1 Timothy 6:1

Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things... Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out... For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:1–10)

What does the Bible say about how, and for whom, a Christian works on Monday morning?

A Word Paul Had to Repeat

As we've been reminded throughout 1 Timothy, Paul is writing to a newly ordained minister, Timothy, who oversees the churches of Ephesus. I say churches because the church there was likely many small congregations throughout the city. Those churches had been planted about a decade earlier through Paul's ministry. About three years before this letter, Paul wrote that same group another letter we know as Ephesians.

What we read here in 1 Timothy 6 has a corresponding passage in Ephesians 6, with very similar language:

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart... And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. (Ephesians 6:5–9)

The fact that Paul addresses bondservants and masters again, three years later, indicates there was an issue at the church that needed to be dealt with more than once. And I think God wants us to hear it too.

How We Work Is Important to God

Here's the first point: how we work is important to God. You might wonder how I get that from this text. Paul addresses those identified as bondservants and masters. The word "bondservant" is translated "slave" elsewhere, but in our 21st-century context I don't think it's a stretch to read these terms as employees and employers.

That may seem like a leap, because in our American context we hear "slave" and immediately think of the African slave trade—a genuine blight on our history. But the slavery mentioned in the New Testament is not very similar to what we picture. Timothy Keller, in his book on work, Every Good Endeavor, writes: "Slavery in Paul's time was not race-based and was seldom lifelong. It was more like what we would call indentured servitude."

Often a person entering a profession—say, a physician—would seek a patron to fund his education and then serve that person in return. Loans were frequently repaid through service. These relationships weren't usually lifelong; many lasted ten years at most, and people weren't kidnapped and forced into labor. Yet a huge portion of the Roman world served in this capacity—they were the labor force of the day. So it's not too much of a stretch to contextualize this for ourselves.

The Bible Does Not Endorse Slavery

Whenever we come to a passage like this, it's important to acknowledge that the Bible does not endorse or promote slavery. People try to claim it does, but that's always taking Scripture out of context. In fact, everywhere the gospel has gone over the last 2,000 years, we have seen the elevation of human dignity and the leveling of the hierarchical social structures that foster evils like slavery.

The idea that all men are created equal is a biblical value spread by the gospel. Where the gospel goes, liberty follows. Sadly, some in church history have twisted Bible passages to endorse slavery—always wrongly. And sadly, slavery still exists today, often called human trafficking. A group I was introduced to about a year ago, the International Justice Mission, works around the world to bring justice and liberty to those held captive in this evil.

We Work for God

It's safe to assume that every one of us is, has been, or will be an employee or an employer. So God has something to say to us here—and not just here. From Genesis to Revelation, God speaks about work. In Genesis 1 and 2, God Himself works; by nature He is a Creator, speaking creation into existence over the six days. So God exemplifies work.

And He gives us work to do. Genesis 2:15 says, "Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it." He invites us to join Him in His work. Then in Exodus 20:8 He commands, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Over many years of ministry, people have come to me wanting to talk about the Sabbath and rest. I always take them to the next verse: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Exodus 20:9).

The command to Sabbath is also a command to labor. You can't rest if you don't work. Our God works, He gives us work, He commands us to work—and to rest. In a culture given to constant work and little rest, we need to hear both. And here in 1 Timothy 6 and Ephesians 6, God gives us a godly work ethic.

Honor Your Employer—for God's Sake

This brings the second point: who we are working for is ultimately important. If you have a job—in a classroom, an office, a construction site, wherever—the Christian work ethic says you should honor your employer. What does that mean? I'd say it means serving with honesty, integrity, and sincerity.

Now, the Ephesian believers probably had less liberty than we do; they were bound in these master-servant relationships. We have far more mobility and choice. So this exhortation may have been harder for them than for us—yet it's the same exhortation. And it's easier to fulfill when we grasp the weight of point number two: we are ultimately working for God.

Notice the reasoning: "so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed" (v. 1). We should honor our employer not ultimately for our employer's sake, but for God's, whose name we are called by. In Ephesians 6 Paul says it no less than three times—"as to Christ," "as bondservants of Christ," "as to the Lord and not to men." Our work represents God.

So if your coworkers know you go to church on Sunday and come to work on Monday, they should see that your work honors your employer—because in that, you're honoring God. Ultimately you don't work for the city of Escondido, or Lusardi Construction, or Sharp Healthcare. You work for God. Go in Monday morning with that mindset—"I am doing this as to the Lord"—and it will change the way you work, whether or not your employer is a believer. And if your employer is a believer, then all the more, for you serve a brother or sister in the faith.

The Motive Behind Our Work

Paul says, "Teach and exhort these things" (v. 2). Then in verse 3: "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words... he is proud, knowing nothing, but obsessed with disputes and arguments over words." This connects back to 1 Timothy 1:3, where Paul urges Timothy to charge certain persons "that they teach no other doctrine"—he uses the very same word in both places. The kind of person who teaches otherwise is proud, ignorant, contentious, and devoid of truth—and crucially, supposes "that godliness is a means of gain."

That's point three: the motivating *why* of our work is not inconsequential. Why should you work with godliness and integrity? For the proud and ignorant, the answer is: to be seen, to get ahead, to gain advantage. Back in Ephesians 6, Paul warns against working "with eyeservice, as men-pleasers." We all know people who only do good, honest work when the boss is watching.

Paul challenges us to be honorable at all times—whether or not anyone is watching, whether or not it benefits us. Some people work well only when it gains them something. The Christian works honorably regardless of any gain, because we represent God.

Godliness With Contentment Is Great Gain

Then verse 6: "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." Underline that and try to commit it to memory. There are two things in this verse that are not highly valued in 21st-century American culture—godliness and contentment. Yet Paul says if you have both, you have great gain.

That makes point four true: godliness is the end we're meaning to arrive at. We don't work with honor and integrity in order to get the promotion or land the contract. For the Christian, this should simply be the default. Godliness is the goal. And if you can grow in godliness and be content with what you have, you've gained more than any paycheck could give.

Why? Verse 7: "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." Those are foreign concepts in America in 2018. Working this way acknowledges a greater payout than an earthly one. Naked we came into the world, naked we go out—as Job said when stripped of everything.

This aligns with Jesus' teaching in Matthew 6:19: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth... but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Your honorable work may not be rewarded in this life—but earthly reward is not our goal. Godliness is.

If Godliness Is Not Our Goal

Verse 9: "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Every time I read this passage, these truths feel so self-evident—and yet they're not common knowledge in our culture. Scripture is like a well-lit, magnifying mirror, the kind you find in a hotel room that exposes everything. It reveals these things in the world and in ourselves. The desire to be rich is dangerous, because it can drown people in waste. Look around—do we not see people drowning in perdition all around us?

That's point five: if godliness is not our goal, the ends will be disastrous. Those who have loved money and pursued it have found themselves drowned by harmful lusts and pierced through with many sorrows, straying from the faith toward greediness.

So the simple question to take from this text—answer it in your own heart before God—is this: What are the gains you're seeking to lay hold of? If it's acknowledgment, recognition, and riches in this world, there's danger in that. We'll begin to live with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, and we've watched people strive for that kind of success and do immoral, unethical things to get it. They may gain what they want in this life, but they're missing the bigger picture. This is not all there is.

You may need to bring that question before the Lord this week, and it may lead you to confession and repentance—and that's a good thing. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That's exactly what the mirror of God's Word does: it reveals what must change, and reminds us that we can't change ourselves—but by His grace, He can.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for Your grace that saves us. Lord, You rescue us from and You rescue us to. We thank You that You save us from our sins, but You save us to righteousness. I pray that You would work in our lives, that we would see the growth and manifestation of godliness—that which aligns and accords with rightness—and that it would be seen in our workplace. Not just when we gather in a place like this, where it's easy to walk in rightness, but on that construction site, in that office building, on that school campus, wherever we find ourselves this week. Help us to walk in a way that is right—not so we would get some gain here and now, but so that we would honor and glorify Your name. And You who see in secret will ultimately reward openly. Help us to grow in our Christ-likeness, that it would be evident to all we come in contact with that we are Your kids, because people see Your nature in us. Work this into us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.