Sticky Fingers and Sticky Faith

“not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10)

I love how my wife decorates our home. She would never consider herself any sort of interior designer, but she’s got a very special touch. Deb’s decorating signature includes lots of pictures. Lots of family pictures. They’re everywhere throughout our house. She adorns our home with snapshots of kids and grandkids, parents and grandparents. Paul tells Titus that we decorate what we believe about God by how we work. He said that bondservants do this by “not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:10). In other words, we shouldn’t have sticky fingers but a sticky faith.

Paul is in the middle of telling his man Titus how and what to teach new believers on the island of Crete about what it means to follow Jesus (Titus 2:1-10). Older dudes teaching younger dudes (Titus 2:2, 6). Older ladies teaching younger ladies (Titus 2:3-5). He wraps this section up with instructions to bondservants. These are slaves and indentured servants who have placed their faith in the resurrected Rabbi from Nazareth. A modern application for this would be for every one who works for a living. Every employee should willingly obey their supervisor, work to put a smile on the boss’ face, and not complain and whine about what they have to do (Titus 2:9). The apostle goes on to say that how we work says a lot about what we believe about Jesus.

First of all, a good employee shouldn’t steal, or as Paul writes “not pilfering” (v10). This is the Greek verb nosphizomai, which literally means to separate. If it belongs to the company, it stays there. It this particular sense, it describes embezzling, misappropriation, stealing, and secretly taking stuff for your own use that doesn’t belong to you. Dr. Luke uses this same verb when writing about those early church embezzlers Ananias and Sapphira. This couple sold some real estate and then lied to say they were giving all the proceeds of the sale to God. They “kept back (Gr. nosphizomai)” some portion of profit for themselves (Acts 5:2-3). It’s not that they didn’t give all of the profits to support the new church. Their sin was lying and secretly skimming off the top. 

Don’t embezzle. Do we really need to tell you that? Apparently Paul thinks so. But this is so much more than some white collar crime to misappropriate thousands of dollars from the company coffers. This isn’t about the amount but the sin behind it. Don’t sneak stuff out of the supply closet. Don’t juggle the numbers on your expense report so that you actually make out like a bandit. Don’t steal time by goofing off when you should be working. Every one of these are examples of how each one of us skims from the top. Sticky fingers are a sign that what you and I were taught didn’t stick.

We’re called to be “showing all good faith” when we’re at work. This has a couple of very important aspects. First of all, a follower of Jesus should be faithful and steadfast in their work. We don’t give up when things get tough. We must stick to a project until it’s complete. Our Savior is the ultimate example of powering through in the most difficult circumstances. Aren’t you glad He didn’t give up when it got hard? The other implication is that there should be absolutely no separation between our work life and our faith in Jesus. I haven’t just given Him my Sunday mornings. He’s my Lord 24/7/365. That clearly includes when I’m on the job. My trust in Christ should have a tremendous impact on how I work. It becomes obvious to folks around me at work that what I’ve learned about my faith has stuck.

The Apostle Paul then tells us the reason why first century bondservants and 21st century employees should shine at work. “So that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (v10). A closer look at the original language reveals the verb kosmeo, which means to decorate, embellish, make beautiful and attractive. It’s the same root that gives us our word cosmetics. Jesus slammed the religious police for being hypocrites and spending money to “decorate (Gr. kosmeo) the monuments of the righteous” (Mt 23:29). Christ’s crew was blown away with the ornate decorations of the temple and “how it was adorned (Gr. kosmeo) with noble stones and offerings” (Lk 21:5). Pete writes that women who follow Jesus don’t so much worry about their makeup and wardrobe but “adorn (Gr. kosmeo) themselves, by submitting to their own husbands” (1Pet 3:5). Does how I work make what I know about Jesus more attractive to those around me?

Here’s the deal. If we claim to follow Jesus, my shoddy work, laziness, and a bad attitude trashes His rep. It reveals that we really don’t have an understanding about who He is, what He’s done, and who we are without Him. How we work should make Jesus more attractive and more beautiful to those around us. I’m not talking about slapping a Jesus fish on your car. This isn’t about slinging a cross around your neck. It has nothing to do with dropping a Bible on your desk. All of those things may be awesome. But a great witness for what He’s done in my life is to bust my butt and be a hard worker. Will I fall short? You betcha. Will I bring embarrassment on the One who rescued me? Take it to the bank. But when I do, I must be accountable to my mistakes and know that nothing that happens at work changes my standing in Him. 

As followers of Jesus, we’re called to have sticky faith, not sticky fingers.