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.
– Colossians 3:23–24
These two verses, more than any other maybe in all the Bible, I think summarize the theology of work. So just think about your vocation or if you’re a student, think about your life as a student. So think about school in a sense as your vocation, even though you’re obviously not getting paid to do that, but just what you do as you work to the glory of God, whether it’s in a particular vocation or as a student. Colossians 3:23 is saying, “Whatever you do, work heartily.” Work with all your heart at what God has called you to do.
Colossians 3:23–24 Commands us to serve God through our work.
So if you’re a student, work really hard with all your heart at school. Or if you’re in this or that job, any job, just assuming it’s not a sinful job, then any kind of job, no matter how monotonous it may feel, no matter how disconnected it may feel, even from the mission to make disciples of the nations. You’re crunching numbers in this way or that way, or you’re doing this or that on an assembly line. Whatever kind of work you do, work at it with all your heart as for the Lord and not for men. Because end of verse 24, you are serving the Lord Christ.
Whoa. That just took your schoolwork or your vocation, whatever it is, to a whole nother level. You’re not just working for this teacher or working for this employer. You’re serving Jesus in what you were doing, which immediately gives dignity to whatever kind of work you’re doing. Again, assuming that work is not sinful, then no matter what it is, it is dignified because you are serving Jesus by doing it.
Colossians 3:23–24 Teaches us we can point people to the goodness of God through the work we do.
Do you feel the meaning that this just infuses into your work as a student? When you’re doing math, it’s not just for your math teacher. You’re serving Jesus by working hard at math to sharpen your mind. As you’re on that assembly line or you’re in that room teaching or you are conducting business or you are working with your kids, whatever it might be, you are serving Jesus as you’re doing those things, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
In other words, ultimately you’re not living for a paycheck even, although that’s important. You’re not living for a grade, although that’s also important. Ultimately, you’re living to please Jesus, to glorify Jesus with the way you work, and then that transforms how you work, yes, with all your heart, and you do it with honesty and integrity in a way that shines the light of Jesus in the way you do that work. You work hard, you work with competency. You work in ways that would point people to the goodness of God through the work you do.
This Verse Encourages Us to Work Heartily
Oh, there’s so much here that I hope encourages you today in your workplace or in a classroom to know that ultimately you are serving Jesus himself, not any other person. And that transforms the way you understand work, the dignity that work has, and it transforms the way you do work. “Work with all your heart,” Colossians 3:23 says, “in ways that point people to God.” And then yes, in the process you have opportunities in that workplace to be salt and light in that classroom, in that school to be salt and light in ways that point people to Jesus. Just as Colossians 3–4 later we’ll talk about.
So God, we pray that you’d help us all to work heartily. Whatever kind of work we’re doing, as we’re working for you and not ultimately for men. Knowing that from you, we will receive the inheritance as our reward, that ultimately we are serving the Lord Christ. God, transform our understanding of work according to your Word and in all the places we’re working, going to school, and whatever we’re doing as we’re working hardily, we pray that you would help us to be salt and light in ways that point people to your goodness and your grace, your glory. That they might, Matthew 5:16, see our good work and glorify you in heaven.
Prayer for the Pindara People
And God, I think about… I think about the unreached people of the world, the Pindara people today of Pakistan and India who have no known followers of Jesus among them. And the avenues that exist in the global marketplace for Christians to work alongside the Pindara people and multitudes of other unreached people groups in the world. God, for the globalization of today’s marketplace that allows for workers from all kinds of different countries for followers of Jesus to go and do work, to teach, to do business and engineering and medicine and so many other things in so many parts of the world where there is little to no access to the gospel.
God, I pray, we pray together. Raise up workers to go and reach the Pindara and thousands of other people groups with the gospel through our work. God help us to serve you in our work and to spread the gospel through our work right where we live and wherever you lead us in the world. We pray all of this according to your Word, which we love in Colossians 3:23–24. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
