Colossians 3:24

To what choice order of officials was this word spoken? To kings who proudly boast a divine right? Ah, no! Too often they serve themselves or Satan, and forget the God whose permission allows them to wear their mimic majesty for their little hour. Does the apostle then speak to those so-called “right reverend fathers in God,” the bishops, or “the venerable the archdeacons”?

No, indeed, Paul knew nothing of these mere human inventions. Not even to pastors and teachers, or to the wealthy and esteemed among believers, was this word spoken, but to servants, yes, and to slaves. Among the toiling multitudes, the journeymen, the day laborers, the domestic servants, the drudges of the kitchen, the apostle found, as we still find, some of the Lord’s chosen.

And to them he says, “Whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ.” This saying ennobles the weary routine of earthly employments and sheds a halo around the most humble occupations.

To wash feet may be servile, but to wash his feet is royal work. To unfasten the sandal strap is a humble task, but to unfasten the great Master’s sandal is a princely privilege. The shop, the barn, the scullery, and the smithy become temples when men and women do everything to the glory of God! Then “divine service” is not a matter of a few hours and a few places, but all life becomes holiness to the Lord, and every place and thing becomes as consecrated as the tabernacle and its golden lampstand.

“Teach me, my God and King, in all things you to see;
And what I do in anything, to do it as to you.
All may of you partake; nothing can be so mean,
Which with this tincture, for your sake, will not grow bright and clean.
A servant with this clause makes drudgery divine;
Who sweeps a room, as for your laws, makes that and the action fine.”