Colossians 3:22-25

The following is a Bible study originally posted on our Bible Study Group.

Hi, everyone...
It's been a busy work week at our house. Part of the busyness has come because
football season has started in earnest, and since my husband is enjoying
(whew??) his first season as a high school head football coach, we've been
adjusting to long working hours, a crazy meal schedule, and the normal
adjustments of players and staff to a new coach and a new coaching style.
WHEW!

So when my husband and I realized what verses we would be studying in
Colossians this week, we laughed at how God always makes His Word so fresh
and appropriate to our lives! I pray that these verses will meet a special
need in your life as well:

Colossians 3:22-25 (NKJV) says,

"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. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has
done, and there is no partiality."

First, I want to draw attention to the word "bondservants." What is a
bondservant? I'd love to hear if you can add more to my attempt at a
definition, but this is how I learned it. The nation of Israel had a
custom, given by God in the Law, of setting their slaves free every seven
years (the year of Jubilee). However, if a slave really loved his master,
he could voluntarily choose to remain his slave for life. The master would
pierce the slave's ear as a symbol of his lifelong devotion.

Paul calls each of us a bondservant. So that makes me ask the question,
"Who is my master?" Is it my earthly employer? As a wife who seeks to be a
helper to her husband, is he my master? Verse 22 says that we do have
fleshly masters, but are we to be devoted to them for life? No, verse 24
says that our real master is the Lord Christ. What a beautiful picture!

My daughter is four and half years old, and she's nearing the age where I
won't require her to nap every afternoon. However, in the meantime, I still
ask her to lie still and try to rest. She is not allowed to play with
dolls, but I ask her to keep her head on her pillow. I am always amazed, if
I stand and peek through the mostly-closed door, how quickly she can forget
what I said! She'll keep her head on her pillow for a few minutes, then
she'll spot a favorite doll -- and I'll see the wheels turning in her head.
She'll sit up, look around and, not seeing anyone, she'll crawl to the edge
of the bed and reach for Baby Suzie.

Like my daughter, we tend to only do what is right when we know someone is
watching. Like Jonah, we forget that the Lord is ALWAYS watching. We tend
to be "men-pleasers," only doing our best job when we are sure that
someone's eyes will see what we're doing. We keep our living rooms picked
up, but our closets are a mess. We speak kindly and calmly to the kids at
the grocery store, but behind closed doors we lose our tempers. We work
hard for our employers when they're in the cubicle next to ours, but when
they're out of town, we spend too much time surfin' the Net and filin' our
nails.

God's Word reminds us to have sincere hearts. We are to fear the Lord, not
men's opinions of us. That's tough, isn't it? No matter what we do, we're
to put our whole, sincere hearts into it. We know we receive our paychecks
and our thanks from God Himself, not from a mere human being. We also know
that God is completely fair and that His testimony is on the line, and He
doesn't want His name dragged into the mud when we don't do our best job.

Isn't God's Word wonderfully practical?

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