The Office just ended its fifth season

• Glimpse into the cubicles of Dunder-Mifflin paper company in Scranton, PA

• Mockumentary – part sitcom, part exposé

• At times the characters look into the camera & share their thoughts & feelings about their job or their co-workers

The Office explores & exposes today’s corporate environment

• Office politics, downsizing, inefficiency, sexual harassment, lame team-building exercises, office romances & turf wars

• Not an easy show to watch

• Awkward, infuriating & inappropriate

• Tells how people feel about their work

• Don’t have to work in an office to recognize the characters

We know what it’s like to …

• Have an incompetent, demeaning boss

• Jockey for position

• Face impossible deadlines

• Sit through boring meetings

• Deal with difficult people

• Be bored or stressed out by our work

• Wonder what we’re doing there

For many people work is absurd

• Requires them to spend hours every day in a place they don’t want to be

• With people they don’t really like

• Doing a job they really don’t enjoy

• For a paycheck that is never really enough

• No one in The Office wants to be there, but they keep showing up, day after day

Tim McGuire, Pres. of American Society of Newspaper Editors

• “Work is brutal. Work is a four-letter word … The problem for most people is that their work transforms them into something bad, something bitter, and broken.”

• Is your work turning you into someone you don’t want to be?

Others take a more fatalistic view & say that work is simply necessary

• A consequence of Adam & Eve’s sin

• If you enjoy work & it pays well, great!

• Don’t expect it to be enjoyable/rewarding

• View as old as Aristotle (4th Century BC) “All jobs absorb & degrade the mind.”

Chances are we have all had feelings like this about our work

• Even the best job can get old after a while & feel absurd or brutal

• Even we who enjoy it dream about walking away – winning the lottery & retiring early

• Talk to any retiree – they still have a full calendar & to-do list

Imagine …

• Feeling good about your job every day• Going to work with expectancy, not dread• Ending the day satisfied & not just weary• Imagine your work:

– Making you better, not bitter– Deepening your faith instead of undermining it– Making a real difference in the world– Having an eternal impact on people’s lives

• Work done well is good!

Colossians 3:22-4:1 NIV

• Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. (23) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, (24) since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:22-4:1 NIV

• (25) Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. (4:1) Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

First observation

• Paul is not condoning slavery• Bible principles led to abolition of slavery• He recognizes slavery as a reality• 1/3 of the Roman Empire were slaves• Many early Christians were slaves• It wasn’t just the wealthy that had slaves• Even middle class had household servants • Some in Colossian church likely masters

Second observation

• Slaves in ancient world enjoyed better working & living conditions than slaves in modern world, but it was not an easy life

• Slaves– Were subject to will & whim of their owners– Had limited opportunity for advancement– Were regarded as property rather than people

• Didn’t enjoy the comfortable working environments that most of us enjoy today

Google Office Complex in New York City

• Fully-equipped game room – ping pong, billiards, air hockey & video games

• Free food all day, including a sushi bar

• Workers encouraged to take breaks, socialize & invite their friends over to play

There was nothing like that for slaves in the ancient world

• Had reason to hate jobs, resent bosses, feel demeaned, overworked & underpaid

• But Paul doesn’t say:– “Just do your job and stay out of trouble” – “Do everything you can to subvert the system” – “Do minimum & save energy for church work”

• He says: “Be the best slaves you can be”

We’re not slaves, but there are principles to apply to our work

• Not everyone has a boss, but all have people to whom we are accountable– Supervisors or foremen– Customers or clients– Teachers or administrators– Attorneys, litigants, jurors & court staff– Even family members

• Examine Paul’s words phrase-by-phrase

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything …”

• Not: “Obey your masters when they’re being fair and reasonable”

• But: “Obey your masters in everything”

• Not expecting us to compromise our faith or to break the law

• But to respect & cooperate with the people we work with, no matter what they’re like or what they ask of us

“and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor …”

• Regardless whether we are being watched

• Regardless whether we will get credit

• The way Christians are to work all the time, even when no one is watching

“but with sincerity of heart …”

• Our respect and cooperation aren’t simply to be superficial, but genuine

• There’s more to work than just doing the job we’re paid to do

• We’re to do it with a positive attitude & industrious spirit

“and reverence for the Lord”

• I thought we were talking about work, not church

• Why is Paul dragging God into the picture?

• I thought we were talking about earthly masters

• How do you run a copy machine or design software or drive a carpool “with reverence for the Lord?”

“Whatever you do …”

• That’s pretty comprehensive• Remember, Paul was talking to slaves• Their masters could ask them to do anything

– Work the fields– Care for children– Shovel manure– Manage money or property

• Apparently there is no work that is not good, except work that is immoral or illegal

“work at it with all your heart …”

• With all your heart? • That’s the way we’re

to love God – with all our heart & soul & mind & strength

• Language of worship • We’re to serve our

bosses & customers with the intensity & devotion with which we serve God?

“as working for the Lord, not for men”

• There he goes again!• Paul writes as if God

is the one we’re working for – our boss

• Ultimately, we work for God

• Paul makes it plain in verse 24: “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

It’s true even for those who are bosses themselves:

• “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven”

• No matter what we do for work, no matter how many people we have over us or under us, ultimately, we work for God

Maybe your work seems boring, insignificant & ridiculous

• It doesn’t matter• Scripture is clear: “Whatever you do, work at it

with all your heart, as working for the Lord” • All work is good when you do it to the best of

your ability, as if you were working for God himself, because you are

• Your work matters to God• He’s not only interested in your work, he’s

honored when you do it as service to him

Steve Garber, Director of the Washington Institute

• Told of entrepreneur opening a restaurant

• Realized he needed to start thinking theologically about making hamburgers

• Came to believe there is a way to make & sell hamburgers that honors God

Realization affected everything about his restaurant

• What kind of beef would he serve?• Environmental impact of kitchen & trash?• How would menu affect customers’ health? • Who could afford to eat in his restaurant? • What atmosphere for customers & employees? • How would he steward his profits?• Came to realize that every aspect of his work

mattered to God & that it is possible to honor God by making & selling hamburgers

We need to learn to think theologically about our work

• No one in this room who doesn’t work; we all wake up in the morning with a list of things to do

• Not used to thinking theologically about making hamburgers, selling widgets, building houses, crunching numbers or doing laundry

• When you do those things to the best of your ability, as if doing them for God himself, it’s good

• It’s good for the world, good for you, good for the gospel, and good for God

When you come to realize that you work for God, it changes everything• The Office is

dysfunctional– Employees

de-motivated– Inter-office

squabbling– Awkward,

humiliating moments

The reason is Michael, the boss

– Incompetent, indecisive & unreliable

– Hides in office when things go bad

– Calls women “sir” & demeans staff

– Buys self a “World’s Best Boss” mug

Have you ever had a bad boss?

• A good boss can make a lousy job satisfying & a bad boss can make a good job miserable

• When you have a boss you respect, trust & appreciate, you’ll do just about anything he or she asks & you’ll do it to the best of your ability

• That’s why you need to realize that no matter what you do, where you do it, who you do it for or with, ultimately, you work for God

• When you understand that, your daily work becomes an act of worship

No accident that Paul uses worship language in regard to our work

• He uses phrases like, “with reverence for the Lord” & “with all your heart”

• This teaching on daily work & relationships flows out of a passage on worship: – Colossians 3:16-17 NIV Let the word of Christ dwell in

you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (17) And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

“Whatever you do … do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus”

• Worship isn’t just what we do on Sunday– It’s what we do on Monday through Friday– It’s what we do in offices, factories, studios,

classrooms, courtrooms & our own kitchens

• God is honored when we sing with all our hearts & when we work with all our hearts

• Whatever your work looks like, you can turn it into worship, by doing it for God

Some of the best worship songs began as slave songs

• Composed as slaves lifted voices to God

• Reminded selves & masters that real Master is in heaven

• Honored God & turned plantations into sanctuaries

• We do the same thing when we work to the best of our ability, as if we work for God himself

We use the word “vocation” to describe our work

• From Latin word for “calling” • Describes one who feels called to a

particular occupation for which they are suited – teaching, medicine or parenting

• Wonderful to be able to work at something that you feel drawn to & equipped for

• David McCullough: “Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love”

But it doesn’t always work out that way, does it? 

• In the first episode of The Office, Pam tells the camera that when she was a little girl, she didn’t dream of growing up to be a receptionist

• She’d like to illustrate children’s books

We don’t always get to do the work we dreamed of doing, do we?

• May work at a job we don’t feel called to & have a hard time getting excited about

• Professionals come to America unable to work in their field here & have to settle for less satisfying work

• Many find themselves underemployed, working at jobs that don’t utilize their skills

• Maybe for short time; maybe for long haul

Here’s the good news:

• If you’re a Christian, your true vocation is found in Colossians 3:23

• It’s not just ministers who are called

• All are called to honor God by working hard & well, as if doing it for God himself

• Because we are!

You don’t have to be a minister to turn work into worship

• No matter what you do, where you do it, or for whom you do it, you work for God

• When you do it well, it’s good

• Imagine how good it’ll feel tomorrow to …– Wake up knowing you’ll be working for God– Remember in the middle of the working day

that what you’re doing matters to God– Say to God at the end of the day, “I did it for

you, Lord, to the best of my ability”