Imagine your CEO showed up at your desk tomorrow in a bad wig and a fake beard, sat down right beside you, and watched how you actually work when you think nobody important is paying attention. Would anything change?
That’s the picture Mike Eells paints in this Colossians 3:22 sermon at Atlantic Gospel Chapel. And here’s the twist: for the Christian, the Boss really is always in the room. He just isn’t wearing a disguise we can see. Once that truth sinks in, it changes everything about Monday morning.
Christianity Isn’t Just for Sundays
Let’s start with the big idea, because it reframes the whole conversation. Christianity isn’t just for Sundays. It’s for Mondays. It’s for the workplace, the home, and the mundane stuff nobody claps for.
Most of us have quietly built a wall in our lives. On one side is the “sacred” part: church, prayer, worship, the good Sunday version of us. On the other side is the “secular” part: the job, the commute, the laundry, the version of us that shows up when the pressure is on. We act like we’re allowed to be two different people.
The gospel tears that wall down. If Jesus is Lord and you’re a new creation in Him, there is no off-the-clock. All of life is worship.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Here’s a sobering bit of math from the sermon. If the average Western person lives to 70, they’ll spend roughly 20 years of their life at work. Twenty years. That’s a third of your waking hours, year after year.
So the question isn’t whether work matters to your faith. It’s whether you’ve ever let your faith touch your work at all. And before you tap out thinking “I’m retired” or “I’m not in the workforce yet,” remember: this applies to anyone who serves, volunteers, parents, helps a neighbor, or steps up at church. If you’re doing anything for anyone, this is for you.
Christ’s Preeminence in Colossians: The Foundation
You can’t understand the workplace section of Colossians without first understanding why Paul wrote the book. Christ’s preeminence in Colossians is the engine that drives the whole letter.
False teachers had slipped into the church at Colossae, quietly devaluing Jesus. Their pitch was “Jesus plus.” Jesus plus our secret knowledge. Jesus plus our rules. Jesus plus something extra you’re missing. Paul’s response was blunt: stay rooted, don’t be moved. In Christ you already have everything. All the fullness of God lives in Him, and in Him you’ve been made complete.
Warren Wiersbe breaks the book down into three simple D-words:
Doctrine, Danger, and Duty
- Chapter 1 is doctrine. Christ’s preeminence is declared. He’s Lord over all creation and Lord over the church.
- Chapter 2 is danger. Christ’s preeminence is defended against empty philosophy and man-made religion.
- Chapters 3–4 are duty. Christ’s preeminence is demonstrated in everyday life.
In other words, what you believe about Jesus should reshape how you live, right down to how you do your job. Orthodoxy (right belief) should lead to orthopraxy (right practice). That’s the bridge from Sunday to Monday.
How the Gospel Transforms the Workplace
So how does the gospel transform the workplace in practical terms? Paul splits it into two roles: the worker and the manager. Let’s walk through both.
A quick, honest note first. Paul is writing to slaves and masters in the first century, and that’s not a clean one-to-one match with modern employers and employees. Workers today have rights, laws, and protections that ancient slaves never dreamed of. But underneath the cultural difference is a timeless principle that still hits home: all of our work and service is working as unto the Lord, not ultimately for people.
For the Worker: Work Like You’re Working for the Lord
Look at the heart of the passage in verse 23:
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, ESV)
What Does Colossians 3:23 Mean?
If you’ve ever wondered what Colossians 3:23 means in plain English, here it is: do your work with your whole heart, as if you’re handing it directly to Jesus, because in a real sense you are. Paul stacks up a few clarifications around this idea:
- Obey in everything, not just when the boss is watching. This kills the “eye service” habit, that thing we all do where we hustle when the manager walks by and coast when they leave. If the ultimate Boss is always present, there’s no point in performing only for the people who can fire you.
- Don’t be a people-pleaser, be a God-pleaser. Working to curry favor, score a raise, or win applause keeps your motives shallow. Working for the Lord lifts your eyes higher.
- Serve with sincerity, out of reverence for the Lord. Not for the show. Not with mixed motives. With a single-hearted desire to do your best.
This is the real Christian motivation for work. It’s not fear of getting caught, and it’s not chasing the next promotion. It’s a genuine, grateful desire to please your Father.
Working for the Lord, Not for Men
Here’s where it gets freeing. When you’re working for the Lord, not for men, a bad boss loses a lot of his power over you. If your great work goes unnoticed, if your raise never comes, if you get taken for granted, it stings, but it doesn’t crush you. Why? Because you weren’t working for that applause anyway. You’re working for the King, and He sees all of it.
That’s a massive weight off your shoulders. You no longer have to manufacture recognition or stew in resentment when you don’t get it.
Does God See My Unnoticed Work?
This is the question that quietly haunts a lot of faithful people. Does God see my unnoticed work? The exhausted parent doing dishes again. The employee whose best ideas get credited to someone else. The volunteer nobody thanks.
Mike shares a beautiful story to answer it. A worn-out mom received a coffee-table book about the great cathedrals of Europe. Odd gift, until she read her friend’s note: even when no one else notices, remember that He does. Flipping through the book, she found that under photo after photo of these breathtaking buildings was the same caption: builder unknown, builder unknown, builder unknown.
Generations of craftsmen poured their lives into cathedrals they’d never see finished, on buildings that would never bear their names. One artisan was carving a dove high up in the rafters where no one would ever lay eyes on it. A worker below shouted up, “Why spend so much time on something no one will ever see?” His answer says it all: “Because God sees.”
That’s the cure for our self-centeredness. The mom in the story put it perfectly: her invisibility wasn’t a disease erasing her life. It was actually the antidote to her pride, a reminder of why she serves and whom she serves.
Serving God in Everyday Life: Your Eternal Inheritance
Here’s another motivation that changes the game. Paul says you’ll receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward.
Now sit with how stunning that would have sounded to a first-century slave. Inheritances were for legitimate heirs of a household. Slaves had little hope of freedom, fair wages, or anything passed down to them. And yet Paul says it plainly: in Christ, every believer is an heir. Slave or master, no distinctions, all standing on equal footing at the foot of the cross.
This is the eternal inheritance for believers, and it can’t be defiled or destroyed. It’s death-proof and sin-proof, kept safe in heaven, waiting for you at the finish line. As Galatians 4:7 puts it, you’re no longer a slave but a child of God, and since you’re His child, you’re also an heir.
J.I. Packer captured the wonder of it: it’s a great thing to be justified by God the Judge, but an even more remarkable thing to be called child and heir by God the Father.
So when you take the long view, you can get through hard days and rotten bosses. The best is yet to come. That’s not wishful thinking. That’s certain hope. This is what serving God in everyday life is really about: small, faithful acts done with eternity in view.
For the Manager: You Have a Boss Too
Paul doesn’t let leaders off the hook. Chapter 4, verse 1 turns to masters (and by extension, anyone with authority over others):
“Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.” (Colossians 4:1, ESV)
If you manage people, your authority is a stewardship, not a license. You answer to a Master too. So no mismanagement, no taking advantage, no treating people as tools. You lead the way you’d want to be led, because Someone is watching how you lead.
The Bema: Why Accountability Is Good News
Paul ends this section with a note of accountability: anyone who does wrong will be paid back, and there’s no partiality with God. He plays no favorites.
This points us to what the New Testament calls the Bema, the judgment seat of Christ. Don’t confuse it with the great white throne. This isn’t your salvation hanging in the balance. As 2 Corinthians 5:10 explains, it’s the place where a believer’s stewardship and service are examined, and we receive what’s due for what we’ve done in the body, whether good or bad.
That’s strangely motivating. It means your work has eternal weight. It means the unfair boss who never gave you justice isn’t the final word, because God is just and He will sort it all out. That frees you to stop keeping score, let go of the need for revenge, and simply do your very best, unconditionally, as unto the Lord.
Bringing It Home: A Biblical View of Work and Vocation
So what’s the takeaway? This whole passage hands us a fresh biblical view of work and vocation built on two simple checkpoints.
- Check the manner of your work. Are you giving it your whole heart, or just performing when someone’s watching?
- Check the motivation behind your work. Are you doing it to impress people, or to please your Father out of gratitude for the gospel?
When you remember that Jesus is supreme, that you’re a new creation in Him, and that the ultimate Boss is always present, glorifying God in your job stops being a Sunday-school cliché and becomes a daily, doable reality. Your invisible work isn’t wasted. Your difficult boss isn’t your final judge. Your reward is guarded and guaranteed.
Christianity isn’t just for Sundays. It’s for Mondays too. So go to work tomorrow and do it all for an audience of One.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Colossians 3:23 mean?
It means to do your work wholeheartedly, as if you’re working directly for Jesus rather than for human approval. Your effort and attitude are ultimately an act of worship offered to the Lord, who sees everything you do.
How does the gospel transform the workplace?
The gospel tears down the wall between “sacred” and “secular” life. Because Christ is Lord over all of life, your job becomes a place of worship. It reshapes your motives (pleasing God, not people), frees you from resentment toward unfair treatment, and gives your work eternal significance.
Does God really see my unnoticed work?
Yes. One of the central truths of this passage is that nothing done for the Lord is wasted, even when no human notices. Like the unknown cathedral builders who carved beauty where no one would see it, your faithful, hidden work matters because God sees it and rewards it.
What is the Bema, the judgment seat of Christ?
The Bema is where believers will have their stewardship and service examined by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10). It’s not about whether you’re saved, but about evaluating how faithfully you served. It’s a powerful motivation to work and live for God’s glory.
This post is based on a sermon preached by Mike Eells at Atlantic Gospel Chapel, an evangelical church in Atlantic, Iowa, committed to expository Bible teaching and faithful gospel proclamation.
