Ephesians 6:1-8: in context

Paul gives instructions for various relationships, and to servants he says something that reshapes the meaning of ordinary work. Serve, he says, not 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, with good will doing service as to the Lord and not to men. And he adds that whatever good anyone does, they will receive back from the Lord. The work is to be done for Christ, from the heart, whether or not anyone is watching, because the true one served is the Lord himself.

Paul's counsel transforms the motive of our work. There is a way of working that serves people, and only people: we work well when watched, to gain approval, to make a good impression, and slack off when no one is looking, because pleasing people is the aim. Paul calls us higher: to work as serving the Lord, not merely people; to do our work from the heart, for Christ, whether or not anyone sees. When the true one we serve in our work is the Lord, then we work with integrity whether watched or unwatched, not to please people but to please God, doing even ordinary work as service to Christ. This changes both how and why we work. It changes how we work: not as men-pleasers who perform when watched and slack when unseen, but with consistent integrity, because God always sees, and it is he we serve. And it changes why we work: not chiefly for human approval, wages, or recognition, but as service to Christ, done for him from the heart. Whatever you do, Paul says elsewhere, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. This lifts ordinary work into service to God; the daily tasks done for Christ become an offering to him, not merely a means to human ends. And it frees us from the exhausting pursuit of human approval. If we work to please people, we are bound to their opinions, performing for their eyes, discouraged when unappreciated. If we work for the Lord, we are freed from this: we serve him, who sees all our work and will reward it, whether or not people notice or approve. If I were still pleasing men, Paul says, I would not be a servant of Christ. This searches the motive of our work. Do we work as men-pleasers, performing when watched, seeking human approval, slacking when unseen? Or do we work as serving the Lord, from the heart, with integrity whether or not anyone is watching, for Christ rather than merely for people? Paul calls us to the latter: to do our work, however ordinary, as service to the Lord, freeing us from the pursuit of human approval and lifting our daily labor into an offering to God, who sees all we do and will reward the good done for him.

Do I work as a man-pleaser, performing well when watched and slacking when unseen, bound to the pursuit of human approval, or can Paul's call to serve not as men-pleasers but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, whether or not anyone is watching, move me to work with integrity for the Lord rather than merely for people, lifting my ordinary labor into service to God who sees all I do and will reward the good done for him?