Great Gains

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. If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 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. 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 a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

God has much to say about how we are to work in this world in a way that brings Him honor and glory.

A Letter to the Churches of Ephesus

As we've been reminded many times in our study of 1 Timothy, Paul the Apostle is writing to a newly appointed overseer of the churches of Ephesus. I say churches because there were probably many small congregations throughout that city. Those churches had been established about a decade before by Paul's own ministry, and about three years before this letter Paul wrote another letter to the same group of churches—the book we know as Ephesians.

What we read in 1 Timothy 6 has a corresponding passage in Ephesians 6, with very much the same language. In Ephesians 6:5 Paul writes to the same church:

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, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

So three years after writing in Ephesians 6, Paul says it again in 1 Timothy 6. That repetition indicates this was an issue at the church that had to be addressed more than once.

How We Work Is Important to God

That brings us to our first point: how we work is important to God. Paul is addressing those identified in the church as bondservants and masters. The word "bondservant" is translated "slave" in some English versions, but it is not a stretch to read these terms in our context as employees and employers.

We have to be careful here, because in our 21st-century American context we hear "slave" and immediately think of the African slave trade, a blight on our history. But the slavery mentioned in the New Testament was not very similar to that. Timothy Keller, in his book 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 find a patron to pay for his education and would then serve that person in return. Loans were repaid through service. People were not generally regarded as property, were not kidnapped, and were often released after about ten years. Still, a huge portion of the Roman world served in this capacity; they were the labor force of the day. So it is not too much of a stretch to apply this passage to ourselves today as workers.

The Bible Does Not Endorse Slavery

Whenever we come to a passage about slavery, it is important to acknowledge that the Bible does not endorse or promote slavery. Some try to claim otherwise, but always by taking Scripture out of context. In fact, everywhere the gospel has gone over the last two thousand years, we have seen the elevation of human dignity and the leveling of hierarchical structures that foster evils like slavery.

The idea that all men are created equal is a biblical value spread through the gospel. In the wake of the gospel comes liberty. Sadly, some in church history have twisted Scripture to justify slavery—always wrongly—and sadly, slavery still exists today, often called human trafficking. There is a good group called the International Justice Mission whose work is to bring justice and liberty to those held captive in this evil, and we'll share more about them in coming months.

God Exemplifies, Gives, and Commands Work

It is safe to assume that every one of us, at some point, is or will be an employee or an employer. Work is a high value in our culture, and God has something to say about it from Genesis to Revelation.

In Genesis 1 and 2, God Himself is an example of one who works—He is by His nature a Creator, speaking all things into existence over the six days of creation. Then, right after creating, He gives man work to do: "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it" (Genesis 2:15). God invites us to join Him in His work.

In Exodus 20 He commands it. We hear "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," but people often overlook the next verse: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work." The command to Sabbath is also a command to labor. You cannot rest if you do not work. We live in a culture given to too much work and too little rest, so we need to hear the call to rest—but we also need to hear the call to work. God exemplifies work, gives us work to join Him in, and commands us to work.

Who We Are Working For Is Ultimately Important

This brings us to point two: who we are working for is ultimately important. If you go to work Monday morning—in a classroom, a corporate office, a construction site—the Christian work ethic says you should honor your employer.

To honor your employer means to serve with honesty, integrity, and sincerity. The Ephesian believers had less liberty and mobility than we do because of their master-bondservant relationship; we have much more freedom in choosing our work. Yet the exhortation is the same, and it is easier to fulfill when we grasp who we are ultimately working for.

You should honor your employer not for the sake of your employer, but for the sake of God, whose name you bear. Paul says it "so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed." Three times in Ephesians 6 Paul makes it clear: we serve "as to Christ," "as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart," "as to the Lord, and not to men."

Ultimately, you do not work for the city of Escondido, or a construction company, or a healthcare system. If you are a Christian, you work for God. If you walk into your workplace Monday morning with that mindset—I am doing this as to the Lord—it will adjust the way you work. And whether your employer is or isn't a believer, you should honor him. If he is a believer, all the more, for it is like serving a brother or sister in the faith.

The Motivating "Why" of Our Work

Paul continues: if anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, that person is proud, ignorant, obsessed with disputes, devoid of truth, and supposes "that godliness is a means of gain." Back in 1 Timothy 1:3, Paul opened the letter charging Timothy that "they teach no other doctrine"—and he uses that very same word here in chapter 6.

That leads to point three: the motivating "why" of our work is not inconsequential. Why should you be ethical and honorable in the workplace? The proud and ignorant do their work to be seen by others, as a means to get ahead. In Ephesians 6, Paul warns against working "with eyeservice, as men-pleasers."

There are people whose only good, honest, sincere work happens when the boss is watching. Paul challenges us to be honorable in our work at all times—whether or not someone is watching, whether or not it benefits us. Some work with integrity only when it gains them something. The Christian works in a way that honors God regardless of any gain that might come from it.

Godliness Is the End We're Aiming At

Paul then says, "Now godliness with contentment is great gain." Underline that. Commit it to memory this week. There are two things in that verse not highly valued in 21st-century American culture—godliness and contentment—yet Paul says if you have them, you have great gain.

This is point four: godliness is the end we're meaning to arrive at. We do not work with honor and sincerity merely to land a promotion or a contract. For the Christian, this should be the default—seeking to work with godliness not as a means for a bigger paycheck, but because godliness is the goal. If you can grow in godliness and be content with what you have, you have gained more than any paycheck could give.

Why? Paul says, "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." In America in our day, that is a foreign concept. Working this way is an acknowledgment that we have a greater payout than an earthly one. Job said, "Naked I came... and naked I shall return." This aligns with Jesus' words 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 the goal—to walk in a way that honors God and brings no reproach against His name and His doctrine.

If Godliness Is Not Our Goal

Paul concludes: "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 a 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, there is a sense of how self-evident it is, and yet it is not common knowledge in our culture. Scripture is like a well-lit, magnifying mirror—it exposes and magnifies, and we see ourselves in it. The desire to be rich is dangerous, because it can drown a person in waste. Do we see anything in our culture that aligns with this, where people are drowning in waste? It is all around us.

That is 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 that bring destruction, and they have pierced themselves through with many sorrows, having strayed from the faith toward greediness.

This text presses a simple question on us—one you don't answer before me, but in your own heart before God: What are the gains you are seeking to lay hold of? What is it you are striving for? If it is acknowledgment, recognition, and riches in this world, there is danger there, and we will begin to live for eyeservice as men-pleasers. We have watched people in our own lives and culture 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 miss the bigger picture: this is not all there is.

So you may need to bring this before the Lord this week, and it may lead to confession and repentance—and that is 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." As I look into the perfect law of liberty, the mirror of God's Word, it reveals what must change in me. I cannot change myself, but God by His grace can.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for Your grace that saves us. You rescue us from and You rescue us to. We thank You that You save us from our sins, but You also save us to righteousness. I pray that You would work in our lives that we would see the growth, the manifestation of godliness—that which 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 righteousness, but on that construction site, in the office building, on the school campus, wherever we may find ourselves this week. Help us to walk in a way that is right, not just to gain something here and now, but so that we would honor and glorify Your name. You who see in secret will ultimately reward openly. So God, help us to grow in our Christlikeness, 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.