Ephesians 6:5-7 NKJV Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; (6) not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, (7) with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men,
A little bit of a twist on fear today as we look at this verse. Although the Apostle Paul was addressing the attitudes of bondservants or slaves toward their masters the principles are applicable to our attitudes toward our employers or managers/team leaders on the job. Paul’s command was to listen and follow the instructions or job assignments of our bosses, with fear & trembling “as unto Christ (KJV)”. He isn’t telling us to literally cower in fear of those we work for but instead to treat them with the same dignity and respect that we would in service to Jesus. Though this Scripture isn’t directly about living free from fear, applying the principle conveyed, may help you avoid the fear of being fired.
Paul begins by saying, “be obedient… in sincerity of heart”. In other words, listen intently with an ear to sincerely apply and follow their instructions or vision for your company or department. Paul thought this was so important he wrote it again to the Colossians (Col 3:22). Then he writes, “not with eyeservies, as men-pleasers…” This means don’t be the kind of employee that only works when the boss is watching. Instead, Paul writes that we should work unto the Glory of God as if Jesus were your supervisor, with a good attitude doing what you are expected to do.
Too many employees are self-centered and looking only to complete as little as possible. Others don’t mind working but believe that their way of doing things is better than their bosses. It might be. Maintaining the right attitude and proposing a new method or asking if you can do something differently is ok. However, if they still want you to do it their way smile and say, “yes sir/ma’am.” Then do the task or fulfill your duties to the best of your abilities in a way that would Glorify God.
If we fulfilled all of the duties on our job description as if they were assigned by Jesus, Himself (and you know you’d so things not in your job description for the Lord too), and looked for opportunities to be a blessing and sincere help to our managers, supervisors, or employers; your probably not going to have to fear getting fired. Instead, you’ll probably get promoted. Don’t fear getting fired, work as unto the Lord. P.S. even if you were ultimately laid off, verse 8 tells us that if we served as unto the Lord, He will reward us for our good work.
Ephesians 6:8 GNB Remember that the Lord will reward each of us, whether slave or free, for the good work we do.
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