Christ in Your Daily Work

Serve Christ where you are.

In Ephesians 6:5–9, the apostle Paul speaks to servants and masters about how to live under the lordship of Christ in a relationship marked by inequality. It is a heavy passage because it addresses slavery, but it is also a surprising one: it places Christ as the impartial Judge over both sides, and it reshapes motivation, dignity, and responsibility.

This is not an attempt to romanticize injustice, nor to force a simplistic equation like “slaves = employees” and “masters = bosses.” The point goes deeper. Christ is Lord over all things, and that means work—whatever form it takes—can become a real place to serve him.

Historical context: what was slavery in Ephesus?

Before jumping straight into modern application, it helps to understand why Paul’s words were so countercultural.

When many people hear the word slavery, they immediately think of modern race-based slavery in the United States: brutal, lifelong, and rooted in racial oppression. The Roman world was different in important ways.

In Paul’s day, slavery was not primarily racial and it was not always lifelong. It could involve manual labor, but it could also include skilled and administrative work. Conditions varied greatly depending on the character of the master.

What is most striking is the church setting itself. As this letter was read aloud, both servants and masters would have been present—hearing the same Word, worshiping the same Lord, and being called to live by the same gospel.

What did this mean for servants? (Ephesians 6:5–8)

Paul begins with servants. The core instruction is simple and radical: do your work “as to Christ.” That does not minimize hardship, but it does re-center the heart. The earthly master is no longer ultimate, because Christ becomes the true Master.

Paul describes four ways this kind of work honors God.

Work with reverence

Paul speaks of obedience “with fear and trembling.” The idea is reverence and seriousness. Work is not treated casually or cynically. It is approached with respect because it is done under authority.

Work wholeheartedly

Paul repeats the language of the heart: sincerity of heart and doing God’s will “from the heart.” This confronts hypocrisy.

A real temptation is to work only when being watched—doing just enough to be seen. But work done for the Lord is done faithfully even when no one is looking.

Work willingly

Paul says, “serve with a good will.” This is not forced optimism or denial of exhaustion. It is a refusal to live from constant complaint.

When Christ is seen as the true Boss, something changes: the heart can begin to experience freedom—freedom from bitterness, freedom from living in survival mode, freedom from dragging through the day as if the goal were merely to endure.

Work with hope of reward

The ultimate reward does not come from the earthly master. Paul reminds servants that the Lord will reward “whatever good” anyone does, whether servant or free.

That reframes the entire horizon. Faithfulness is not wasted. Even when it goes unnoticed on earth, it does not disappear.

What did this mean for masters? (Ephesians 6:9)

This verse is explosive in its context. The gospel does not only confront the servant’s heart. It confronts the master’s heart as well.

Paul’s words, “do the same,” demand a kind of reciprocity the Roman world did not expect: treating servants with integrity, respect, and gentleness—as though one were dealing with Christ.

Then Paul draws a clear boundary around abuse: “stop your threatening.” Intimidation may produce quick compliance, but it does not produce leadership that honors God.

Underneath everything is this sober truth: the master is not the highest authority. There is a Lord over all, and that Lord judges with justice.

And Paul closes with a truth that collapses every fantasy of superiority: God shows no partiality. Roles may differ, but human value does not.

What does this have to do with us?

This passage is not a license to excuse injustice or ignore harm. But it does call believers to a different way of seeing work and people.

Work is a gift from God

Not every job feels the same. Some work is desired, and some work is avoided. Yet the passage pushes deeper: work itself is a gift, and it can become a real place to serve Christ.

That is why a believer’s motivation cannot be reduced to “the next paycheck.” Gratitude for pay is good, but it cannot be ultimate. There is a greater reason: to please the Lord, even when the work feels small, repetitive, or overlooked.

It also helps to remember an emphasis recovered in the Protestant Reformation: there is no true line between “secular” and “sacred” as if only certain callings honor God. Every vocation can be lived under the lordship of Christ.

If you work: serve Christ in your work

The most direct application is this: when you work, work for Christ.

Seeing Christ as Boss brings real freedom. It frees you from living out of complaint. It frees you from doing the bare minimum “while people are watching.” It frees you from building your identity on the approval of an earthly supervisor.

It also exposes the heart. Some workplaces bring out impatience, resentment, and exhaustion. But even there, a door opens: those realities can be brought to Christ for transformation.

A worker shaped by the gospel becomes a visible light. Good conduct does not save anyone, but it can open doors for meaningful conversations about the gospel.

If you lead: serve Christ in your leadership

This passage is not only for those under authority. It also speaks to those who lead.

If you carry responsibility for others, Ephesians 6:9 leaves no room for leadership built on intimidation. It calls for reciprocity: treating people the way you would want to be treated. It calls for cutting off hostility: refusing threats, even the kind that hide behind “comments” but land as pressure.

And beneath it all is this warning: leaders will give an account. Leadership is hard, yes, but the passage re-centers the heart. No one is “more” because they stand higher on an organizational ladder. Roles change. Value does not.

This passage also reshapes what we value

At the center of the passage is the question: Who is Christ to you?

It would be incoherent to call someone to honor God at work if Christ is not supreme in their life. But when Christ is supreme, these commands stop feeling like outdated advice and become a practical path for faithful living.

And for anyone who does not know Christ, the final invitation is clear: receive the supreme Master who became the servant of all. Jesus did not come to crush, but to serve; not to demand from far away, but to give his life for sinners and to free people from slavery to sin.

Conclusion

Wherever God has placed you, the call is the same: serve Christ where you are.

Work can be heavy, frustrating, or deeply fulfilling. But it is never “just work.” It is a place where your loves are revealed, your identity is tested, and your worship is expressed.

When Christ becomes the true Boss, the heart can work with reverence, integrity, good will, and hope. And when Christ becomes the true Lord, the way you see others changes too—without partiality, without value hierarchies, treating every person with dignity.