Work for the Lord: Doing Everything for an Audience of One
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ." — Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)
This verse is quietly revolutionary. It takes the most ordinary part of your day — your work — and reframes it. How? Consider the definition of the word "work." Merriam-Webster defines it as exerting yourself, physically or mentally, in sustained effort toward a purpose. By that definition, almost everything you "do" is work: your job, your service, your parenting, even your walk with God. And all of it, Paul says, is to be done for the Lord. That's the reframe.
But here's the life-changing part for me: "and not for men." Why would Paul add that? Wouldn't working for the Lord already rule out working for people? He adds it because he knows us. It's astonishingly easy — as natural as breathing — to work for others' approval: to impress, to be noticed, to matter. So much of our effort is quietly aimed at an audience of people rather than an audience of One.
And that's the trap, because human approval is never enough. It's fleeting and never satisfied — yesterday's applause is already forgotten, and whoever you're trying to impress just wants to know, "What have you done for me lately?" Paul lifts our eyes higher: "from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward." Not a paycheck that's spent by Friday or praise that fades by Monday — but an inheritance that is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Peter 1:4, ESV). If I'm honest, I'd rather see the reward now — something real and tangible; storing it up in heaven takes faith. But whatever we're handed here is pocket change compared with what He's keeping for us there.
So how do we actually work for the Lord and not for men? Three shifts:
See yourself as a servant. Jesus turned greatness upside down: "whoever would be great among you must be your servant… even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:26-28, ESV). We serve the Lord by serving others, not by being served.
Stay humble. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6, ESV). Working for applause feeds pride, while working for the Lord keeps us low and dependent on Him.
Remember who you actually work for. If you belong to Christ, He is the one overseeing every task — the true supervisor of your workplace, your home, and your ministry. Nothing is off the clock; we glorify Him in all of it.
When Christ is your audience, even the most ordinary task becomes worship.
BIG IDEA: Do all your work for an audience of One. When you work to please the Lord rather than people — as a servant, in humility — you trade fleeting human approval for a reward that never fades.
Questions to Ponder: On an average day, are you working to please the Lord or to please people? (Often it's both — you can serve God by serving others — so the real question is what sits at the center of your motivation.) Where are you most tempted to seek people's approval — and what payoff are you chasing? Lastly, what would change about that task if you truly believed Christ was the One you were serving in it?
Application: With your journal in hand, take the task you just named — the one where you've been working for someone's approval. In one column, name what's really driving you there: the approval, the fear, the need to prove yourself. Next to it, name the God-ward version — what it would look like to do that same work for Him. Then tomorrow, before you begin, pray one line: "Lord, I'm doing this for You," and do it as if He's the only one watching — because He is. At day's end, write down what shifted — in the work, in your heart, and in why you did it.