“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.” I Timothy 6:1
To honor means to value, so we are to esteem our employers as persons with value. When we honor an employer from our heart, then our words and our behavior reflects the attitude of our heart. When we honor the authority an employer has over us, we also honor the Lord.
When we work, we should not only strive to do well for our employer, but also for the Lord. How we behave is a representation of Christ, and want to bring honor to Him through what we do. Colossians 3:17 says, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” When honor is an attitude of our heart, it will be manifested in our work ethic, whether someone else is watching us or not.
When we honor our employer, our work ethic will include the following:
We do what we are asked to do, and we do it well
We do more than we are asked to do
We take the initiative
We show up on time, or earlier
We do not use company time or resources for personal use
We attempt to work well with others
We protect our employer and try to eliminate problems
We always speak positively about our employer
We never complain
We stick with a project until it is done
Even if you are doing a great job, your employer may not treat you with the respect you deserve. When this happens, there is usually a concern the employer has of feeling cheated or not respected. At one job I was at, my supervisor wanted me to go into another department to work when I was done with my primary responsibilities. When I went into the other department, my co-workers felt I was taking away from their job. What did I do? I worked when there was work to do. In addition, I swept floors, I took out trash, and I organized my area. It isn’t always easy to honor each other in a work place, especially when there is conflict in management, system failure, miscommunication, or other problems. However, this is when our honor is especially important. God sees your heart, and that is the most important concern we should have.
Application: If you or a family member is employed by an employer, pray for that authority. If you are an employer, pray the Lord helps you to manage and lead your company.