Christian Workers Should Not Be Menpleasers

Colossians 3:22-24 says, "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service as menpleasers but in singleness of heart, fearing God; and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance for ye serve the Lord Jesus Christ."

Christians are required to submit to those who have the rule over them. Jesus said in Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17 and Luke 20:25 for them to render unto God what is unto God and unto Caesar that is unto Caesar to the Jewish authorities and they hated him for it. So looking at the facts, Christians are required to submit to authority as Romans 13:1-2 says, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that are ordained of God. Whosoever resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God and they that resist shall receive themselves damnation." Submission to authority is Biblical, husbands must love their wives, wives must submit to their husbands, children must obey their parents and teachers... however all for God's glory.

So what happens when servants (or doulos which refers to slave, the King James has used servant instead of slave since during that time, the word slave has already been negatively coined with mistreatment while slaves who were treated well by their masters were not called slaves even if their masters owned them because God's permitted slavery required the masters to treat their slaves as if they are family and charged them heavily for mistreating them) become menpleasers? Simple. They lose the fear of God. As much as it is required for men to do their jobs and obey their masters, however, they are not to be menpleasers.

Let us take at the example of Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for this commentary. In Daniel 3 we read the brave account of the three young men in the furnace. They were doing their jobs in Babylon, only that one day they were put to the test on who they feared more God or the king they were to serve. Were they menpleasers or were they in singleness of heart fearing God? King Nebuchadnezzar told them to bow before the idol of the god of Babylon, but since they were fearing God they politely refused the king. They didn't spit or rebel at King Nebuchadnezzar, in verses 16-18 we see that the three young men respectfully told the king why they would not bow down tot he image of the idol. They didn't call him bad names or anything, they were in fact graciously accepting the penalty from their authorities for not obeying such a command from the ruler's mouth that would violate God's Law. They showed how much they feared God as true converts instead of being menpleasers. Would have they been menpleasers like the rest, they would have bowed down but instead, they refused.