The One Who Has a Master

Last Sunday, in The House (வீடு), we stood with Eli, who heard everything his sons were doing and never restrained them, and with Samuel, who knew it all and then watched his own sons go the same way (1 Samuel 3:13). The chain breaks where somebody decides it breaks. This week the same question of accountability leaves the home and walks into the workplace, the field, the shop and the office.

The week behind us gave the church a picture of it. On 4 September the congregation kept the twelfth anniversary of the church's dedication, and almost everyone had a hand in it. Some carried heavy speakers up and tied them high, set out chairs and tables, cleaned and decorated; some stayed until half past midnight and were back at dawn; a few older women sat for hours afterwards scrubbing the huge cooking vessels; others arranged the cooks so that lunch was served at 12:30 as planned, when experienced ministers had warned it would surely slip to 1:30. The money given was enough to cover the day with something left over. God gave the plans, and God gave His people one mind to carry them out, and that is why it went well. There were a few small slips. Nobody had been assigned to serve the visiting ministers their food, and a handful of people sat down to eat before the guests did. It was a 95-mark day, and next time we go after the other five. The lesson of it is simple: doing a job and doing it as the one responsible for it are different things. The responsible person does not keep glancing at the clock and asking whether he has done enough. He stays until the work is finished.

"Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." - Colossians 4:1 (NKJV)

"எஜமான்களே, உங்களுக்கும் பரலோகத்தில் எஜமான் இருக்கிறாரென்று அறிந்து, வேலைக்காரருக்கு நீதியும் செவ்வையுமானதைச் செய்யுங்கள்." - கொலோசெயர் 4:1 (TAOVBSI)

Paul writes to workers and to owners sitting in the same room, and he refuses to let either of them off.

Who Do You Work For? (நீ யாருக்காக வேலை செய்கிறாய்?)

Who here has a master? Anyone who works for wages has one. Children have them too: parents are masters in the home. When they say get up, you get up; when they say sit, you sit; when they send you to the shop, you go. A child may refuse once or twice, but nobody can refuse everything. And who here has no master? The pastor raised his own hand at that, and said he would come back to it later.

In this congregation there are people who take orders all week and people who give them, and many of us are both. There is someone above us who hands us work, and there are juniors below us to whom we hand it. Every one of us has a master over us, and most of us, much of the time, are somebody's master too. Paul writes to a church exactly like this one.

This series is about accountability, கணக்கு ஒப்புவித்தல். We have seen the account every life renders, the voice God sends to correct us, and the account a house gives. Today it is the account of the marketplace, the places where we earn our bread. Almost everyone has worked at some time, even if only at home. Around here, the women who roll beedis settle their account with the company every Saturday without fail, and it is counted carefully. However carefully we keep that account, there is another Master to whom we must give a far more careful one.

A Letter Read Aloud to Both (இருவருக்கும் சேர்ந்து வாசிக்கப்பட்ட நிருபம்)

The letter to Colossae was read aloud in a house where the servant and the master were sitting on the same floor, hearing the same words at the same moment. Paul speaks first to the workers: whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men (மனுஷருக்கென்று அல்ல). Then, without a pause, he turns to the owners, and one sentence changes the whole room: you also have a Master in heaven.

Notice what Paul does not do. He does not preach only to the workers and let the owners listen comfortably. In the same season he sends a runaway servant, Onesimus, back to his owner Philemon, and asks the owner to receive him no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother (Philemon 1:15-16). The gospel reorders the pyramid without burning it down.

Work as to the Lord (கர்த்தருக்கென்று செய்யுங்கள்)

"Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God." - Colossians 3:22 (NKJV)

"வேலைக்காரரே, சரீரத்தின்படி உங்கள் எஜமான்களாயிருக்கிறவர்களுக்கு எல்லாக்காரியத்திலேயும் கீழ்ப்படிந்து, நீங்கள் மனுஷருக்குப் பிரியமாயிருக்க விரும்புகிறவர்களாகப் பார்வைக்கு ஊழியஞ்செய்யாமல், தேவனுக்குப் பயப்படுகிறவர்களாகக் கபடமில்லாத இருதயத்தோடே ஊழியஞ்செய்யுங்கள்." - கொலோசெயர் 3:22 (TAOVBSI)

Not With Eyeservice (பார்வைக்கு ஊழியஞ்செய்யாமல்)

Paul forbids eyeservice, பார்வைக்கு ஊழியம்: the work that is done to be seen and praised. ஊழியம் here is not only ministry in a church; it is work, service done for others. Think of the anniversary day. Everyone saw the people standing at the front. Hardly anyone saw who stood at the stoves, or who worked through the night before. The one who serves only where he can be seen, and does nothing when nobody is looking, has already been described by this verse.

It is the work that improves when the supervisor walks in. The owner arrives and suddenly everyone is busy; he leaves and the office slumps back into its chairs. God is not impressed by the version of us that appears when we are watched. A Christian has to be the same worker at four o'clock on Friday evening as at nine o'clock on Monday morning. We cannot change our face from one place to the next. Whatever our best is, we give it all the time.

The same goes for the quiet complaint, they did not mention my name. Some may have gone home from the anniversary hurt that they were not thanked by name. That thought should not even be allowed in. Named or not named, the work that is ours is ours to do, and whether people reward it hardly matters, because the reward was never meant to come from people. The one who stands in front and the one who goes round the back to wash the toilets or sweep the yard hand in the same ledger. The pastor, the sweeper and the watchman give one and the same account, in the presence of God.

Do It Heartily (மனப்பூர்வமாய்)

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ." - Colossians 3:23-24 (NKJV)

"நீங்கள் கர்த்தராகிய கிறிஸ்துவைச் சேவிக்கிறதினாலே, சுதந்தரமாகிய பலனைக் கர்த்தராலே பெறுவீர்களென்று அறிந்து, எதைச் செய்தாலும், அதை மனுஷர்களுக்கென்று செய்யாமல், கர்த்தருக்கென்றே மனப்பூர்வமாய்ச் செய்யுங்கள்." - கொலோசெயர் 3:23-24 (TAOVBSI)

Honest work is a witness (சாட்சி) our neighbours can read without us saying a word. Before we ever speak to them about God, they watch how we work: how carefully, and without expecting anything back, we do what we were given to do. In this town our reputation as workers preaches before we do.

"Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before unknown men." - Proverbs 22:29 (NKJV)

"தன் வேலையில் ஜாக்கிரதையாயிருக்கிறவனை நீ கண்டால், அவன் நீசருக்கு முன்பாக நில்லாமல், ராஜாக்களுக்கு முன்பாக நிற்பான்." - நீதிமொழிகள் 22:29 (TAOVBSI)

Many people now work only for the wage. Asking what a job pays is not wrong. But a great many have learned to ask it of every small errand: will I get something for this, and for that? Ask someone to run a short trip and the first question is how much you will give for the petrol. The times have changed. A believer does the work that is his, plainly and fully, because he knows where his reward comes from.

Heartily, மனப்பூர்வமாய், means with the whole heart: without grumbling, without bitterness, without the face that says why do they torture me like this, keeping me here till twelve o'clock. Whatever it is, it is ours to do, because God gave it. That is true of church work, and it is just as true of any job you hold and of the place where you study.

Fifteen Hours on ₹1,500 (₹1,500 சம்பளத்தில் பதினைந்து மணி நேரம்)

The pastor has often told how he started out. He went looking for work across Chennai, company by company, without even knowing how a job hunt was done. There was no email, no online application. You printed your résumé, filled a bag with copies and walked from gate to gate. The big companies would not let you past the gate. The watchman would ask what you wanted, take the résumé, and put it with the rest; when the pile was big enough it went to the waste-paper man for perhaps a hundred and fifty rupees. Walking like that in the Madras heat, his feet came up in blisters.

In T. Nagar he got a sales job that meant walking from shop to shop all day, noting what every shop sold, and handing the survey in each evening. At the interview they asked how an engineering graduate would ever do such work. He insisted he would. He lasted a day or two.

Then came a job at ₹1,500 a month. The duty was twelve hours, nine to nine, in two shifts, and once a week the shifts rotated, so moving from the day shift to the night shift meant working twenty-four hours straight. A little while after he joined, another company offered him ₹10,000. He turned it down, and people called him a fool. His reason was this: he had walked the city looking for work, nobody had given him any, and at that moment one man had. He would do that man's work properly. So after each twelve-hour shift he went back to his room and sat for another three or four hours learning, and only then slept. Fifteen hours a day, at least, and for a ₹1,500 salary.

Who profited from those fifteen hours? The employer did; the company earned a great deal from that work. He never asked why he should give fifteen hours for ₹1,500, and he never thought, I am only making them rich. Within three months he was made team leader over people who had a year's more experience than he did. In the next six months he became a project manager at another company. He made money for that first employer for only six months. What he learned in those six months is still inside him at forty-four, and nobody can take it out. When you leave a job, can the company tell you to leave behind everything you learned there?

This hardly needs a great theology or a special spiritual meeting. It is plain, ordinary truth. The world says, do not work for others, work for yourself. Scripture goes further and says, do not work for yourself either; work for the Lord, and be faithful before Him. God gave me this work, so I do it faithfully. The thought I am only paid for so many hours, I am owed so much rest should not take root.

Take the Complaint to God (முறையிடுவது தேவனிடத்தில்)

When the load is too heavy, the complaint goes to God. The pastor said plainly that he feels it too: the workload keeps growing, and it feels like running without rest. That very morning he had prayed, Lord, give me some rest from work; I need to wait in Your presence. For more than twenty years, since he started his business around 2003 or 2004, he has worked hard, and he has never once said to anyone, why am I suffering like this, is all this necessary? He has prayed, Lord, help me; I cannot keep running. We take it to God. We do not go to people and turn bitter.

Work done resentfully blesses nobody, neither you nor the place you work. If you truly have no heart for a job, it would be better to leave and find another than to stay and grumble through every day of it; that is better for you and better for the place. A Christian does whatever he does heartily, as to the Lord. Whether you are praised or not makes no difference. Many people walk out the moment they are not appreciated, and that is the end of their chapter. Those who stay and keep working without praise find, years later, that the fruit comes. People do notice faithful work. What employer wants to get rid of someone who is faithful to him? He wants to keep them.

A relative of the pastor's family began at a big store in Tirunelveli carrying sacks, with very little schooling. Over some twenty years he did every job there was, and today the owner has placed him in one of the important posts. He had little schooling; what carried him was faithful work. And even when no person notices at all, the Lord will give the reward and will never forsake us. Whatever hand it comes through, the inheritance is received from the Lord.

The Hand That Parted the Sea (கடலைப் பிளந்த கரம்)

The congregation sang a hymn of thanks here, recalling the hand of God that divided the Red Sea and has carried His people to this day. Israel had escaped, and the very people they escaped from came after them. Pharaoh's grip, once broken, would have been far worse if it closed again. In that hour God split the sea, brought His people safely through, and the pursuers who followed them in were drowned (Exodus 14). So our trust must rest wholly on God. And still, the work that is ours to do, we do with truth and integrity, உண்மையும் உத்தமுமாய்.

The Master Has a Master (எஜமானுக்கும் எஜமான் உண்டு)

Then Paul turns, in the same breath, to the other side of the room: "Masters." Who is a master? Nearly all of us, somewhere. At home there are people who must listen to what we say. A class leader is a master. A teacher is the students' master. Every one of us has been a master on some day. And the pastor said that of everyone in the room, this verse was most of all for him. He worked under someone for only his first year; for some twenty-one years since, he has been the employer, and giving everyone their work is his job. A man in that position can easily drift from the Word, and so this verse is the one he has to receive first.

This is the whole series in one verse. The man at the top of the pyramid looks up and finds Somebody above him.

Bondservants, Not Employees (அடிமைகள்)

The verse can confuse a modern reader, because today's workers often behave like masters themselves. Before they start, they ask whether you will pay forty thousand or fifty thousand. An elderly woman the pastor visited to invite for the anniversary explained why she had not simply had her driver bring her: the driver comes when he chooses, and she is the one who has to fit around him. Workers come for a week and then vanish without a word; when you phone, they say they could not manage it. It happens in IT companies too: two days of work, and then nobody knows where they went. In times like these, masters, be fair to your workers can sound like a riddle.

But the English says bondservants, which means slaves, அடிமைகள். What is the difference between a slave and today's worker? Today's worker can leave, often without even handing in the notice that is lying on the desk beside him. A slave could not leave. He was his master's property.

Think of a car. If I am driving to Chennai, can the car say, I am tired today, I am not coming? When we start it, it has to start. If it gives trouble, it goes to the workshop, gets a couple of knocks, and starts again; it wants petrol, we fill it and drive on. A slave was like that. He could never say he was tired and needed sleep, or that he had already worked overtime. He ate only after the masters had finished and gone to bed, however hungry he was; he lay down only when all the work was done; he had to be up before anyone else woke. A young man the pastor knows works at a five-star hotel in the Maldives, where the breakfast room is laid with more dishes than anyone could taste. The pay is good, he said, but the staff are up at two in the morning so that the food eaten at six and seven is ready on time. Slaves lived that way, with no time of their own, and in that world the owner even had the right to kill a slave, and nobody would ask. A slave was a thing, like an old car you sell to the scrap dealer when you are tired of it.

To the owners of such people Paul writes: you also. Until now you thought you were the master, with nobody above you. Know that you also have a Master in heaven, and give your servants what is just and fair. Do not work him twenty-four hours; let him sleep. He is a man, not an ox. We may not feel how radical that was, but in that age it was not accepted at all, because a master assumed he could do as he pleased with his own servant. It would not even cross his mind that the servant needed rest.

Just and Fair (நீதியும் செவ்வையும்)

Paul makes it concrete rather than sentimental: wages paid on time, hours that are honest, and correction that does not humiliate.

The right wage, at the right time. In the pastor's own office salaries go out on the 31st, at the end of the month itself, not a day or two or ten later; that is the rule there. Scripture is plainer still:

"You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning." - Leviticus 19:13 (NKJV)

"பிறனை ஒடுக்காமலும் கொள்ளையிடாமலும் இருப்பாயாக; கூலிக்காரனுடைய கூலி விடியற்காலம்மட்டும் உன்னிடத்தில் இருக்கலாகாது." - லேவியராகமம் 19:13 (TAOVBSI)

If someone comes to work at your house, or labours on your building, do not tell them, I'll pay you tomorrow.

The hours also come into the account. Here the pastor admitted that in our day the boot is often on the other foot. Call a mason and he arrives at ten, is set up by half past, lays one course, and at eleven the whole team climbs down and sits in a circle for tea and a vada until twelve. Up again for another course or two until one, down for lunch, then a sleep that lasts until someone comes and calls them at three. A little more work, down again at four, once more at half past five, and by six you could stand at the site and wonder whether anything happened there at all. If Paul were writing today, he might well say, workers, give your masters a just and fair day's work. But his world was different, and we must read him in it.

An employer's authority is real, and it is borrowed. One day God will ask for an account of it. When someone does wrong, set it right without shaming them; do not correct them in front of everyone, but call them aside and speak without harshness. The pastor was honest that this is his own lesson. There was a time when, once words left his mouth, nobody could bear to stand near him. He has changed a good deal, and he still has a long way to change. While preparing this message he prayed, Lord, I have to obey these verses first. Ask yourself the question plainly: would the way I treat the people who work for me survive being read out in front of my Master? Whoever you are over, you are under. There is no top of the pyramid, only a step you cannot see past.

The congregation then sang the pastor's favourite hymn, one that addresses Jesus as Master. That is the answer to the question from the beginning. He has been an employer for more than twenty years, and he has a Master; the Lord is his Master. Writing this message he learned something new himself: there is still more in him that must change.

No Partiality With Him (அவரிடத்தில் பட்சபாதம் இல்லை)

Why should I live this way? Why can I not live as I please? I have money, I have my business, I have skill; I can work here today and somewhere else tomorrow. If that is your thought, read the verse that stands between Paul's word to the workers and his word to the owners:

"But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality." - Colossians 3:25 (NKJV)

"அநியாயஞ்செய்கிறவன் தான் செய்த அநியாயத்துக்கேற்ற பலனை அடைவான்; பட்சபாதமே இல்லை." - கொலோசெயர் 3:25 (TAOVBSI)

Paul says it to both sides. The worker who cheats and the owner who exploits stand before the same seat, and the seat shows no favouritism (பட்சபாதம்). Position, caste, wealth and title buy nothing there. The court that matters has never once been impressed by a business card. God does not weigh whether a man came to faith last month or has been a great minister for decades. Before Him we are all the same kind of creature:

"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." - Genesis 6:5 (NKJV)

"மனுஷனுடைய அக்கிரமம் பூமியிலே பெருகினது என்றும், அவன் இருதயத்து நினைவுகளின் தோற்றமெல்லாம் நித்தமும் பொல்லாததே என்றும், கர்த்தர் கண்டு," - ஆதியாகமம் 6:5 (TAOVBSI)

And the LORD was sorry that He had made man (Genesis 6:6). Think how much He gave. He gave Adam the garden of Eden; imagine how many acres that was. The whole world was his alone. Yet there was no thanks in him, no contentment, no heart that said this is enough. He went straight to the one tree God had forbidden and took from it. However devoutly a man prays, however new or old his faith, that is what man is. So God judges everyone alike, and He judges by His Word: not one standard for those who do not know Him, another for those who know a little, and a third for those who have walked with Him for years. One Word for all.

"And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him." - Ephesians 6:9 (NKJV)

"எஜமான்களே, அப்படியே நீங்களும், வேலைக்காரருக்குச் செய்யவேண்டியவைகளைச் செய்து, அவர்களுக்கும் உங்களுக்கும் எஜமானானவர் பரலோகத்தில் இருக்கிறாரென்றும், அவரிடத்தில் பட்சபாதம் இல்லையென்றும் அறிந்து, கடுஞ்சொல்லை விட்டுவிடுங்கள்." - எபேசியர் 6:9 (TAOVBSI)

Worker and owner have one common Owner, and He is in heaven. To Him there is no difference between the one who gives the work and the one who does it; both give account in the same way. And so the owner is told to put away harsh words, கடுஞ்சொல். Whether we are employed or employers, Christians live by the Word. Even if the worker is unjust, the employer must be just. Even if the employer is unjust, the worker must be just. Our reward comes from the Lord, not from people.

This is a comfort to the wronged worker: what is hidden in an office is not hidden from Him. And it is a warning to the powerful: the people you can afford to overlook are people He does not overlook. A workplace run in the fear of God is one of the plainest sermons a believer will ever preach.

One Family, One Home (இயேசுவின் குடும்பம் ஒன்று)

Is there any high or low in the family of Jesus? The church sang of exactly that: in His family there is neither. Jesus gave His life for you, for me and for every person in the world. He was nailed to the cross and shed His blood, died and was buried, rose on the third day, and is alive today. By His blood we are saved, and He will take us to a place of joy for ever and ever.

We may look at others and think, they have plenty of money, so they live in peace and joy and every need is met, while we have no house, no job and debts besides. But the peace God is bringing us into is the same peace for everyone. There will be no five-star hotel for the rich and a one-star lodge for the poor. The street of that city is gold (Revelation 21:21), and it is the same street for all. God shows no partiality.

What He will do is ask for the account. What did you do with the money you were given? What did you do with the authority you were given? The pastor said he often prays, Lord, let me not misuse my authority. Let me use it for the purpose You gave it, and if I go wrong, show me. And if a man who prays like that is still the way he is, imagine how we would be without such a Lord. Without Him we would never come right. So we ask Him for grace: I serve a Lord who shows no partiality. Employer today or labourer today, tomorrow in the family of Jesus we will all be together.

Conclusion (முடிவுரை)

So work as to the Lord, rule knowing that you are ruled, and remember that there is no partiality at that seat. Masters give account and servants give account, and in Colossians Paul did not prepare one treatment for the workers and another for the owners; he spoke to both in the same place.

We are human, and we forget. We hear the Word and lose it by the time we reach the gate. That is why we ask for the Helper:

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." - John 14:26 (NKJV)

"என் நாமத்தினாலே பிதா அனுப்பப்போகிற பரிசுத்த ஆவியாகிய தேற்றரவாளனே எல்லாவற்றையும் உங்களுக்குப் போதித்து, நான் உங்களுக்குச் சொன்ன எல்லாவற்றையும் உங்களுக்கு நினைப்பூட்டுவார்." - யோவான் 14:26 (TAOVBSI)

Ask that this one thought be driven into the heart like a nail into green wood, so that it stays: whatever I do, I will give account of it to God. Ask the Spirit to convict you the moment you go wrong. If you are a worker, ask to serve God and not the eye of the boss. If you are a master, ask to deal justly and truly with your workers as unto God. Pray it this way: Lord, if You stood beside me, I know how I would treat the people who work for me, and how I would do my work. Help me to treat them and do it that way always. The world will tell us many things; we will not be conformed to it (Romans 12:2), but live by the Word.

It was Communion Sunday. On that Table is bread broken by the only Master who never had to answer to anyone, who took the form of a bondservant (Philippians 2:7), and who chose to take the towel and wash feet.

"If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." - John 13:14 (NKJV)

"ஆண்டவரும் போதகருமாகிய நானே உங்கள் கால்களைக் கழுவினதுண்டானால், நீங்களும் ஒருவருடைய கால்களை ஒருவர் கழுவக்கடவீர்கள்." - யோவான் 13:14 (TAOVBSI)

We come to His Table as those who are under Him together, the one who gives the orders and the one who takes them, holding the same cup.

Declaration Prayer (அறிக்கை ஜெபம்)

பிதாவே, என் வேலையை மனுஷருக்கென்று அல்ல, உமக்கென்று செய்வேன். எனக்குக் கீழ் இருக்கிறவர்களுக்கு நீதியும் செவ்வையுமானதைச் செய்ய உதவும்; பரலோகத்தில் எனக்கும் ஒரு எஜமான் இருக்கிறாரென்பதை மறவாதிருப்பேனாக. இயேசுவின் நாமத்தினாலே, ஆமென்.

Father, I will do my work not for people but for You. Help me to give those under me what is just and fair, and let me never forget that I too have a Master in heaven. In Jesus' name, Amen.

One Thing This Week (இந்த வாரம் ஒன்று மட்டும்)

If you employ anyone, fix one thing this week that you know is not just or fair. If you are employed, do one piece of work well that nobody will ever check.

Next week - the closing Part 5 of கணக்கு ஒப்புவித்தல் (Giving Account): இதெல்லாம் எதற்கு. The memory verse to carry in, ready to recite next Sunday: Colossians 4:1 - எஜமான்களே, உங்களுக்கும் பரலோகத்தில் எஜமான் இருக்கிறாரென்று அறிந்து, வேலைக்காரருக்கு நீதியும் செவ்வையுமானதைச் செய்யுங்கள்.