Know Your Role (Part 3) – Boss and Worker

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.