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BASIC INSIGHTS
Man Up
Session 1—In My Life
The following information is to help you get students thinking about the question: Why should I care about
personal responsibility? and to drive home this one truth: You are responsible for more than yourself.
INTRODUCE THE TOPIC
My wife and I live in the Philippines, where we experience 15-20 typhoons each year. During our first year,
we noticed that the weather reports would announce when a new storm was entering “PAR.” My wife and I
began to feel sorry for that storm-consumed area. We had no idea where PAR was located, but we knew we
wouldn’t want to live there. Eventually, we asked someone to tell us where PAR was located. The individual
had a look on their face that hinted confusion. So we said, “You know, PAR; where all the storms come.” The
man laughed out loud. “PAR,” he informed us, “is an acronym for Philippine Area of Responsibility.” That
made more sense.
What is your personal area of responsibility?
Throughout these Bible studies, we will examine four PARs in our lives: personal responsibility; familial responsibility; church responsibility; and responsibility in our relationship with Christ.
POINTS TO FOCUS ON
A. You serve the Lord.
22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, in order
to please men, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as
something done for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance
from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. (Col. 3:22-24)
We spend about half of our waking hours at work, which makes it a good place to begin the discussion of
personal responsibility. Though we sometimes consider work burdensome, we should remember that we
were created to work. God assigned Adam and Eve, the first humans, a great task: tending to the garden.
We should also note that the first story of God in the Bible finds Him at work. He is in the process of creating all things. The creation story tells us that God made humankind in His own image (Gen. 1:26). What if
we considered our work a gift from God? Better yet, what if work was viewed as God’s reflection in us?
Would that change our attitudes about work?
With that in mind, let’s examine four exhortations about work, as found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.
Work with integrity (not just while the boss is watching).
The first word in the passage—slave—might be offensive to us. Slavery is a hot issue today. Our U.S.
history includes a terrible chapter in which millions of Africans, and other foreigners, were under the oppression of slavery. We’d like to distance ourselves from that era. Today, there are many organizations
that passionately desire to end modern versions of slavery—human trafficking, for example. The word
puts a nasty taste in our mouths.
In Paul’s day, slaves were common and represented a large workforce. They were bondmen (and women), belonging to an owner, having no ownership rights of their own, and sometimes bound for a lifetime
to their owner. Paul also used the word slave to identify Christians as those who willingly live under
Christ’s authority (Rom. 1:1).
Since he explicitly names “human masters,” it is safe to say that Paul was addressing people in the
church who were literal slaves. Why would Paul exhort slaves about work? Did they really have a choice?
Weren’t they under obligation? Yes, they were under obligation, but notice that Paul placed a new dimension of spiritual integrity on their work. This responsibility crosses time, context, and culture. Whether a
first-century slave or an employee today at the gas station, we need the kind of spiritual integrity that Paul
explained.
The first evidence of integrity—or what we might label as godly work ethic—is our obedience. We are to
obey in everything and in every occasion. The slave (or employee) must do what the master (employer)
demands. Partial obedience is not really obedience at all. This does not give an employer the authority to
force a worker to do anything criminal, immoral, or religiously compromising. Our work ethic also includes
how we work when the boss is not watching. A small business owner shared a couple of ways she has
seen a lack of integrity in her employees.
Text messaging: If a person sends text messages for a total of five minutes a day, that adds up to 25
minutes per week and 1,300 minutes per year. Even at a modest pay wage of $10 an hour, this small
amount of text messaging on the job is equivalent to stealing more than $200 from the employer.
Wasting time: The same business owner observed that it sometimes takes 30 minutes each morning for
her employees to get settled in to their work (making coffee, chatting with other employees about the previous night, etc.) That adds up to 7,800 hours per year or $1,300 stolen in time wasted (at the same rate
as above). All the while, the boss was watching. Imagine what happens behind her back.
If we have integrity, we will work as if the boss’s eyes are always on us. “Men-pleasers” are the people
who give both “lip-service” and “eye-service” to their work. Their motive is to please people—or at least
give an impression of hard work. Working with integrity is not about giving impressions; it’s about fully
completing a hard day’s work.
Work wholeheartedly.
Next, Paul exhorted his readers to work wholeheartedly. Single-mindedness is the concept behind this
word. It implores us to have our minds set on the required work, with the priority of getting the job done.
(We often have our minds on many things other than our work.)
We do our work with an internal motivation to worship God. Let’s not forget that God sees and knows all
things. He knows whether or not we have integrity at work. The boss may not be present, but God is always present. We work with the knowledge that God’s eyes are on us. Our work is important to God; we
are accountable to God, as well as our employer. This means that, out of a reverential awe and faithfulness to God, the slave (employee) will not waste the master’s time, embezzle his goods, or squander his
substance. With a view of bringing glory to God, we will be diligent, faithful, sincere, obedient, and trustworthy.
Work with enthusiasm.
“Whatever you do” connects to the previous verse, and so it applies to all workers. Doing the work “enthusiastically” describes work that is done from the heart, with delight, interest, and affection. Especially,
the employer’s interest is at heart. The English word enthusiasm is derived from a Latin word meaning,
inspired from god (Merriam-Webster, 2005)1. Imagine the difference it would make if we consciously
worked inspired and possessed by God.
1
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 2005).
Work to please the Lord.
In Paul’s day, slaves had no land or property. They received no more than the bare necessities from their
masters. Yet, Paul promised that slaves who were faithful to God are promised an inheritance. While
working, the slaves would observe their master’s children. They knew their master’s offspring would receive an inheritance, thus keeping them from the kind of toil the servants did every day. It must have
been encouraging for the slaves to hear of an inheritance waiting for them, as well.
God takes care of us today. While we receive a salary and benefits from our employers, God is the One
who provides for us. Our work ethic is as much for the Lord as it is for our employer. It’s also important
to remember that the reward Paul mentioned is spiritual in nature, not earthly. This is not to say that God
will not reward the faithful worker with earthly rewards; God can and does reward us that way. All earthly
rewards, however, will eventually turn to dust. The spiritual inheritance that God gives us never decays. It
is eternal.
We observe that the character and demeanor of the master/employer is never mentioned in this passage.
Even in the face of poor working environments, the God-fearing employee maintains his character and
integrity.
B. You are trusted with much.
42 The Lord said: “Who then is the faithful and sensible manager his master will put in charge of his
household servants to give them their allotted food at the proper time? 43 That slave whose master finds
him working when he comes will be rewarded. 44 I tell you the truth: He will put him in charge of all his
possessions. 45 But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat
the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 that slave’s master will come on a day
he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a
place with the unbelievers. 47 And that slave who knew his master’s will and didn’t prepare himself or do
it will be severely beaten. 48 But the one who did not know and did things deserving of blows will be beaten lightly. Much will be required of everyone who has been given much. And even more will be expected
of the one who has been entrusted with more. (Luke 12:42-48)
Jesus introduced the teaching in this passage with a question: “Who then is the faithful and sensible
manager…?” Within the question, we see the duties of such a household manager. This person provided
all the members of the family with food and clothing. Depending on the size of the household, this would
have been a demanding responsibility. The question also reveals the necessary characteristics of the
good household manager.
“At the proper time” describes the wisdom and faithfulness required to ensure that everyone (including the
family and servants) was properly fed and clothed. Wisdom employs the skills of knowledge, discernment,
and discretion (observed in the phrase sensible manager). Faithfulness is expressed by dependability,
devotion, and loyalty.
Jesus answered His own question. The faithful and sensible manager is one whom the master finds working. This is similar to Paul’s teaching in Colossians. The master of the household could not be expected
to make sure they completed all of their tasks. There were times when the master left the household to
pursue business or take care of other matters. When he returned to the household, he expected to find
his servants, especially the household manager, to be on task. This speaks both of trust and accountability. There are great rewards for faithfulness and obedience. Why would a slave be rewarded for meeting
their requirements? This reflects God’s nature to reward faithfulness. The master was not obliged to reward the servant; he did so out of gratitude and a desire to promote faithfulness in his household. Verse
44 describes the reward: an advancement to a higher post; that is, he will be given charge of all the master’s possessions. This, of course, brings greater responsibility.
So what is Jesus teaching us here? How do we apply this to our lives? Faithfulness, obedience, and wisdom are to be the character of His disciples. It is what Jesus expects of us; we have been given a trust.
We are stewards of the gospel, His grace, and His mercy. It is our responsibility to share these things.
The picture of a master leaving and returning can be projected to a spiritual relationship, as well. Jesus is
not physically present, but He will return. A wise steward will be faithfully at work when Jesus returns. Like
the passage in Colossians, we are taught that we receive an eternal reward for our faithful obedience.
Verse 45 reveals the ugliness of the fallen, human heart. In our sinful state, we look for opportunities to
escape responsibility and to selfishly rebel against the master of the house. We foolishly imagine that we
have been left on our own to behave as we see fit, even hurting and oppressing others to feed our indulgences. We ignore the inevitable—that the master will eventually return. As one commentary puts it, while
the master is away, we “throw off the role of servant and play the master.”2 Note, however, that this evil
servant’s role-playing is not an accurate depiction of the good and loving master. Instead, he mistreats
the other servants. The implication is equally foolish: he thinks that he can simply return to fidelity when
the master returns.
One could argue whether this slave is a genuine disciple. At least, this verse should make us carefully
consider our attitude and behavior in light of our freedom in Christ, who has, for a while, left the Kingdom
in our hands.
Verse 46 begins with a sober warning: the master will return. And he is not bound to tell us when. The
master is free to travel and return as he sees fit. He is under no requirement to communicate his intentions. Verse 44 spoke of reward for the servant who is faithfully obedient when the master returns. Verse
46 shows us the picture of the opposite.
The punishment seems, to us, bloody and cruel: the master will cut him to pieces. And he will receive the
same reward as other unfaithful stewards. What do we make of this? The evil servant represents those
who wear masks of faith. They are hypocrites, calling themselves “servants,” but they do not deserve that
title. The genuine servant would never behave in such scandalous ways. In the end, there are some who
will prove that they are not genuine disciples.
Verse 47 distinguishes between false disciples and those who are genuine, yet choose to live in disobedience to the master. They receive “many stripes” (severally beaten). These knew the master’s commands and instructions, yet they intentionally disobeyed. This shows that we are not only responsible for
keeping away from evil, but also for doing what we know is the will of God. James 4:17 comes to mind:
“So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it.”
The evil slaves also failed to prepare themselves for obedience. How do we prepare ourselves for obedience? Some would say that there is no disposition in the “natural man” to obey God, whether for preparation or readiness. It has been said that only through the indwelling Spirit are Christians able to obey God.
Jesus teaches that His followers are ready to obey whatever the Lord reveals they are to do. We make
ready for obedience by surrendering our will to God. We use our knowledge, intellect, intuition, and creativity to plan for obedience. We take our knowledge and decide to obey. We are always looking for opportunities to obey God.
In verse 48, Jesus continued to emphasize responsibility to obedience by pointing out that even those
who know little are still accountable, though their punishment is less than those with a heavier stewardship. We can infer that there is a responsibility to know God’s will and do it. Ignorance is no excuse. This
is one way we prepare for obedience—by knowing God’s will. The more understanding a person has, the
more is required. God’s accountability is equal and just. We are accountable for the stewardship we have
been entrusted with. No more, but no less.
C. You are held to a higher standard.
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Rom. 14:12)
This statement concludes a section on Christian liberty. Paul challenged Roman Christians to avoid need2
Robert Jamieson, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary (Zondervan, 1999).
less arguments, to consider the impact of our actions on other believers, and to maintain the perspective
that all believers belong to the Lord. As belonging to the Lord, we do not live for ourselves, but for Jesus.
We live for Him. We die to Him. As such, our liberty is more of an obligation than it is a privilege. Paul
summed up the passage by reminding the Romans that we will all give an account to God for the life we
lived. This fact should compel us to live godly, humble, and sober lives.
This high standard of accountability is described in two ways:
1. Each one of us…of himself
The force of this statement reminds us that we must avoid a critical spirit; we are not judges. We are accountable to the Judge. We will face God one-by-one, not in mass. Accountability is highly personal.
2. Give an account
We are accountable to God for our lives. This is difficult for some people to face. In our post-modern
world, accountability is not a highly valued discipline. In fact, the mindset of this age claims that most
things are relative, including morality and truth: Whatever is moral, right, and true for me is based off a
personal decision. I am not accountable to anyone but myself. Romans 14:12—and many other Scriptures—teach us otherwise. Every person will face God and give an account.
It is our character and conduct that will be assessed, since we already have been redeemed. The lost will
be judged according to their sin, we according to our character and conduct: whether or not they reflect
Christ. Christ will be the standard by which we give an account. Daily examination of our lives is crucial in
light of this standard.
KNOWN Insights is published quarterly by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Item Number
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