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. – Colossians 3:23-24

Behind the Book

Paul wrote Colossians, most likely while he was in prison in Rome, before he got the opportunity to visit the city of Colossae. Paul was writing to them to call out heretical teachers who had infiltrated the Colossian church. In Chapter 2, Paul reminded the people that they no longer “belong to the world,” but they are to live in intimate union with Christ, and this chapter contains his advice on how he wants the Colossians to live.

Faith and Work Application

At its core, this verse is truly telling us the importance of integrating our faith into our work. Striving for excellence in our work reflects our commitment to honoring the gifts and talents that God has blessed us with. It allows us to maximize our potential and contribute our best to the world.

To work “with all your heart” suggests not just fulfilling our duties but doing so with passion, commitment, and a pursuit of the best possible outcome. The notion of working “for the Lord” elevates our actions, making them acts of worship, demanding a level of excellence worthy of honoring Him.

When people can easily observe that you have purpose in your work, they can become curious. They might think, ‘how do I find more purpose in my work, too?’ When you find purpose in your work, you work with excellence. And when you work with excellence, you’re working for the Lord, no matter your job.

The quality of our work is naturally tied to our reputation. Putting our hearts into our work, treating our coworkers with love, having integrity, and giving ourselves space to grow in our skills and time to rest are all signs of excellence.

“Working with all of our heart” applies to each and every area of our work. That means our relationships with our coworkers, our mindset and motivation, our work-life balance, how we seek to improve our skills, the list goes on. Our reputations, the way others understand and view us, need to reflect Christ in every area. It will be a constant battle where certain areas may thrive during specific times in our lives and other areas sink. We have to stay intentional to always be reflecting with ourselves on where we’re at and if we are looking to God to guide us through everything.

We are meant to serve the Lord in all that we do. When we integrate our faith and work, we can find purpose, joy, and fulfillment in our professional lives, transcending the ordinary and striving for the extraordinary.

Reflect

Choose one area of your work to dissect. It could be your relationships, skill-set, work-life balance, etc. What small steps could you take to improve that area to better reflect God? You could start short 1:1 meetings with your coworkers to more intentionally ask how they are doing. Or look up courses on a skill you’d like to improve. Or plan a trip to actually use your PTO so you can focus on rest and family time. Carve out time each week or month to reflect on a different area in your work and make a simple plan to improve it.

Focused Prayer

Help me, Lord, to approach my work with a heart set on serving you. Give me the strength to work diligently, seek excellence, and allow you to guide me in my work. May my actions and efforts be a testimony to your grace and love in this world. Amen.