Verse of the Day
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men.
Colossians 3:23
What this verse means
Writing to early Christians, Paul tells them to do all their work wholeheartedly as for the Lord and not for men, lifting even the most menial, unnoticed labor into something done for God rather than for human approval.
Colossians 3:23 comes near the end of a letter Paul wrote to a young church, in a section of down-to-earth instructions about ordinary life: households, work, how people treat one another. Much of his audience were servants and laborers doing repetitive, low-status jobs. Into that, he says: whatever you do, work at it with your whole heart, as for the Lord and not for human masters.
The line was radical in its setting. In a Roman world organized by status, a servant's work was beneath notice, done for an earthly master who might never thank them. Paul reframes the whole transaction. The real audience for even the smallest task is God, who sees what no supervisor does. That makes a swept floor or an honest day's labor a kind of worship, regardless of whether anyone important is watching.
The phrase the translation renders "heartily" or "with all your heart" is, in the Greek, "from the soul" (ek psyches), meaning from the core of who you are, not grudgingly or for show. And "not for men" literally contrasts working for people with working for the Lord.
