Unlocking Scripture With Greek Word StudySýnishorn

Coworker: Synergos 

If you have any sort of job, you understand about coworkers—those people you work alongside for the greater good of the company or organization. You might love some of them, but there’s probably a few who need your prayers. The kind of coworkers you have will affect your work as well as your employer. Good ones bring greater productivity, a happy workplace, and higher revenue. Bad ones make for decreased productivity, a tense environment, and perhaps a decline in revenue. 

In a 2012 article, Business Insider compiled a list of the most ridiculous and bizarre things people have ever seen their coworkers do. In one instance, a construction employee got sacked. Distraught, he went home, put on a Godzilla suit, came back to the office wearing it, and destroyed all the tiny scale model homes that this development company had set up for display. 

Our jobs are healthier when we have good coworkers sharing the load. Otherwise, work can be a grind. 

Writing to the Thessalonians about kingdom work, the apostle Paul called Timothy “God’s coworker.” 

The Greek word here for “coworker” is synergon, a two-part Greek word that comes from syn (“with,” “linked together,” “partnered up”) and ergon (“task,” “occupation,” “labor,” “undertaking”). When the words are combined to form synergos, it means “partnering together for a task” and “linking together for occupational purposes.” 

In antiquity, it defined two people who shared the same trade, like colleagues and associates. The idea is simply two or more individuals on a mutual mission, pulling their weight, in order to accomplish the shared goal. 

Being God’s coworkers is exciting, but it’s also a great responsibility. Are we going to be the kind of worker who pulls our own weight, eagerly taking on the tasks that the Lord gives us and finishing them with excellence? Or are we going to be the kind of worker who puts on a Godzilla suit and destroys company property when the job gets tough?

The tasks that God has set before us are the most important work we could ever do for anyone. Let’s give God our best and be a coworker He can count on.