Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
Who and How Do You Serve?
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Today, I have three choices as to whom I will serve in a practical way. I can serve self; I can serve a boss; or I can serve the Lord. If I’m serving self, the question that will answer all the questions through life will be, “Do I like this? Does this please me?” To a person who is serving self, that is the question that matters the most.
Now to serve a boss seems nobler than serving self, but only a little bit. If I am serving a boss, what is the question going to be? It’s going to be, “Will this please my boss?”
The third choice is to serve the Lord. Now, I can serve a boss without serving God, but I cannot serve God without serving the people He has put in my life. Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Then He gives examples of wives, husbands, children, and fathers.
Verse 22 says, “Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God.” This implies that if I’m not serving a master that has a body, “according to the flesh,” I’m not serving God. If you’re not in submission to those in authority, then you’re not in submission to God either.
It further implies that a human master is not the only master. I’m not just to serve the master I can see; I’m to serve the Master who made me. That’s why the Bible says, “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers.” If I’m simply serving a boss, then my service ends the moment I can’t be rewarded or punished by that boss, but the Bible says I’m to serve in “singleness of heart, serving God.” If I’m serving God today and that’s my chief aim, then I will also be serving the people that God has placed in my life.
Serving God is also a happier condition than serving self. If I’m serving self as a means to happiness, I’ll never find it. The people who are happiest are not those who are looking for it or who are serving self, but those who are serving God and thus in a right relationship with the people in their lives. Verses 23 and 24 say, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”
I’m accountable for what I do whether anyone applauds me or not. God knows and cares, and it does make a difference to Him. How I serve says something about whom I serve. If I’m serving God, I’ll be where I ought to be with everyone else as well.