Over the last two posts, we have
explored two relationship pairings that Paul discusses in Ephesians 5 and
6: Husband and Wife; Parent and
Child. This week I would like to finish
off with Paul’s final pairing of Master and Slave or Bondservant. The first relationship pairing addressed the
most fundamental unit in our society, that of Husband and Wife. The relationship between Husband and Wife
sets the tone for the family and the home.
If we get that wrong, everything else in society seems to be skewed. The next pairing addressed how we pass our
values on from generation to generation in perpetuity. Getting this wrong, ensures that the wrong
values will continue to be passed on, rather than seeing our generations grow
in relationship to one another and to God.
The first two address relationships in depth, so to speak. The last relationship pairing, Master and
Slave, addresses society in a broader way.
In other words, it reflects how our values are put into play outside of
the household and present a witness to the wider world.
Before getting into the meat and
potatoes of this passage I need to address the elephant in the room for this
topic. Many people are turned off by the
passage because it addresses the topic of slavery without condemning it
outright. I understand the
hesitation. But I think this passage
holds immeasurable merit to us as Christians.
Many people are put off by the
fact that Paul doesn’t really address the institution of Roman slavery. I think that this criticism has merit on the
surface; however, I think there are very good reasons why Paul addresses slavery
in the way that he did.
The first reason is that Paul was
a Jew. He came from a people who were
subject to Rome, and quite frankly were not thought of well by Roman
society. Jewish and Roman relations had
never been on very friendly terms. Not
only that, but Paul belonged to the weak and illicit sect known as
Christians. Paul really didn’t have the
influence to address the institution of slavery. He accepted it as the reality of the day he
lived in. He didn’t particularly support
or condemn the practice either way.
The second reason, which I think
eclipses the first in significance, is that Paul was far more interested in
teaching Christians to act like followers of Christ in whatever circumstance
that they found themselves to be in. We
see this attitude throughout Paul’s writings.
This is the same man who wrote the following passage in his letter to
the Philippians at a time when he was in prison for his beliefs:
“Not that I am speaking of being
in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how
to abound. In any way and every
circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance
and need. I can do all things through
him who strengthens me.” -- Philippians
4:11-13
Paul’s interest is not in
obtaining justice in this world, but in proclaiming the gospel through our
words and deeds in whatever situation that we may find ourselves to be in. In fact, Paul often refers to himself as a
slave or servant of the gospel. To Paul,
we are all slaves to one thing or another.
We are slaves to the World, or we are slaves to God. The only difference is who we ultimately call
our Master, God or the World.
We also need to frame this
passage in the wider context provided in Ephesians. Paul’s main theme for Ephesians is that God
has taken many people and made them into one church. Although we were all dead in our sins, we
have been reconciled to God for a purpose.
“For by grace you have been saved
through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may
boast. For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we
should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:8-10
God has created us, the church,
to be the light of Christ to the rest of the world, and to be built into
something holy and pure for his sake.
It is in this context that Paul
addresses Master and Slave, and that is why I see such relevance to us
today. Paul is concerned with us as the
Church, living out our calling and testifying through our words and deeds that
we are the children of God. We are to do
this in all times and places and situations.
We all find ourselves in our own
specific circumstances in our vocations.
Maybe we are an employee, serving a supervisor or manager. Maybe we are a business owner, overseeing the
activities of our employees. Or maybe we
are a manager, simultaneously serving our upper-level managers, and overseeing
our own employees. Whatever the
circumstance, it doesn’t matter. Paul
would view your life and circumstance as an opportunity to proclaim the gospel
through your actions.
Just as with the other two
relationship pairs, we remember how Paul frames this entire section: “Therefore
be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave
himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God…submitting to one
another out of reverence for Christ.” – Ephesians 5: 1-2, 21
Once again, Jesus is our example
of servanthood. “Have this mind among
yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
himself, by taking the form of a servant1, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in
human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even
death on a cross.” This is the Jesus who
in the garden of Gethsemene, the night that he was arrested, prayed asking God
if it was possible to remove the cup of judgement that he was about to drink,
but nevertheless prayed that God’s will be done instead of his own.
With this in mind, let’s examine
what Paul says about Master and Servant.
Paul begins as usual by
addressing the submissive side of the relationship pair, the servant.
“Bondservants, obey your earthly
masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not
by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to
the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will
receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.” –
Ephesians 6:5-8
In other words, in our vocation
we are to obey those who are placed over us just the way we would obey
Christ. We are to do this not only when
the boss is looking, but out of genuine obedience even when no one is paying
attention. We are called to have
integrity in our vocations, as if we are doing it for the Lord.
And just as before, we see that
the person in a position of authority has the greater responsibility before
God.
“Masters, do the same to them,
and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours
is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” – Ephesians 6:9
Managers, bosses, did you catch
that first part? “Masters do the
same…” Those in authority are called to
be just as diligent in serving their workers as if Christ is watching them. What if our workers could trust us to treat
them fairly, to provide for their needs, and to be just as honest with them as
Paul implores them to be toward their masters?
And just as the servant has a
master on earth, those who call themselves masters on earth have a judge in
heaven over them who shows no partiality based on our status. We are to conduct ourselves in such a way
that we will be equally held accountable for our actions before God.
What if, Master or Slave, Boss or
Worker, we were called to live our lives in genuine submission to one another
as we do to Christ? What if our devotion
to serving God wasn’t just on Sunday during church service, but extended into
our homes and our vocations? How would
that change the world around us? How
might that proclaim Christ to a world that desperately needs to hear the
gospel?
So many of us go to work at our
vocations just trying to pass the time till our next paycheck, and we totally
miss out on the chance to show what it means to be a follower of Christ. We punch our timecard, put in our eight
hours, but we aren’t truly trying to serve the people around us, above us, or
under us, as Christ served us. How much
of an opportunity might we be leaving on the table?
I think each of us, if we examine
ourselves can honestly say we haven’t always lived up to Paul’s advice
concerning how we should represent Christ in our vocations. I know I have fallen short. Sometimes I have put in the bare minimum
effort, or maybe complained about my situation, rather than working at my
vocation wholeheartedly. Maybe I haven’t
treated my employees the way I should have.
I think each of us can identify the short comings we have displayed in
our professional lives, just as we can identify shortcomings in our personal
lives.
So, what is our response to these
shortcomings? Repentance. We need to ask God to forgive us for not
representing him in the way that we are called to do in our vocations. We need to ask for the Holy Spirit to equip
and guide us in our everyday walk, to help us to choose to serve one another as
Christ served us. We need His help to
use the opportunities placed before us in our everyday life, not just from 10
to 11 on Sunday morning, but also from 9 to 5 Monday through Friday, to
proclaim Christ in our actions.
My hope is that we will see our
vocations as opportunities that God has placed before us, and ask God to bless
us as we serve in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.
