Colossians 3:23-25
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
I like the word “heartily” in this passage. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7). In the past, I’ve considered the passage as an exhortation to do our very best in everything with the expected outcome being that our work would stand out as a step above what someone would do that was merely pleasing man and not the Lord; however, that may not always be the case.
More often than not, it seems that the one standing in the spotlight is one that’s only interested in soaking up the glory for himself. After all, he worked hard. He may have spent many sleepless nights in pursuit of his accomplishment. There’s no doubt that many unbelievers have set their sights on goals and given all they could to attain them. Just think about what Olympic athletes sacrifice! But, here’s the question–why did they sacrifice like they did? What did they hope to obtain? If it was the praise of men, then their pursuit was one of vanity. The fact is that many times it is the wicked that are exalted among us. The world may ignore the efforts of the righteous, but that’s okay…we aren’t instructed to labor for their recognition anyway.
Doing whatever we do “heartily, as to the Lord,” means that even if the boss doesn’t recognize our diligence and faithfulness, we continue to work hard anyway. It means that when our labor will never even be known by another living soul, we do our very best anyway. We labor honestly, diligently, and faithfully not because another human being is watching but because God Himself is paying attention! And, as our text reminds us, He’s going to reward both right AND wrong appropriately. Who cares if a worldling gets the spotlight? That will never compare to hearing God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Mt 25:23) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God! (1 Co 10:31) He alone is worthy…
Jamie