Work is hard and the lazy slave naturally tried to reduce the amount of service he rendered to a minimum. But Paul says, the slave is to serve not with eyeservice but with true service. To serve with eyeservice is to serve only when he thinks the master’s eye is on him, but to slacken off as soon as he is out of view. It is a superficial service which cares only about approval and not about rendering a true benefit. The master assumes that the service his eye sees continues when his eye is not watching. He does not realize that what he sees is all that there is. He does not expect to have to watch his slave continually in order to get his due and neither does the employer. The employer pays not just for the times he is watching but for the whole day’s work. Why are such servants called men-pleasers when in fact no master would be content with such a level of service? Because Paul wishes to point to an important difference between serving men who see only what their eyes are looking at, and God from whom nothing can be hidden. The Christian is to serve man, but he is also to serve God who cannot be deceived. He is to serve men, even unconverted men as if he was serving the Lord. His faith is to bring a benefit to his unconverted master so that the gospel is commended, and that is the most important thing of all. How harmful is pretence in our lives, for if it is allowed to break out in one area of conduct, it will soon break out in others.
This full service is the will of God and not just an option for the slave. Here is one powerful reason for doing it. God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift, gives this gift of true service to unbelieving masters via those who are in the place of slaves. Slaves are to think of themselves as bound to Christ; this will make their service less onerous. But is it a piece of mental trickery or self-delusion? How can we be slaves to Christ when we are bound to and receiving orders from men? This he explains in verse 8.