Would King Josiah trust you like this?

In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord—the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.” (2 Kings 22:3-7)

The pandemic has ratcheted up the pressure to do our work honorably and with excellence even when our bosses aren’t watching. Because now more than ever, they’re not. 

With more of us working from home or in hybrid environments, there are fewer people looking over our shoulders than ever before. And while this may lead some of our co-workers to slack off, it should lead us as Christians to strive to earn an unprecedented level of trust from our employers, modeled beautifully by the temple workers in today’s passage from 2 Kings.

King Josiah trusted these workers so much that he said, “they need not account for the money entrusted to them.” That would be the equivalent of your boss giving you the company credit card and not asking for receipts. Can your bosses, business partners, investors, or customers trust you that much? They should, for at least three reasons.

First, Scripture commands it. The Apostle Paul said, “obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart” (Ephesians 6:5-6).

Second, we’re promised that “the Lord will reward each one” who obeys that command (see Ephesians 6:8)! Sure, you could steal some short-term rewards for yourself by fudging your timesheets or scheduling emails after hours to give the false impression you’re working late. But those rewards won by sin will fade away, while the eternal rewards tied to your obedience will last forever.

Finally, when we “show that [we] can be fully trusted” at work, Scripture says we “will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive” (Titus 2:10). 

As we transition into this new era of work post-pandemic, we will be more tempted than ever to work dishonorably. May we be those who are set apart—the ones our superiors and partners can trust 100% of the time—for God’s glory, our eternal rewards, and the advancement of the gospel!