STEALING
FROM YOUR EMPLOYER?
Memorise:
Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the
will of God from the heart; Ephesians 6:6
Read:
Ephesians 6:5-8, 5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters
according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart,
as unto Christ;
6 Not
with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will
of God from the heart;
7 With
good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:
8 Knowing
that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the
Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Bible
in one year: Genesis 27-28, 27 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was
old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest
son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I.
2 And
he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death:
3 Now
therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to
the field, and take me some venison;
4 And
make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that
my soul may bless thee before I die.
5 And
Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to
hunt for venison, and to bring it.
6 And
Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto
Esau thy brother, saying,
7 Bring
me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the Lord before my death.
8 Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.
9 Go
now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I
will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:
10 And
thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, and that he may bless thee
before his death.
11 And
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I
am a smooth man:
12 My
father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I
shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing.
13 And
his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice, and
go fetch me them.
14 And
he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made
savoury meat, such as his father loved.
15 And
Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the
house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son:
16 And
she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth
of his neck:
17 And
she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand
of her son Jacob.
18 And
he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art
thou, my son?
19 And
Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first born; I have done according as
thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul
may bless me.
20 And
Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?
And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it to me.
21 And
Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son,
whether thou be my very son Esau or not.
22 And
Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is
Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23 And
he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's
hands: so he blessed him.
24 And
he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am.
25 And
he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul
may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought
him wine and he drank.
26 And
his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.
27 And
he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and
blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field
which theLord hath blessed:
28 Therefore
God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of
corn and wine:
29 Let
people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and
let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee,
and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
30 And
it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob
was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his
brother came in from his hunting.
31 And
he also had made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father, and said unto
his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul
may bless me.
32 And
Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy
firstborn Esau.
33 And
Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath taken
venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and
have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed.
34 And
when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding
bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father.
35 And
he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
36 And
he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two
times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my
blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
37 And
Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all
his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I
sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
38 And
Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me,
even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
39 And
Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the
fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
40 And
by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to
pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off
thy neck.
41 And
Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and
Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then
will I slay my brother Jacob.
42 And
these words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah: and she sent and called
Jacob her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching
thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee.
43 Now
therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran ;
44 And
tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;
45 Until
thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast
done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be
deprived also of you both in one day?
46 And
Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth:
if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these which are of the
daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me?
28 And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him,
and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters
of Canaan .
2 Arise,
go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a
wife from thence of the daughers of Laban thy mother's brother.
3 And
God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou
mayest be a multitude of people;
4 And
give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that
thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto
Abraham.
5 And
Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the
Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.
6 When
Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padanaram, to take
him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge,
saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughers of Canaan;
7 And
that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Padanaram;
8 And
Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan
pleased not Isaac his father;
9 Then
went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the
daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.
10 And
Jacob went out from Beersheba , and went toward Haran .
11 And
he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun
was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows,
and lay down in that place to sleep.
12 And
he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached
to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13 And,
behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of
Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14 And
thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the
west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in
thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15 And,
behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest,
and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I
have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16 And
Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
17 And
he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the
house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18 And
Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his
pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19 And
he called the name of that place Bethel :
but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.
20 And
Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way
that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21 So
that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
22 And
this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all
that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
John 16:16-33; 16 A little while, and ye shall not see me:
and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
17 Then
said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto
us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye
shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
18 They
said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what
he saith.
19 Now
Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye
enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see
me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
20 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall
rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
21 A
woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon
as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy
that a man is born into the world.
22 And
ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall
rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
23 And
in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever
ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may
be full.
25 These
things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no
more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
26 At
that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the
Father for you:
27 For
the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that
I came out from God.
28 I
came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the
world, and go to the Father.
29 His
disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no
proverb.
30 Now
are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should
ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus
answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold,
the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his
own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is
with me.
33 These
things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye
shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
MESSAGE
One aspect of Christian character that
is often neglected is our attitude to our place of paid employment. Some people
out-rightly steal things kept in their care by their employer; such should not
even be mentioned among Christians. However, there are other subtle ways people
steal from their employers. When you accept to work for an organisation, there
is an understanding or even a written agreement regarding your working hours.
If you are to resume at 7:30AM but you get late to work, you are stealing time
from your employer. If you are to close at 5:00PM but you leave at 4:00PM, you
are a thief. There are even situations where an employee will resume and close
at the normal time, but while in the office, instead of concentrating on the
assignment at hand, he or she will spend a good portion of time browsing the
internet for personal leisure, watching television or videos, or just gallivanting
and gossiping from desk to desk. If you are engaged in any of these, you are
equally stealing time from your employer. In addition, taking or using for
personal purposes any material or property that belongs to your organisation
with permission amounts to stealing.
“Not
with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the
will of God from the heart;”
Ephesians
6:6
Another way employees steal from their
employers is by pretending to work when the boss is around but dumping the work
or doing a shoddy job when the boss is not there. Today’s reading says that
there should be a difference between a Christian employee and his or her
non-Christian counterpart. While unbelievers may work just to be seen,
believers should work as if they are doing that official assignment as a
service to Jesus Christ. To this end, realising that the Lord is ever present,
you will do your work as to the Lord from your heart. A Christian employee will
work conscientiously because he or she knows that by doing his or her secular
work to please God and to glorify His name, not only will the organisation pay
for this service, God will equally give the fellow a good reward for a job well
done. It means that you can actually earn double for doing a particular job
once. If the effort you put into your job does not glorify God, you will be
paid only by your employer, but if it does, you will be paid by your employer
and by God. How do you handle your official assignments today?
Key
point:
How
can you win your employer to Christ if you cheat or steal from them?
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