Slaves and Masters

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve looked at how Paul wants that ‘difference’ in our lives to impact on some of the closest relationships we have – the dynamics of family life as husband and wife, but also parents and children.

Now in Ephesians 6:5-9 he turns to a particular situation that was a normal part of life for the first-century church in Ephesus he was writing to: slavery.

Slavery in the Roman Empire at this time could be brutal: slaves were possessions, with few rights and no way out.  Some question why Paul didn’t attack the concept of slavery in his letter.  We need to remember that Christians at the time were a small group with no political or social clout – direct action was out of the question.  Instead, Paul is trying to give the Christians practical advice on how to live in, what was for them, the real world. 

Paul called for a bigger view of life – the need to see what when the slaves worked, they worked for God, and what they did was an offering of their best to Him, regardless of the situation they were in.  And the masters were to act in justice and fairness, knowing that God, who does not play favourites and does not care for social status, was watching.  God would reward the work and management that was done well.

This has a big impact on how we approach our work today – it’s the situation where we most closely face the actions of serving and management that would have been experienced by the slaves and masters.

As employees we often face harsh and unjust managers.  We need to remember that we work for God, and do our best accordingly.  This gives meaning to our work regardless of how it is treated by those further up the management chain.  And if we are in positions of management, we need to remember that God, who is just and fair, is watching our actions.  Are we happy with what he is seeing us do, how we are treating people?

Paul’s words to those early Christians brought God’s truth into a situation as repulsive as slavery, potentially transforming the everyday lives of those caught up in it by giving them a big view of the world as it truly is.  We need to embrace that same big view in our everyday lives here and now.