Last post we talked about the diligent and the lazy with regard to work ethic. But if you’re lazy, don’t worry about reading that one. Too much work.
In this post, we will see that the wise person is an honest worker, while the foolish person is a dishonest worker. But if you don’t like this post, don’t worry. Just tell me you loved it. Better still, don’t read it, and tell me you loved it. If you can get away with it, don’t the ends justify the means…? “just get the job done…” I won’t know the difference.
Let’s check Proverbs.
“The LORD detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him.” (Prov. 11:1)
You can’t get away with your shady work. We’re not just accountable to our boss. We are accountable to the God of Justice.
Another.
“Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.” (Prov. 16:8)
Character over results. For the Christian the ends do not justify the means. We cared deeply about how we do what we do. When I’ve talked to people about work decisions…they have asked me, “I’m wondering if I should do this job or that job” and I often say, “you could do either job (neither is wrong nor unwise…) It’s not so much what you do, it’s how you do it.” The proverbs are particularly concerned with honesty. That’s how you do what you do, whatever you do. Or as the Marquis Vincent de Gramont says in John Wick 4, “How you do anything is how you do everything.” Doesn’t that sound so wise? Too bad he didn’t read more proverbs.
“Food gained by fraud tastes sweet, but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.” (Prov. 20:17)
“A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.” (Prov. 21:6)
Do these proverbs seem obvious to you? I hope so. But if they seem obvious to you it’s because you were taught to value honesty. What am I saying? I’m saying it is easy to value dishonesty. Dishonesty and fraud can get you what you want quicker. Less work for more money. If that doesn’t appeal to you, then you’re a robot (which might be possible…). There’s a good reason why these proverbs have been passed down through generations. Because it’s so easy to be dishonest. In the moment it tastes sweet but later on you got a mouthful of gravel.
Another proverb.
“Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.” (Prov. 13:11)
Dishonest money disappears little by little. But the honest worker gathers it little by little. Sometimes we think the proverbs speak plain Ol’ common sense. “Of course I should be diligent, laziness doesn’t get you anywhere. Of course I should be honest.” But, It is not self-evident to do these things (I’m labouring this point). I may work in a job with a certain hourly rate and I can get away with not doing a lot of things and still get paid just as much money! And why shouldn’t I? It is also not self-evident that I should be honest in my work. If the job gets done, what’s it matter how the job gets done? That’s a utilitarian view and it is not an uncommon view. But it is certainly an ‘ungodly’ view. It is not easy to be diligent. It is easy to be lazy. It is not easy to be honest. It is far far easier, to flirt with dishonesty in my work. To do what is quickest.
When I was a nurse there was a small lie we were ‘culturally’ asked (not literally) to partake in, and it was very pragmatic. It was not an uncommon practice to sign for the secure drugs at the beginning of the day and then to give out the drugs throughout the day. Who wants to go backwards and forwards from the drug cabinet for every single addictive drug? Much simpler, and much quicker, to just sign for it all at the beginning. Unless something went wrong of course. Then you had a legal document littered with little lies. It is easy to lie in our work. But you should tell the truth. Yet, there are countless exceptions in our mind. Or just excuses. The most glaring one is that it’s really hard to tell the truth often. “Rob why didn’t you get your job done?”“Sorry boss, it’s because this place is overwhelmed by bureaucratic paperwork which you are responsible for. I can’t do my job because your paperwork won’t let me!” Imagine that! (I’m sure you have had those fantasies.) It is not easy to tell the truth. But the truth honours God. He is the God of justice and truth
If you are a Christian, you aren’t motivated by what makes you happiest. You’re motivated by what honours God. That will show in your work and others will see that.
Finally, in conclusion to our mini-series in proverbs, It’s not just what we do but how we do it. But there’s more for the Christian. For the Christian, it’s not just what we do, and it’s not just how we do it, it’s also about who we do it for! We don’t just work diligently and honestly. We work diligently and honestly for the Lord. We might feel like we are a slave to our boss. But we’re not. We’re slaves to the Lord Jesus. You are not your own, but you belong to God and the Lord Jesus Christ. He bought you. If that sounds bad, that’s because we are reading into it. (the wrong things) Jesus is the kind of Lord that comes down and saves you. Saves you from your laziness. Saves you from your dishonesty. He is the kind of Lord that takes us away from the path that leads to death and puts us on the path of life. We are not the ones paying for it. He pays for us. He gives his life for our life. And now our life is his life. Even our work life…
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Col. 3:23–24)
Bigvai and Shiphrah 