在維多利亞時期，英國工廠的環境惡劣，工人的死亡率高而且一貧如洗。企業家喬治．吉百利（George Cadbury）認為住在貧民窟的工人，根本無法擁有理想，因此他為自己蓬勃發展的巧克力事業建造一種新型的工廠，讓他的工人受益。

於是他開發了伯恩維爾村，這是個可容納300多戶人家的村莊，設有運動場、遊樂區、學校和教會，提供給吉百利的工人及其家人使用。工人不只有豐厚的工資，還享有醫療照護，這一切都是因為吉百利相信基督，遵從祂的教導。

耶穌要我們祈求上帝的旨意能「行在地上，如同行在天上」（馬太福音6章10節）。這樣的禱告能幫助我們效法吉百利，想像一下，若我們的工作場所被上帝掌管會如何？工作場所是我們賺取「日用的飲食」之地，也是經歷寬恕之處（11-12節）。對員工來說，這意味著工作時「要從心裡做，像是給主做的」（歌羅西書3章23節）；對雇主來說，這意味著要「公公平平」（4章1節）地對待員工。無論我們是員工或雇主、是支薪工作或志願服務，我們都要關懷一起共事的同事們的福祉。

讓我們學習吉百利，想像一下，若我們的社區或工作場所是由上帝掌管會有何不同嗎？當上帝掌權，人必得福。

The factories of Victorian England were dark places. Fatalities were high, and workers often lived in poverty. “How can the working man cultivate ideals,” George Cadbury asked, “when his home is a slum?” And so he built a new kind of factory for his expanding chocolate business, one that benefited his workers.

The result was Bournville, a village of more than three hundred homes with sports fields, playgrounds, schools, and churches for Cadbury’s workers and their families. They were paid good wages and offered medical care, all because of Cadbury’s faith in Christ.

Jesus teaches us to pray for God’s will to be done “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). This prayer can help us imagine, as Cadbury did, what our workplaces would be like under God’s rule, where our “daily bread” is earned and our “debtors” forgiven (vv. 11-12). As employees, it means working with “all your heart . . . for the Lord” (Colossians 3:23). As employers, it means giving staff what’s “right and fair” (4:1). Whatever our role, whether paid or voluntary, it means tending to the well-being of those we serve with.

Like George Cadbury, let’s imagine how things could be different if God were in charge of our neighborhoods and workplaces. Because when He is, people flourish.