Jesus the Light 25 Godly Work 2
Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, But a faithful man who can find? –Prov.20:6
Truth, uprightness, and honesty are to always be present in every work of the true believer. The Lord Jesus said in Mt.25:40: “I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of My people here, you also did for Me.”
Here we discover again that our every dealing with men and all of our work is for the Lord Jesus. It is as if our every action is directly a service to the Lord Jesus Himself.
If we lie to someone, we are lying to Him. If another is cheated, we cheat our God. The person we are bribing is like bribing the Lord Jesus.
The thing we steal is as if we took it from the hand of Christ Himself. 1 Cor.10:31: “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Honesty and uprightness is to be in every genuine believer at all times and in every work he does. Prov.28:6: “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich.”
Nothing is worth being dishonest: no gain, no post, or promotion. Better to give them all up rather than disobey the Lord God. Prov.13:11: “Wealth gotten by fraud disappears quickly, but the one who gathers by labor increases it.”
Fraud is nothing more than deception and lying. It is misrepresenting facts in order to take from others and gain for self. The living God does not approve of this at all. Prov.19:9: “A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who tells lies will perish.”
Many times in our work we are tempted to lie: to our boss, thinking to keep ourselves out of trouble, or to customers, trying to keep their business. But, at the end of the day, we have lied to God.
Any momentary gain we imagine that we have obtained thereby will only ruin us. Prov.21:6: “Wealth that comes from telling lies vanishes like a mist and leads to death.”
Cheating is another form of dishonesty which the Lord greatly hates. It is a wicked practice described by the Word of God: Amos 8:4-6: “Listen to Me, you who walk on helpless people, you who are trying to destroy the poor people of this country, saying, ‘We can charge them more and give them less, and we can change the scales to cheat people. We will even sell the wheat that was swept up from the floor.’”
The Lord hates this deceitful taking advantage of people. We must not charge one person more than another for the same thing. The Bible condemns this practice.
Prov.20:10: “The Lord hates both these things: Dishonest weights and dishonest measures.” The God of heaven sees every time we take more money than is right to do. He watches every cup of beans sold which is not full.
The Lord knows if you have melted candle wax in the bottom of your measuring cups. He knows if you have poured small stones in your rice sack before selling.
The living God knows all that we do. He knows every arrangement we make with others. He sees what passes from our hands to others. What we receive in secret is no secret to Him. We must be upright in all our dealings at work.
Bribery is an evil that the God of Truth will never bless or approve of. Bribery corrupts the heart of man.
Prov.17:23: “A wicked man accepts a bribe in secret to pervert the course of justice.” It is wickedness for a believer in the Lord Jesus to accept a bribe. It is wickedness to give a bribe.
Prov.26:9,10: “Do not take away my soul along with sinners…in whose hands are wicked schemes, whose right hands are full of bribes.”
Bribery destroys all sense of justice. Nothing can be right when bribery is practiced. It corrupts the one who gives it, the one who receives it, and the people who tolerate it.
It was a cause for the judgment of God to come upon His people. The Word of God warns us about this evil in Isa.1:23-25:
“Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. Therefore the Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will avenge Myself on My enemies. I will turn My hand against you.’”
Those people said that they were believers. But no true believer can give or take bribes. Their rulers loved bribes and were judged by the Lord who hates such things. The godly man is blessed because he hates brib.es.
Prov.15:27: “He who hates bribes will live.” In our place of work, as well as in every area of life, bribery must not be practiced by the believer in any form.
Alongside bribery is another evil: extortion. Extortion is the practice of using your position to demand money or favours from others by threatening them if they do not.
Politicians use their office to extort money from people seeking contracts. Government workers frustrate and delay routine matters of applications, obtaining forms, and processing paperwork unless money is submitted along with the documents.
Secondary school teachers refuse to pass students who refuse to bring money to them for exam malpractice. University lecturers threaten women students with failure unless they will have sex with the lecturer.
The Word of God condemns all these types of evil. People came to John the Baptist and asked him what they must do to repent of their sins. This is what he said:
Lk.3:13,14: “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to. Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”
The false teachers masquerading as “pastors” in the church are equally condemned because of their extortion by way of tithes and offerings. 2 Pet.2:2,3 says: “because of them, the way of the truth is evil spoken of; and in their greed they will make merchandise of you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle.”
Neither shall the believer steal anything, in any amount, at any time. The Word of God is very clear about this: “You must not steal” -Ex.20:15.
This is a great temptation for the believer at his place of work. Small items such as pens, fruit, or cloth seem to be unimportant. They are not unimportant. If you steal even small things, you are stealing, not from men, but from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thinking that it is only a small matter spoils our character and corrupts us entirely. Lk.16:10 is clear: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”
Christ is the One we serve in our work. He will reward or punish us. We must not take anything that does not belong to us without the permission of the owner.
The essence of true belief is in giving, not in the selfishness of getting: and certainly not in getting by stealing.
Eph.4:28: “Those who are stealing must stop stealing and start working. They should earn an honest living for themselves. Then they will have something to share with those who are poor.”
Earning an honest living is the will of God for all His workers. There is to be no deceit, injustice, corruption, or theft among believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will reward you if you honor Him in your work.
Copyright 2019 Steve Phillips