Monday 9 Oct 2017

October 9: Ephesians 6:5-9

Key Verse: Ephesians 6:7
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people,

Devotion:
One of the hardest things to put up with is someone who is working for or with you but refuses to follow any of the rules. Maybe they have personal differences with the people in charge or they continually want things to be run in their own way! There are even programs on television which seem to encourage this sort of behaviour in the interest of business sense! How can it make any sense if it is going against so many people?

This does not just apply to servants and their masters, but in almost every walk in life. There is always someone who is in charge or who takes charge of situations. Working together as a team to fulfil the goals is not only going to get you to the goal quicker, but allow the people to work together and not against each other. It a team sport, we get further when we do work as a team and not by each person trying to prove how good they are by themselves. Working with people in life means we are acting as a team.

But note just how we should be working - “as to the Lord”. God can see right through us and does not accept a bunch of lies that make us look good. He does not accept us working for ourselves as doing something for Him. He wants us to exercise our brotherly love so we will be more aware of the needs of others around us and not focused purely on our own needs. That is just not working as a team!

Our work together has to be genuine. There is no profit in telling others exactly how things should be done if we ourselves are not going to do what we tell others. If we are just giving people what they need to hear but not following through with it, then we are telling them what we say and do are two different things – you're basically telling them not to listen to you! God wants us to work for good and not to teach others to be fools!

Points to Ponder:
Do you listen to people in authority?

Do you really listen to what God has said?