The Carpenter’s Reviews
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.”Mark 6:3 (KJV)
The people of Nazareth knew Jesus as a tradesman. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” Before he preached a sermon or healed anyone, he spent years doing ordinary work for ordinary customers.
Here is a question worth sitting with. If Jesus took on jobs in Nazareth, what would his customers have said about him? We can be sure the work was honest and the people were treated well. Excellence never cost anyone their dignity.
Paul tells every worker to approach their job the same way: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.” Proverbs adds, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings.”
Your work is a place to honour God. Do it well. Treat people well while you do it. Whether you build cabinets, answer phones or run a company, you are working for the Lord.
Read it yourself
Read Colossians 3:22–24. Who does Paul say we are really serving in our work?
If the people you work with wrote a review of how you treat them, what would it say?
Lord, help me do my work heartily, as to you. Let the way I work and treat people honour your name. Amen.