19. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God.

20. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

 

Yesterday I indicated the obvious difference between slaves who have no rights, and employees in USA where all of us have rights. Does the principle of how to handle unjust suffering remain the same for Christians regardless of their status?

     

Passages such as these were used during the slavery days of our nation to keep the slaves down and from organizing against abuses. I am so grateful that our present-day economy is different.  This passage doesn't speak to the morality of slavery, but it does to the way people should let their faith affect their responsibilities. The message is, “Do Right.”

 

I like the quote-"The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway." Some slaves were beaten for doing wrong. That makes sense, but some were beaten for doing right. The Bible says God will honor that. As Christians we are to live to glorify God even in the way we do our employment.  We are to not be lazy, disobedient, stealing, or disrespectful and there may come times when we will be rebuked for living up to our convictions at work.

 

Joseph was a slave who was wrongly treated for doing what was right.  God used him as an example of faithfulness. There are times when doing right results in some suffering. That is what is commendable. There are people willing to suffer unjustly for the cause of righteousness.  There are people who sought to free the slaves and faced the consequences. There are people who housed the Jews in Germany during the War. There are people who serve God in the ghetto and have their places vandalized or have their safety compromised.

     

The word that Scripture gives is, take delight that God will reward and avenge. The satisfaction we are to receive is doing a good job, not how much money you make or what type of status the job gives you.  Many people, especially men, determine their own self-worth by the nature of their work.  Unless their job has an exalted title and a large salary, they see themselves as worthless.

     

One of the first things we ask when meeting someone new is "What is it you do?" But the answer seldom reveals very much about the person doing that job.  How about answering that question by saying, "I am a slave of Jesus Christ, but 3M pays me a salary, so I serve God there."

             

As followers of Jesus Christ, the purpose of work is to glorify God.  We are to treat our work as if we are working for God, not money, or power, or material things, but ultimately God made us all for work.  In some of that work we may get re-numeration, but whether we work at home or are self-employed or under an employer, we are doing business for God in our everyday work a day world. Life is to be lived with an acute awareness of God.

             

Peter also addressed the problem of Christian slaves who did wrong. It was common for workers to slack off and not work hard. It was the temptation then and now to give as little work as possible. So many masters and employers were hard on employees. For the employer or master who sees that the employee is trying his hardest and is working to do a good job, he most likely will be rewarded. They don't want to lose a hard careful worker.

             

But because you work for the Lord do not forget who is paying your wages. One does not make a good testimony for Christ when he or she is not doing what he or she has agreed to be paid for. God has salary and benefits that far outweigh our paychecks.

 

What is the purpose of our work? To glorify the Lord on inside as well as on the outside.