January 13th, 2026
by Matthew Spoon
by Matthew Spoon
When Your Workplace Becomes Your Worship Space
The morning alarm sounds. Another workday begins. For many of us, the transition from Sunday worship to Monday work feels jarring—like we're stepping from the sacred into the secular, from the spiritual into the mundane. But what if that division is entirely false? What if the very work we sometimes dread could become an act of worship?
The Revolutionary Message to Ancient Workers
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, he addressed a society built on slavery. The Roman Empire was approximately 50% enslaved people—doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists—all working under masters with complete legal authority over them. This wasn't just an economic system; it was the social fabric itself.
Paul's words in Colossians 3:22-4:1 might initially trouble us. Why would he tell slaves to obey their masters rather than immediately condemn the institution? The answer reveals something profound about lasting change: Paul understood that transformation happens from the inside out, not the outside in.
Christianity was a tiny minority in the vast Roman Empire. There was no political power to leverage, no social movement that could immediately dismantle centuries of institutional slavery. But Paul knew something more powerful than political reform—he knew the gospel changes hearts, and changed hearts eventually change societies.
History proves him right. It was Christianity, as it spread and took root, that eventually dismantled slavery in the Roman Empire. Later, when slavery reemerged in England and America, it was Christians preaching biblical values who led the abolitionist movements. The message that "there is neither slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28) had to take root in hearts before it could transform societies.
Transforming Work from the Inside
What Paul did in his letter was revolutionary in a different way. He couldn't immediately change the empire's structure, but he could transform how Christians operated within it. He essentially converted the master-slave relationship into something resembling an employer-employee relationship—radical for his time.
To workers, he gave four powerful directives that remain relevant today:
Your Compliance: Obey your employers "according to the flesh"—that crucial phrase meaning they have authority over your time and work, but never over your conscience or moral choices. God remains your ultimate authority. No boss can command you to sin or violate your convictions.
Your Contribution: Don't be an "eye servant"—someone who only works when the boss is watching. We've all seen that person who suddenly discovers how to use a broom the moment management appears. Christians are called to integrity that doesn't depend on surveillance. The American Management Association found that workers admit to spending 20% of their time goofing off—essentially giving employers only four productive days per five-day week. Imagine if Christians became known for their genuine contribution, their authentic work ethic that didn't require monitoring.
Your Credibility: Don't be a "men pleaser," someone who butters up the boss while lacking substance behind the scenes. Instead of trying to manipulate your way up the corporate ladder, trust God with your career. First Peter 5:6 promises: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." God's promotion is better than any you can scheme your way into.
Your Complete Self: "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" (Colossians 3:23). That word "heartily" means with your whole soul. Give your all, not because your employer deserves it (they might not), but because you're ultimately working for Christ.
The Employer's Responsibility
Paul didn't let employers off the hook. In a culture where masters had absolute authority over slaves, he made a stunning demand: "Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven" (Colossians 4:1).
This was revolutionary. Masters didn't have to answer to anyone—except now Paul was saying they did. They had to provide fair compensation, create equitable environments, avoid favoritism, and treat people with dignity. Why? Because they too would give an account to their Master.
Jesus modeled servant leadership—leading by serving, shepherding by caring, directing by empowering. The old model put leaders at the top barking orders down the chain. Jesus flipped it, placing leaders at the bottom, serving those they lead. Are you ensuring your employees have what they need to succeed? Are you treating them as you'd want to be treated?
Erasing the Sacred-Secular Divide
Here's the transformative truth: there is no secular. Everything is spiritual. Every moment of your life matters to God. That "boring" job, that difficult customer, that thankless task—it's all an opportunity for worship.
You spend nearly half your waking life at work. Will you waste that time, or will you redeem it as worship? The stay-at-home parent caring for ungrateful children, the retiree serving grandchildren, the volunteer in ministry—whatever you do, do it as if Jesus himself were your boss. Because He is.
Warren Wiersbe wrote: "If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat our job problems as the cost of discipleship."
The Coming Judgment
One day, every person will stand before Christ. For those who've rejected Him, it will be the Great White Throne Judgment—a terrifying accounting for every sin, resulting in eternal separation from God.
But believers face a different judgment—the Bema Seat of Christ. Not for our sins (those were judged at the cross), but for how we lived after salvation. The apostle Paul spoke of crowns stored up in heaven. Revelation shows believers casting their crowns at Jesus' feet in worship.
Everything we did for our own glory—wood, hay, and stubble—will burn away. But everything done for Christ's glory will remain, refined and precious. Every workday you approached as worship, every difficult customer you served with grace, every honest hour when no one was watching—stored up as treasure in heaven.
Your Work Matters
Maybe you don't like your job. Maybe it feels meaningless. But God might be using you there in ways you can't yet see. Perhaps He's preparing you for promotion. Perhaps He's refining your character. Perhaps you're the only Jesus some coworker will ever meet.
Trust that God rewards faithfully. Trust that He sees. Trust that your work, offered to Him, becomes worship.
The question isn't whether your work is spiritual enough. The question is whether you'll make it spiritual by doing it for Christ. When you do, everything changes. The mundane becomes meaningful. The workplace becomes a worship space.
And one day, you'll stand before Jesus with something—even if just a small token—to cast at His feet in gratitude.
The morning alarm sounds. Another workday begins. For many of us, the transition from Sunday worship to Monday work feels jarring—like we're stepping from the sacred into the secular, from the spiritual into the mundane. But what if that division is entirely false? What if the very work we sometimes dread could become an act of worship?
The Revolutionary Message to Ancient Workers
When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, he addressed a society built on slavery. The Roman Empire was approximately 50% enslaved people—doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists—all working under masters with complete legal authority over them. This wasn't just an economic system; it was the social fabric itself.
Paul's words in Colossians 3:22-4:1 might initially trouble us. Why would he tell slaves to obey their masters rather than immediately condemn the institution? The answer reveals something profound about lasting change: Paul understood that transformation happens from the inside out, not the outside in.
Christianity was a tiny minority in the vast Roman Empire. There was no political power to leverage, no social movement that could immediately dismantle centuries of institutional slavery. But Paul knew something more powerful than political reform—he knew the gospel changes hearts, and changed hearts eventually change societies.
History proves him right. It was Christianity, as it spread and took root, that eventually dismantled slavery in the Roman Empire. Later, when slavery reemerged in England and America, it was Christians preaching biblical values who led the abolitionist movements. The message that "there is neither slave nor free, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28) had to take root in hearts before it could transform societies.
Transforming Work from the Inside
What Paul did in his letter was revolutionary in a different way. He couldn't immediately change the empire's structure, but he could transform how Christians operated within it. He essentially converted the master-slave relationship into something resembling an employer-employee relationship—radical for his time.
To workers, he gave four powerful directives that remain relevant today:
Your Compliance: Obey your employers "according to the flesh"—that crucial phrase meaning they have authority over your time and work, but never over your conscience or moral choices. God remains your ultimate authority. No boss can command you to sin or violate your convictions.
Your Contribution: Don't be an "eye servant"—someone who only works when the boss is watching. We've all seen that person who suddenly discovers how to use a broom the moment management appears. Christians are called to integrity that doesn't depend on surveillance. The American Management Association found that workers admit to spending 20% of their time goofing off—essentially giving employers only four productive days per five-day week. Imagine if Christians became known for their genuine contribution, their authentic work ethic that didn't require monitoring.
Your Credibility: Don't be a "men pleaser," someone who butters up the boss while lacking substance behind the scenes. Instead of trying to manipulate your way up the corporate ladder, trust God with your career. First Peter 5:6 promises: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." God's promotion is better than any you can scheme your way into.
Your Complete Self: "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" (Colossians 3:23). That word "heartily" means with your whole soul. Give your all, not because your employer deserves it (they might not), but because you're ultimately working for Christ.
The Employer's Responsibility
Paul didn't let employers off the hook. In a culture where masters had absolute authority over slaves, he made a stunning demand: "Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a master in heaven" (Colossians 4:1).
This was revolutionary. Masters didn't have to answer to anyone—except now Paul was saying they did. They had to provide fair compensation, create equitable environments, avoid favoritism, and treat people with dignity. Why? Because they too would give an account to their Master.
Jesus modeled servant leadership—leading by serving, shepherding by caring, directing by empowering. The old model put leaders at the top barking orders down the chain. Jesus flipped it, placing leaders at the bottom, serving those they lead. Are you ensuring your employees have what they need to succeed? Are you treating them as you'd want to be treated?
Erasing the Sacred-Secular Divide
Here's the transformative truth: there is no secular. Everything is spiritual. Every moment of your life matters to God. That "boring" job, that difficult customer, that thankless task—it's all an opportunity for worship.
You spend nearly half your waking life at work. Will you waste that time, or will you redeem it as worship? The stay-at-home parent caring for ungrateful children, the retiree serving grandchildren, the volunteer in ministry—whatever you do, do it as if Jesus himself were your boss. Because He is.
Warren Wiersbe wrote: "If we could regard our work as an act of worship or service to God, such an attitude would take some of the drudgery and boredom out of it. We could work without complaining or resentment if we would treat our job problems as the cost of discipleship."
The Coming Judgment
One day, every person will stand before Christ. For those who've rejected Him, it will be the Great White Throne Judgment—a terrifying accounting for every sin, resulting in eternal separation from God.
But believers face a different judgment—the Bema Seat of Christ. Not for our sins (those were judged at the cross), but for how we lived after salvation. The apostle Paul spoke of crowns stored up in heaven. Revelation shows believers casting their crowns at Jesus' feet in worship.
Everything we did for our own glory—wood, hay, and stubble—will burn away. But everything done for Christ's glory will remain, refined and precious. Every workday you approached as worship, every difficult customer you served with grace, every honest hour when no one was watching—stored up as treasure in heaven.
Your Work Matters
Maybe you don't like your job. Maybe it feels meaningless. But God might be using you there in ways you can't yet see. Perhaps He's preparing you for promotion. Perhaps He's refining your character. Perhaps you're the only Jesus some coworker will ever meet.
Trust that God rewards faithfully. Trust that He sees. Trust that your work, offered to Him, becomes worship.
The question isn't whether your work is spiritual enough. The question is whether you'll make it spiritual by doing it for Christ. When you do, everything changes. The mundane becomes meaningful. The workplace becomes a worship space.
And one day, you'll stand before Jesus with something—even if just a small token—to cast at His feet in gratitude.
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