Joseph the Carpenter, Georges de La Tour, 1640s
O Jesus Christ, you knew the workshop of Joseph
and you saw the sweat of the labourer.
Bless those who work and those who employ workers.
May your Church, the steward of your way of life,
teach us how to labour honestly
and how to reward work justly.
Help us to uphold the dignity of human labour,
that whether in physical or mental work
the person is more important than the job.
Guide those who make decision about employment and payment;
temper our discussions about money and work
with a sense that we are your servants,
that we may be motivated neither by a greed for money
nor by a desire to get as much as we can
for as little pay as possible.
May we seek the welfare of each other,
remembering that we all have but one Master
who is also our Judge and our Saviour,
even the same Jesus Christ.
Ralston Smith, Jamaican minister and seminary lecturer
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Ephesians 6:5-8 The Message
Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don’t just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ’s servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you’re really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free.
prayer & verse 
It’s interesting to me the angle your prayer choices have taken this week in light of last Sunday’s message on stewardship.
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