Read with Me
1 Timothy 6:1-2 (HCSB)
All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching will not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved.
Listen with Me
Some Christians today are dismayed that Paul does not condemn slavery. In their minds, telling Christians how to be better slaves and better masters is tantamount to endorsing the institution.
But Paul is simply accepting the fact that slavery was a reality in Greco-Roman culture, as it was in pretty much every culture on the planet until the last couple of centuries, when a few countries, the United States among them, abolished the practice. Even today, slavery exists in many cultures in the world.
It is also important to understand that slavery in Paul’s day was very little like the slavery most people have learned about in school. For one thing, it was not based on race, but on conquest. The slaves in Europe in those days were Europeans whose people had been conquered, sometimes several generations earlier. And slaves were typically well cared for, and they were always seen as human beings. That does not mean it was a good institution. It simply means that it was not the same as the institution in the New World.
Paul’s point in this paragraph is that slaves who are Christians should be witnesses to their masters of the character of Jesus. And the way to do that was to be diligent and respectful. Nothing was gained, either for the slaves themselves or for the cause of Christ, through rebellion and laziness. This ties in closely with Paul’s instructions in Colossians 3:17: “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
And this was to be applied whether the master of the slaves was a believer or not. The temptation would be for slaves of a believing master to be less diligent, or to expect lighter duty or less discipline from their master because he or she was a believer. But Paul’s instructions were the opposite. Believing masters were to be served even more faithfully and diligently because they were brothers and sisters in Christ. In that way, the unity of the body is maintained, and the cause of Christ strengthened.
Pray with Me
Father, thankfully, at least in America, the institution of slavery has mostly gone away. But these guidelines are still useful to those of us who have bosses in our workplaces. Under these guidelines, we should serve our bosses well, giving full value for the pay we receive. And that is all the more true when our bosses are believers, because we are serving a brother or sister in Christ. The key is to always put Your agenda and Your priorities first in our lives. Then everything else will fall into its proper place. Thank you, Lord, for these instructions. Amen.