“Our Daily Bread”   

http://odb.org/2012/07/28/from-mars/

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie                                  http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht

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

If you are a Christian, how would you answer the following “fill in the blanks” question ??   “When the cats away, the mice  _______   _______” …  I would think most of you would fill in these 2 words with… will play… The right answer in God’s eyes would be… will work…

I doing some research on this “proverb”, as it is called…it seems this expression has been around for about 400 years…   Well the opening scripture was written by the apostle Paul; and has been around for almost 2000 years…

I remember being in grade school, and how the class would get rowdy when the teacher left the room… Kids will be kids, I guess…  But I also remember being among most of my co-workers in my previous job only 15 years ago, when we use to slack off when the boss was away, or left early for the day… Though I thought I was a Christian back then…sadly, I wasn’t a Christian in God’s eyes…

This is the way the world still operates today…  But if you are a Christian, and you are really trying to live a life that will be pleasing to the Lord…you are called to live differently than those still living in the world of sin and shame… The Christian’s citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20); and we are called to be God fearing people, that no longer live like those around us that are non believers…

1 John 2:15-16… Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  (NKJV)

The opening scripture written by the apostle Paul, talks about Christian’s always doing the right thing, because they love the Lord and are trying to please Him; not because they are trying to please those around them… Our master in the opening scripture could be considered our boss, or the company owner we work for…  And if we are a Christian, we should be working as hard when our boss is away, as when they are right there observing us…

The apostle Paul goes into a more detailed account of how we are to be obedient to our employer, back in… Ephesians 6:5-9…  Paul also mentions that the Christian boss should never threaten their employees… Here is the link for this scripture…  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph6:5-9&version=NKJV

It’s one thing to sin as a Christian, because you didn’t know what God teaches us from His Word…  This still doesn’t excuse the sin, however…  But understanding this opening scripture now, if you are a Christian…and still cheating your employer out of an honest day’s work…is absolutely telling the Lord that you just don’t care about living for Him…

I have included a 1 minute video about employees that are goofing off when the boss is away…  Here is the link, for what I would have previously called a humorous video… But I now realize that the sad reality shown here goes on all the time…       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeyMVfRTtGE&feature=related

Make a difference where you work… Stand out among the cheaters of the world, and shine the light of the Lord on those around you, as you live for Him… When your co-workers ask why your not goofing off…share with them, and God will be glorified…

Heavenly Father, I pray Your Word will open the eyes of Christian’s who just aren’t living in a way that will be pleasing to You… All of Your children will make mistakes, Lord… But urge all of us to open, to read, and to learn from Your Word… Help us to remember that You are always there…  Help us Lord, to lean on You; and not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6)… Help Your children to live godly lives that will always bring honor and glory to Your name…  I pray for this commitment from all of Your children, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

written by bruce r mills