Building a Godly Family - The Bondservant and the Master Relationship

How often do you try to do the best job you possibly can to the best of your ability knowing full well that your heart and energy are not where they should be when you are given a task? We all suffer from not being energized or interested enough in doing the job. What differentiates some from others is the way we spiritually, mentally and physically approach the task.

Unfortunately in today's society we see all too often a common tactic that Satan uses is one of self-importance (selfishness, pride, anger). These traits combined, all lead us away from the biblical principles we are taught. They put us in a position to see the ugly in everything. We see examples of this multiple times a day in the media and in social media. We see the elites trying to Lord their money and power over each one of us. You need not look very far to see the lies and the deceit that is being wielded through our country and quite honestly the globe.

So what does self-importance look like from a thousand foot level? The definition of self-importance from the Oxford dictionary states: believing that you are more important or have a higher value than other people. Some examples of self-importance: you work your way to the front of the line because you really need to be first. We tailgate the car in front of us because we are poor time managers. We lord over our co-workers because we have been in the company longer. The list goes on and I am sure you can think of many more examples.

It is nearly impossible to know what motivates people let alone know what's in a man's heart, but as a true believer given discernment we certainly recognize the fruits that will come from each one of us. But God, He knows our hearts and He knows our motivations. He continues to watch us and through the Holy Spirit will convict us if our motivations are for selfish reasons or to use our positions of power to Lord over others. The questions become who are we doing the task for? Are we doing it because someone will then owe us in return? Are we doing it for selfish reasons to benefit ourselves? Or do we do it for others to edify and encourage them? To genuinely want to help others?

If you are a true believer and trust in the word of God then you will know when we do work of any sort, for anyone we should do it to the best of our ability and do it with a kindness that will display the love of God we have in us so His love may shine through us.

If we take the position that everything we do, we do for the Lord then our tasks become easier to get through. Our relationship with Christ will guide us and our servants' attitude we have will be displayed for all to see. The bible teaches us that we no longer live for ourselves but we live for Christ who lives in us.

The bondservant and master relationship is the last of the primary household codes that Paul addresses and it carries the same theme as we learned earlier in the letter to the Ephesians. Treat people with respect, husbands love your wife like Jesus loves the church and you love yourself. Wives respect your husbands. Children respect your parents and fathers don't provoke your children to turn them away from God. Bondservants be mindful of the work you do because you do it unto the Lord. And most importantly, God does not show any partiality He will judge each one of us righteously according to our good works because He is a righteous God.

My prayer is that we would come to know Jesus on a more personal basis. That we would recognize and live for Christ. That all the work we do is to glorify Him. I pray that each one would understand the importance of working unto the Lord and what we do and how we do it matters to God. I pray our approach to our tasks change acknowledging that we work for the Lord and not anyone person in the world. In Jesus Mighty Name Amen! Amen!