m0smithslash's Journal: Work Ethic

EPHESIANS 6:5-8

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
7 With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

As you read that verse, replace servent and master with employee and boss respectively. We, in a very real sense, become temporary servants to our bosses. For 8 hours a day you work doing to bidding of your employer. Once you accept than, then you realize that this verse applies to you in your work life. You should serve your boss as though you were serving the Master, Christ. Would you belittle or gossip about the Saviour? Would you slack on His work? As King Benjamin said, When you are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God. Your boss is your fellow being and how well you perform your labors for him will be measured by the Judge of all.

The law of the harvest applies in the business world as in any other areas of our lives. You sow what you reap in your employment. As it says in verse 8, you will receive the same from God as you give out to your fellow man, even your boss.

I have also been listening to some tapes on how to succeed. One of the main points of emphasis has been the law of cause and effect. That when things happen to you at work, it is related what you caused to happen. If your boss hears of you speaking badly of him or the company, then he will remember that next time layoffs comes. If on the otherhand, the boss sees you working diligently even when no one is looking, he will remember that, too. Remeber, the boss is also an employee/servant to some other boss. When you look good, that makes the boss look good in his superiors eyes. A master/boss values an employee/servant who can be trusted to do his duty and then go the extra mile.

From Benjamin Franklin's Way to Wealth

Work hard today for you do not know how much you may be hindered tomorrow, which makes Poor Richard say that one today is worth two tomorrows. If you were a servant, would you not be ashamed that a good master should catch you idle? Are you not your own master? Then be ashamed to catch yourself idle, as Poor Dick says. When there is so much to be done for yourself, your family and your country, you should be up at the crack of dawn. Let not the sun look down and catch you lying about with nothing to do.