Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism. (Colossians 3:22-25 NIV)
One of the seven deadly sins is named after an animal. Do you realize that? Which one? Sloth. Do you know much about sloths? The average sloth can travel up to .05 miles an hour. That’s about 5 feet per minute, when they are really booking it. Sloths sleep about 15 hours a day. Sound nice? When a sloth eats a leaf, it takes 30 days to digest it. Maybe that explains why sloths only go to the bathroom once a week. On a typical day, a sloth moves a total of 120 feet.
Here’s the irony, of all the animals God has made, which animal do we human beings often try to mimic? The sloth. That’s why “sloth” or “laziness” made it on the list of the Seven Deadly Sins. Just think of how we human beings think: “I wish I had a day to do nothing. I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to move. I just want more ‘me time.’” Isn’t that how we talk? At least, isn’t that how we think? That’s why we invent things. So we can do less! Our dishwasher broke a couple of weeks ago. For six days, the unthinkable happened: We had to wash our dishes. It was awful! Not washing dishes is so much better. What’s wrong with doing nothing? Like a sloth?
Archeologists have found an ancient legend about the creation of the world. Have you ever heard of Enuma Elish? It comes from ancient Babylonia thousands of years ago. According to the Enuma Elish legend, the gods—led by Marduk—created the whole world. But then the gods realized there was a problem: It was a lot of work to care for the world—way more work than they anticipated. So the gods decided to make a weak creature to do all their work, so that they could rest. Whom did they create? Human beings. People were created to do all the work so that the gods could sit around and do nothing. Maybe that’s why we’d rather be doing nothing too!
Now think of the true story of creation from Genesis in the Bible. Human beings weren’t an afterthought to God. We are the crown of God’s perfect creation. And listen to what Genesis says about work: “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). To God, giving Adam work wasn’t a punishment. It wasn’t a burden. Of course, we’re not talking about “work” as an 8-5 job. We’re talking about “work” as any meaningful act of service. In the perfect Garden of Eden, God gave Adam work to do. Why? According to the Bible, it is a gift from God for human beings to have meaningful work to do.
Compare those two different worldviews: The man-made legend says that work is a burden that the gods make us do. If life were good, we could sit around like the gods and do nothing. The true story from the Bible says that work is a blessing that God gives people to do. In a perfect world, our days would be filled with opportunities to serve God and others. See the difference? Which worldview do you follow? It’s going to define your life. It’s going to define your attitude. Is it good to have meaningful things to do, or would it be better to do nothing at all?
Laziness is dangerous because it seems so innocent, doesn’t it? What could be wrong with doing nothing? It isn’t hurting anybody, right? “I have a right to do nothing if I want to!” How could that be sinful? Because just like Adam, God has given you things to do. God doesn’t give us time so we can waste it. Laziness robs God and others of the service we could give them. Can you see that? “I’m not hurting anybody by doing nothing.” Of course we are! Whom are we hurting? All the people we’re not serving or helping or caring for. I’m guilty of this. The time I waste on my phone is time I’m not encouraging or serving anybody. That “me time” is exactly that. Me time!
That should remind us of something. What’s the deadly sin that makes life all about me? Pride. Huh. And when you sit around thinking about yourself, what often comes into your mind? Envy and anger. Remember those? “Why can’t I have his life? Why can’t I be like her?” Just like all the Seven Deadly Sins, laziness always leads to other sins. Like gluttony. What do we often do when we have nothing to do? Eat or drink. Or lust. King David once stayed home by himself with nothing to do. Remember how that ended up? He committed adultery with Bathsheba. Doing nothing can be one of the deadliest things possible for our souls. Would you agree?
I bet this has happened to you: You’ve finally had a day where you can do what you’ve always wanted to do: Nothing. And so you do nothing. You sleep in. You don’t do any chores. You try not to interact with any other people. You just focus on you. All day. Watching TV. Sleeping. Eating. Doing nothing. At the end of the day, how do you feel? Tired. Lousy. Unfulfilled. Have you noticed that? Nothing never turns out to be as good as it sounds! Know why? You weren’t created to do nothing. Our sinful laziness wastes the precious time God has given us, robs God and our neighbors of the service we can provide them, and leads to other deadly sins. Watch out!
Jesus was different. Jesus is King, right? What attitude did ancient kings have? “I get to do nothing! Everyone serves me. I get to sit on my throne and eat and drink and do nothing!” Being king is a great excuse to be lazy, right? Not Jesus. He didn’t do that. What did he do? Stuff. All the time. He served. He cared. He helped. He taught. All day long. He would take little breaks to pray to his Father. That was his “me time”—time alone with God. Otherwise, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
In Jesus’ life, every single moment mattered. He needed to live a perfect life to save us. How many times can you mess up before you’re not perfect? Just once! So, every moment of Jesus’ life mattered. When he was a boy, he listened to Mary every time. When he was a young man, he said “No!” to every temptation. In his ministry, he used every moment to share God’s message. And then he died on the cross for our sins. Then he rose from the dead for our salvation. Then he ascended into heaven to rule the world for our good. Every single moment of every day, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus makes every moment of your life matter too. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” We belong to Jesus. He bought us with his blood. So, no matter what you are doing, “work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,” because you are! When you’re serving the Lord, no task is too menial or unimportant. When you’re serving the Lord, everything matters. Jesus used every moment of his life to serve us, and he makes every moment of our lives a precious opportunity to serve God and others.
This is an amazing thought from God’s Word: Everything you do is spiritual. The spiritual part of your life is not just Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Everything you do is spiritual. Why? “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Is changing a baby’s diaper a spiritual work? Of course it is! “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Is walking the dog a spiritual work? Of course it is! Is talking to your mom on the phone a spiritual work? Of course it is! “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” When a Christian with a heart of faith lives out that faith, all of life is impacted. There’s meaning and purpose in every activity. “It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
You might object: “But what I do isn’t important! I don’t have an important job. I don’t get paid much. What I do isn’t important!” Hold on! Look at whom Paul is talking to: “Slaves.” “Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” Even if you don’t get paid… Even if you’re at the bottom of the ladder… Even if you’re overlooked and underappreciated… Whatever God has given you to do today, work at it with all your heart, “with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” The world says: “You only matter if you’re making big bucks!” God says: “Everything you do—big and small—matters to me because of Jesus.”
Here’s a verse of the Bible to memorize for every time those lazy thoughts sneak into your heart: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Kids at school: Do your best on every single assignment. Why? Because you are working for the Lord! Play your hardest on the field in every practice and every game. Why? Because you are playing for the Lord! Adults: Care for your children or your parents with all your heart. Do even the most menial, unimportant tasks to the best of your ability. Say, “Yes!” to opportunities to serve. Why? “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” Nothing gives more meaning to life today than God’s Word. Everything you do matters.
It’s cool for me as your pastor to see the things you do. Not to get a reward. Not to be praised. But “with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” Just in the last couple weeks, I’ve talked with people from our church who have helped neuter cats. Or traveled great distances to care for ailing parents. Or used a lot of energy to discipline their young children. Or sewed quilts. Or cooked food for their families. Or cleaned. Or watched their grandchildren. Or cared for stray dogs. Or called someone on the phone to ask how they are doing. Or fed cattle. Or prayed for other people. Do you know which of those are beautiful to God? All of them! Because of Jesus.
Isn’t it a blessing to be used by God? God didn’t make you a sloth. He made you with a purpose. He gave you gifts and abilities that other people need. He created you to live in service to God and others. Instead of thinking, “I wish I didn’t have to do anything today,” pray, “God, use me today. Give me opportunities today to serve others. May whatever I do give you glory.” Every day of your life has so much purpose and meaning, because Jesus gave it to you! So, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
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