Men-pleasers (441) (anthropareskos from anthropos = man + arésko = to please) pertains to causing people to be pleased with the implication of being in contrast to God or at the sacrifice of some principle. This describes one who tries to make an impression on others. He acts merely to please men. He sacrifices principle to please someone of superior authority. In short, he's a people-pleaser. We are not to "butter up" the boss. The only other uses are in Col 3:22-note (see above) and the Septuagint translation of Ps 53:5-note. Slaves of Christ - again emphasizing that the Spirit filled slave does his work as if in the Lord's presence. Remember that our Lord was a slave for as He declared... even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) (Comment: Lord's own servanthood. He himself took the form of a slave and performed the menial task of washing His disciples' feet. As servants of the One Who became the Servant of men, Christian slaves should enthusiastically embrace the known will of God in this respect.) John Eadie writes... Need we add that this is a vice which slavery everywhere creates and exhibits? Hence the necessity for drivers and overseers, whips and collars, treadmills and dungeons. The slave has usually no higher aim than to please him who has in his hands the power of punishment and sale; and whether in deception, or in an ingenious show of obedience, or a cunning feint of attention, this one motive prevails—to prevent his master taking offence at him. But the apostle presents another and deeper inducement, which should lead to punctual and honest industry carried on to please the Lord in heaven. For the slaves were to work not as man's but as slaves of Christ (Ephesians 6 Commentary) ><> ><> ><> On Being a Good Employee - Ephesians 6:5 1. Be loyal. Bosses will forgive carelessness, stupidity, tardiness and the occasional temper tantrum. These can be corrected, but disloyalty is a true character flaw. You cannot—and will not—be trusted. 2. Keep the boss informed. The boss should be informed about what you are doing, where you are, whom you are talking to and why. If you must err, err on the side of overkill. Bombard the boss with bulletins, memos, and FYI’s until he or she says, “Stop.” No one had ever lost a job because they told the boss too much. 3. Embrace change, even if you do not understand it. Any boss must, as part of his or her job, instigate change. It is not your job to resist. 4. Respect the boss’s time. If you need thirty minutes with him, don’t take sixty. Better yet, take twenty. 5. Don’t tread on his turf. At least, don’t do it without permission. 6. Follow up quickly. Bosses don’t pull out a stopwatch when they give a command. But their internal clock is ticking. (Bits & Pieces, May 27, 1993, pp. 2-3 quoted in 10000 Sermon Illustrations. Dallas: Biblical Studies Press) ><> ><> ><> No Vacancy- Fred, a clerk in a retail store, was rude to the customers and lazy. On several occasions his boss was about to fire him. But he didn't follow through because of his concern for Fred's wife and children, who would suffer from his dismissal. One day a regular customer stopped in and noticed that Fred wasn't there. He asked the manager about him and was told that he had taken another job. The customer asked, "Are you planning to replace him?" The manager replied, "No, it isn't necessary. Fred didn't leave a vacancy." Fred's work was of such poor quality that the business was better off without him. That should never be true of any employee, especially a Christian. The apostle Paul told servants to be obedient to their masters "with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men" (Ephesians 6:7). God expected Christian servants in Paul's day to work diligently for their masters, and we too should give our employers an honest day's work. It's the right thing to do, and it strengthens our witness for Christ. One good way to test the value of your work is to ask yourself this question: If I left my job, would it create a vacancy? —Richard De Haan (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved) Some people stop looking for work when they get a job. ><> ><> ><> DOING THE WILL OF GOD FROM THE HEART: poiountes (PAPMPN) to thelema tou theou ek psuche: (Ephesians 5:17; Matthew 7:21; 12:50; Colossians 1:9; 4:12; 1Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 10:36; 13:21; 1Peter 2:15; 4:2; 1John 2:17) (Jeremiah 3:10; 24:7; Romans 6:17; Colossians 3:23) Doing the will of God is only possible if we are filled with (controlled by) the Spirit of God. Paul had referred to the will of God in the previous chapter... So then do not be foolish, but understand (suniemi = put together "pieces of the puzzle" so to speak and thereby exhibit ready comprehension. Here the verb is a command in the present imperative) what the will of the Lord is. (Eph 5:17-note) Doing God's will is a marker of one's eternal destiny as Jesus emphasized declaring that... Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does (present tense = Speaks of the general direction of one's life, not perfection, which is not possible in this non-glorified phase of the believer's life. The corollary is that one who habitually, continually does their own will is not born again) the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." (Matthew 7:21-note, cp 1Jn 2:17-note, He 10:36-note) Comment: As stated obviously Jesus is not calling for perfection, but He does emphasize that unless the "direction" of one's life is toward the will of God, they will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Why? The implication is that only a regenerate person with a spiritually circumcised heart (Col 2:11-note, Dt 10:16, Jer 4:4, Ro 2:28, 29-note) would even desire to do God's good and acceptable and perfect will. Further, only one who has been born again and has the motivating influence and enabling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit would even desire or be able to do God's will. Fallen man seeks his will not God's will. Redeemed man seeks God's will over his own will. Jesus reiterated this truth concerning God's will later declaring... For whoever does the will of My Father Who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother. (Matthew 12:50) Although the phrase will of God is not present, the principle is also stated in Paul's charge for Spirit filled believers to be... trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. (Ep 5:10-note) Expositor's Greek Testament writes that... It belongs to the character (hōs = as) of the bond-servant of Christ to do the will of God, the God and Father of Christ, in his condition in life, and to do that not grudgingly or formally, but with hearty readiness. (Ephesians 6 Commentary) Doing (4160) (poieo) is in the present tense which calls for the believing slave to do the will of God as his or her lifestyle. Although, the following "factoid" is difficult to substantiate, the magazine, U S News and World Report, once reported that employees, on an average, spend 34% of their paid time not working! MacDonald writes that... We should always be diligent, not only when the boss is looking, but conscious that our Master is always looking. It is a natural tendency to slack off when the employer is away, but it is a form of dishonesty. The Christian’s standards of performance should not vary according to the geographical location of the foreman. A customer once urged a Christian sales clerk to give him more than he was paying for, assuring him that his employer was not looking. The sales clerk replied, “My Master is always looking!” (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson) John Eadie adds that... Though they were slaves to a human master, they were to live and labour in the character of Christ's servants, the characteristic of whose industry is, that they do God's will from the heart. That sphere in which they had been placed was of God's allotment; and when they discharged its duties, they were to labour not to please men, as if simply doing man's bidding, but to please God, and under the idea that they were doing His will. Such an impression must create motives which no secular premiums or penalties could ever have originated. (Ephesians 6 Commentary) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_65-6.htm#Pleasers