do. I will go above and beyond the call of duty. It will make God proud.
Here the second question: How am I to go about my work? Verse 22 from The Message Bible says,
“Do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real master, for God.”
Paul is saying not just some of the time, not just when you’re being watched, not just with partial effort, but every time you do what you do, do your best…and then some.
Here’s another way to look at it: Would whatever you’re doing stand up to inspection by Jesus himself? Would he say, “Wow, this is really good?”
I have been reading a book on the Disney Corporation’s unswerving commitment to excellence. It’s called “Keys To The Magic Kingdom”. It’s full of principles and examples—it’s a great read. One of those examples had to do with the immaculate condition of the facilities and grounds at the Disney theme parks. Someone asked how many custodians it took to achieve such impeccable conditions, and the response was something like 45,000 custodians.
How could that be, so many custodians? The answer was that, in effect, all of the Disney theme park employees served as custodians—each one knows that cleanliness is his or her job. They all know customer service is their job, too. They all know quick and easy access to rides is everybody’s job. They all know that putting the magic in the magic kingdom is everybody’s job. That’s what makes Disney the magic kingdom—a corporate culture of excellence. That being the case, they simply go about their work with a commitment and passion for excellence.
Since we work for the real magic kingdom, the Kingdom of God, shouldn’t excellence be at the heart of who we are and how we work?
How should you work? You should be the kind of person Jesus would be if he were in your place. You should do the kind of work you’d do if Jesus were your boss. Your attitude should be the same if Jesus were your customer.
So if that’s how I’m supposed to work, the third question is: Why should I work with excellence? The answer to that is rather obvious, but let me just remind you that if your motivation is anything other than working for the glory and pleasure of God, you will eventually begin to offer less than Biblically-defined excellence in your work. That’s why Paul says in verses 23-24,
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving”
Knowing who you are working for and working for his approval will make all the difference in your attitude, in the quality of your efforts and in the outcome of your work!
A long time ago, on an extremely hot day, a crew was repairing some railroad tracks when they were interrupted by a train that ground to a stop right where they were working. A window on the last car opened and out of the air-conditioned coach a booming voice shouted, “Dave—is that you?” Dave Anderson, the crew chief, called back, “Sure is, Jim — great to see you again!”
Jim Murphy, president of the railroad, invited Dave Anderson in for a visit. For over an hour, the two men visited, then they shook hands as the train took off.
Dave’s crew was impressed; they couldn’t believe that Dave was a personal friend of Jim Murphy—the president. Dave explained that over 20 years earlier, he and Jim Murphy had started to work for the railroad on exactly the same day. One of the men jokingly ask Dave why he was still working like a dog out in the hot sun while Jim had gotten to be the president of the company. Dave said, “Some twenty years ago, I went to work for $1.75 and hour, and Jim went to work for the railroad.”
Who are you working for? In reality, it is not for a paycheck; it is not for your employee; it is not for advancement; it is not for anything other than the approval of God.
It’s the Lord Christ you are serving!
And every day, in every way, he deserves excellence in everything you do!
Prayer… God, today I offer all of my life to you—all that I am and all that I will do. I offer it in the most excellent way I know. I pray that you will take my passion for excellence and empower it with the supernatural presence of your Holy Spirit so that eternal things might be accomplished for your glory.
One More Thing… “No sacrifice can be too great to make for Him who gave His life for me.” —C.T. Studd
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