Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for men,
Parallel translations
- WEB And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,
- KJV And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
- NKJV And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
- NASB Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people,
- NLT Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whatever work we do, we should do it wholeheartedly as if working for the Lord himself. It matters because it transforms ordinary labor into worship and service to Christ.
Overview
Paul lifts the servant's daily toil to a new dignity by directing it Godward: the real audience is the Lord, not human masters. This principle reaches beyond the original setting to all believers, making every honest task a sphere of devotion. Because we serve Christ, no work done in faith is insignificant or wasted.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Col 3:17And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
- Eph 6:6–7And do this not only to please them while they are watching, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.
- Rom 14:8If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
- 2 Chr 31:21He was diligent in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law and the commandments, in order to seek his God. And so he prospered.
- Eccl 9:10Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.
- 1 Pet 2:15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.
- 1 Pet 2:13Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,
- Ps 119:10With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me stray from Your commandments.
- Rom 14:6He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
- 1 Pet 1:22Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
- Ps 119:34Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.
- Jer 3:10Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
- Ps 119:145I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD! I will obey Your statutes.
- Zech 7:5–7“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
- Matt 6:16When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
- Ps 103:1Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name.
- Ps 47:6–7Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises!
- Eph 5:22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
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Christ at the center
The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.
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Original language
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