And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men,
Parallel translations
- KJV And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
- BSB Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, for the Lord and not for 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 3:17Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
- Eph 6:6–7not in the way of service only when eyes are on you, as men pleasers; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;
- Rom 14:8For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
- 2 Chr 31:21In every work that he began in the service of God’s house, in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
- Eccl 9:10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.
- 1 Pet 2:15For this is the will of God, that by well-doing you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
- 1 Pet 2:13Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;
- Ps 119:10With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments.
- Rom 14:6He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks.
- 1 Pet 1:22Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
- Ps 119:34Give me understanding, and I will keep your law. Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart.
- Jer 3:10Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense,” says Yahweh.
- Ps 119:145I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.
- Zech 7:5–7“Speak to all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month for these seventy years, did you at all fast to me, really to me?
- Matt 6:16“Moreover when you fast, don’t be like the hypocrites, with sad faces. For they disfigure their faces, that they may be seen by men to be fasting. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.
- Ps 103:1By David. Praise Yahweh, my soul! All that is within me, praise his holy name!
- Ps 47:6–7Sing praises to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
- Eph 5:22Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.
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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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