serving with goodwill, as to the Lord, and not to men,
Truth to Learn
God gave us His best, so we should give Him our best.
Behind the Words
“serving” is translated from the Greek verb douleuō, which is derived from doulos (a bond servant or slave). Douleuō means “to be subject to and perform service for a master.” The verb is expressed here as a participle in the present tense, indicating continual action in the present.
The word “with” is from the Greek preposition meta, which indicates accompaniment. It is different than the Greek preposition sun, which implies “union with” or “integrated with.” Meta means “in the midst of, among, or along with.”
Eunoia is the Greek word translated “goodwill.” It is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and a form of nous, referring to “the mind and its thoughts or feelings.” Therefore, we see that eunoia literally means “good thoughts” or “good feelings.” In the New Testament, eunoia refers to the actions which result from good thoughts; that is, benevolence or goodwill.
“Lord” is from kurios. We saw in verse five that this refers to “a person who is in a position of authority over you.” When accompanied by the definite article as it is here, it is a reference to “the Lord,” that is to God, who is our Lord and our Master.
Meaning Explained
Paul is in the middle of teaching us how we are to behave at work. Nearly all of us have a boss, and even those of us who work for ourselves recognize that our customers are like a boss. A fortunate few of us have a boss whom we really like, but many of us have a boss that we don’t like or that is difficult to work for.
Paul makes no distinction between good and bad bosses, and Peter, in 1Peter 2:18, says we are to be submissive no matter what kind of boss he or she is. In yesterday’s verse we were instructed regarding how not to do our jobs. We are not to perform our work just to give the appearance that we are doing well, and we are not to do our job just to please someone (like our boss).
On the surface this seems a bit contradictory; if we aren’t selfishly doing our job just for appearance sake and we aren’t doing our job just to please our boss or someone else, then who are we doing it for? Today’s verse gives us the answer. We are to perform our job as if we were working directly for our Lord God.
In Exodus 35:35, Daniel 1:17, and Daniel 9:22, we see that God is the one who bestows abilities on us. Couple this with James 1:17 and we see that any gift, talent, or ability we have is a gift from God. Therefore, we should use the talents He has given us to the best of our ability as before Him and unto Him. And, Paul specifically tells us here that we are to do our jobs with good thoughts and with a servant’s heart.
Application
As God’s children we are also God’s servants (bond slaves). We have been bought with the blood of Christ; He has purchased us and given us specific gifts and abilities. For these reasons, and in gratitude for all that He has done for us, we should perform whatever task we undertake as if we were doing it directly for Him. We need to give Him the best we have. After all, He gave His best for us, didn’t He?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved