as to diligent zealousness, not slothful; in spirit fervent; serving the Lord.
Older translations read "not slothful in business" here, where the ESV says "Do not be slothful in zeal" — and that one word has caused centuries of confusion. So two questions come first: does this command cover my daily job, and how does anyone stay fervent for a lifetime?
The Word Behind "Business"
The word behind the older rendering means diligence — an attitude, not a set of tasks.
This next clause has been much abused, and the misunderstanding comes from the way words change their meaning over time. We naturally take "business" to refer to our daily jobs — these are, in fact, the things men are most "busy" with, and think they must be. But the word simply means "diligence": "In diligence not slothful." There is a way of being busy about things without any real diligence.
Notice also what Paul does not command. He sets a floor, not a ceiling, and he places the fire somewhere other than the workload.
It is often quoted as "diligent in business," which is not what is said, though man's selfishness likes to think so. The "business," I take it, means whatever might rightly claim a believer's attention — "whatever your hand finds to do." About such matters it is clearly wise to say simply "not slothful." On the other hand, the word is "fervent in spirit," not fervent in business. The one refers to the outward life, the other to the inner.
Sacred Work Or Daily Work
Commentators differ on how wide the first clause reaches. Kelly takes it broadly, as anything that has a claim on you. Andrew Miller limits the phrase to service for God, yet he still allows the Christian no laziness anywhere.
The exhortation refers to religious activity, not to the active work of our everyday jobs. Many have supposed it does, and the word "business" in our text suggests as much. At the same time, whatever the Christian does, in temporal or spiritual things, he should not be slothful or indulge in laziness. In every duty he should show a spirit of zeal and devotion. "In spirit fervent" is the Lord's word. Scripture says the same of Apollos, a teacher who was "fervent in spirit" and taught accurately about the Lord (Acts 18:25).
Why Fervency Comes Next
Diligence alone can harden into busyness with nothing behind it. The second clause exists to prevent that, and the third supplies the reason.
Three exhortations follow that more directly have the Lord in view. In our service to the Lord we are to be diligent, with a holy zeal that resists slothfulness. Zeal, however, can degenerate into mere outward activity, so the call is to a fervency of spirit that keeps the Lord before us as the motive of the service.
Fervency is not a mood we manufacture. Heat needs fuel, and we take it in private before we spend it in public.
Lukewarm Christians are the devil's delight and the Lord's grief. Fervency of spirit is what we should desire above all things. But if our hearts are to burn in this cold world, the oil of grace must flow into them; and for that we must cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. Then His own supplies never run out. They come to us in secret, and they are more than enough to meet every public demand, despite the world, the flesh, and the devil.
"Serving The Lord" — And A Disputed Reading
A few old copies read "serving the season" instead of "serving the Lord." Kelly weighs the evidence and rejects that reading.
Then, instead of allowing slothfulness, the apostle insists on zealous diligence. In case this should be only outward work, he at once adds "in spirit fervent." Both then have a blessed motive: "serving the Lord." It is well known that Griesbach followed a few manuscripts, versions and early writers, and joined Erasmus in reading kairo ["season"] for Kurio ["Lord"]. He did so against the weight of the evidence and almost every other editor… Serving the time — the "season" or "opportunity" — seems at least a little unworthy, suits the context poorly, and is easily open to the worst abuse.
What Keeps Zeal From Dying
Nothing makes us go slack faster than watching others get the honour we wanted. That is why this fervency answers to a Master, not to an audience.
Nor should this lessen our own diligent zeal and leave us slothful — a common tendency when we see others honoured and not ourselves. Rather, let us keep a true inward fervency of spirit that guards us from every discouragement and makes us independent of the approval of men. Then "serving the Lord" will be a very real thing to us, and no mere formal phrase or idealistic sentiment.
Summary
- Diligence — the word older translations render "business" means diligence, not employment. You can be busy all day and still not be diligent.
- Outward — the command about work is modest: not slothful. A floor, not a demand for frantic activity.
- Inward — Paul puts the fire in the spirit, not in the workload, because zeal can shrink into empty activity.
- Upward — "serving the Lord" steadies both. The weight of manuscript evidence also supports this reading over "serving the season."
- Onward — fervency feeds in secret and answers to a Master, so it survives being overlooked.