A bondservant in biblical times was a person who was legally or willfully bound to serve a master.  Bondage and slavery are illegal in most societies today, but during the time of the writing of the Bible, bondage was common and accepted.  The writers of the Bible gave instruction on how bondservants were to conduct themselves. I believe many of the instructions in the Bible for bondservants are applicable to employees today.

Here are some of the scriptures that give instructions to bondservants.  Ephesians 6:5-8 “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.”   Colossians 3:22-24 “Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God.  And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” What can we learn from these scriptures for employees today? 

As an employee, you should not do your work with “eyeservice, as men-pleasers.”  Eyeservice is either work done only to please the eye, which cannot bear to be tested; or it may be good work done only when the boss’ eye is upon you.  Many employees are idle or do non-work activities but get busy doing work when the boss comes around.  This should not be you.  You need to work as if you are working for Jesus and God; they know everything you do every moment of the day, so you cannot fool them.  Are you a true disciple of Jesus Christ?  Then do your work for your employer as if you were working for Christ.  You should not do your work half-heartedly or with little effort, but heartily, as to the Lord.

Titus 2:9-10 “Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.”  As an employee, you should not talk back to your boss in a disrespectful way; show respect to him or her as your authority.  1 Timothy 6:1 “Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.” The Bible teaches us to respect those in authority. Your boss is your authority at work. If you don’t show respect to your boss, and he or she knows that you are a Christian, you give those who follow Christ a bad reputation.  You should never steal from your employer, whether that be large items such as tools or items to be sold or small things such as supplies or telephone or computer time; these items belong to your employer and are not yours to take without permission.  Whatever responsibilities you are given, perform your tasks with good fidelity so that if you are audited, your work will be found to be done well.  A good Christian employee is a credit to the faith and the doctrine of Jesus our Savior. 

Daniel had the right spirit as an employee.  Daniel 6:1-4  “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”  Be like Daniel as an employee, that no fault can be found in you.

As an employee, you need to obey your boss and do what he or she asks you to do.  As an employee, you are being paid to do a certain job.  If you decide for yourself that you are going to do something different than what your boss told you to do, or you do not accomplish what your boss asked you to do, you are not obeying your boss.  There is an exception to always obeying your boss; if your boss tells you to do something unethical or illegal, then you should not obey your boss because “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29b) and God does not want us to do what our bosses tell us to do if it is sinful. Otherwise, you need to do what your boss tells you to do.

Various groups of people came to John the Baptist asking him how they should bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Luke 3:12-14 “Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’  And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, ‘And what shall we do?’  So he said to them, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.’”  How can we apply this to today’s workers?  Workers should not abuse whatever position of authority they have.  Also, workers should be content with their wages.

Sometimes bosses are not the people they should be; they may be difficult to work for.  The apostle Peter gave instruction to servants experiencing harsh masters.  1 Peter 2:18-20 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.  For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.  For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.”  If you do good as an employee and yet you suffer unjustly, but you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.

My encouragement to each Christian employee is that you be a model employee.  Conduct yourself so that you are a credit to the faith and the doctrine of Jesus Christ.