Colossians 3:23. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men.
And after Sunday, the day of rest, peace, relaxation, praise and worship, comes Monday, the first day of the new work week, which for ages has been the nemesis or opponent of millions of workers around the globe. And why is that eh? Who knows? Maybe it’s because we’re just naturally lazy, with a poor work ethic, (smile) and it’s just difficult for us to get back into the swing of things after a couple of days off.
But yuh know what, of all the days of the work week, Monday should be the easiest one for us to handle. Why? Here are a few reasons. First off, you ought to be well rested after two non-working days. Then, if you are a believer in Christ Jesus, you ought to have gone to church on Sunday, or offered up praise and worship, with prayer and thanksgiving by some telecommunication method, and thus received the Lord’s blessings and renewal of confidence and spiritual strength for the new week.
Now, all of that should be nice and fresh on Monday morning. And when you add it the Lord’s new mercies and compassions that He provides for each day, then on Mondays we should be the most amazing workers ever, just ready and rearing to go to work, bright eyed and bushy tailed, with Jesus at the forefront of our lives. But unfortunately, that scenario doesn’t usually occur. Instead, Monday is usually our worst day, where we’re still tired from the weekend activities and work is the last thing we want to hear about or do.
We’re definitely not looking forward to facing another traffic jam, both morning and evening, the road rage and the tiredness, both spiritual and physical that that daily exercise provides. But as they say, if we want to have a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on our tables, then the most logical way to get those things is by working. And furthermore, the best way to get through the hours of work is with a good, Christ-like attitude. (smile)
Now nobody has ever said that was easy, but it is indeed very possible. Yes friends, that’s why Bruh Paul warned the Colossians thus: ‘As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.’ (Col. 2:6) If Jesus is indeed our Lord and Saviour then we ought to walk the way He walked, that’s with a good attitude, sharing LOVE, joy and peace, wherever He went.
Then later on, in that same letter to the Colossians, he spelled it out more precisely. ‘Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart (sincerity) fearing God. 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. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.’ (Col. 3:22-25)
That means we are servants of God first and foremost, and ought to behave as such, although we are reporting to men as our earthly masters, with the necessary rewards accompanying both right and wrong behaviour, since the Lord is no respecter of persons. Now, here are a few explanations from the scholars. ‘3:22. Eyeservice is work done only when the master is watching. Christian slaves (servants) were to work hard even when their owners were absent.’ (And that should be a big warning sign, a major red flag to believers in this day and age, as so many of us now mostly perform eyeservice on our jobs.) Singleness of heart means “a sincere disposition.”
‘3:23. Do it heartily means the slave (servant) is to perform his slave (servant) duties wholeheartedly, doing the best job he can with all his strength.’ Hn! Hn! Now where do we find such a servant nowadays eh – few and far between! ‘A slave (servant) could be enthusiastic in carrying out his menial tasks because they were done, not so much for his earthly master (unto men), but for his heavenly Master (the Lord).’
‘3:24. The reward of the inheritance (or “the reward which is salvation”): The fact that Christian slaves (servants) will receive salvation from the Lord rather than from men verifies the assertion in verse 23 that they serve Christ not their (earthly) masters.’ Sadly though, if we poll the Christians of today, we’ll find that not many of us are behaving like Bruh Paul said we ought to. And please note, he didn’t just say this to the church at Colossae, but also to the church at Ephesus. (Eph. 6:5-9)
So you see, this ought to be a worldwide Christian behaviour, but unfortunately it’s not. No wonder Mondays give us so much trouble. Ah friends, if we call ourselves Christians, followers of Jesus, then it’s imperative that our lifestyles and attitudes reflect His to a much greater degree than we’re currently seeing and showing. As supposed ambassadors and agents of Christ our current behaviour is far from satisfactory.
So please, let’s live what we talk nuh, practice what we preach. If we’re followers of Jesus, then please, please, let’s behave like Him and stop giving Him a bad name that He certainly doesn’t deserve, with our unchristian behaviour. And it all begins with prayer, sincere prayer. So, as one voice let’s offer up prayer through our Monday Morning Battle Hymn.
‘Our Father, who art in heaven, we, Your humble servants, praise Your Holy Name and thank You this Monday morning for life and strong faith in Christ, despite the mass confusion in our world. We desperately need Your divine help, for You are the ONLY ONE with the power to solve our many problems.
Heavenly Father, we admit that we have all sinned and seriously disobeyed Your Word, but we know that You are a merciful, forgiving and gracious God, who has faithfully promised to hear and answer our prayers when we humble ourselves, pray, and sincerely seek Your face. That’s why we come to You now, with sincere repentance in our hearts, pleading with You to give us wise guidance and direction to alleviate our problems.
And Father, we pray that you will ease the pain of the many who are suffering from negative situations. Please show them Your awesome grace and mercy, and keep Your promise that You’ll hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land if we turn from our evil ways. Show this evil world that You are indeed Jehovah Rapha; the God who heals! We pray this in the holy and blessed name of Your Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen! And again, we say: Amen!’
And to receive positive results, our motives and general behaviour have to improve. It’s as simple as that! Much LOVE!
…you can’t talk of Christ…but live for Satan…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8
SCRIP-BITS 