|
Eph 6:1-9 (ESV)
6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land." 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 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.
So, what do you think about today’s passage? The previous passage might have raised some challenges for you. However, can you imagine the raised eyebrows and challenges that this passage might have raised in a cultural context where slavery was a normal part of life? In this passage, two relationships are being discussed: parent/children and master/slave.
If we’re to understand the master/slave relationship, then we must get past our 21st-century preconceptions of slavery. Slavery was common back in that time, with a considerable portion of the population being slaves for varying reasons (about one-third of the total population were slaves). My point is not to let our presuppositions about slavery cloud our understanding of the passage.
In that cultural context, slaves were often considered an integral part of the family, so the relationship wasn’t one of simple dominance. However, that was part of the context as well, with some being enslaved due to conquests.
Knowing that many slaves were considered to be part of the household helps to explain the admonishment for masters in verse 9 to follow suit, to imitate the Lord’s love and kindness to their slaves as they follow the will of God (you can see how Paul works this out in greater detail in his short letter to Philemon—very cool stuff).
So, what’s Paul’s point when he gives instructions regarding these relationships? Paul’s point is that we should seek to honor and glorify the Lord by living for Christ as we interact in our earthly relationships—all of them.
Our culture today tends to be very self-focused, centered on how we should be respected, treated, and valued for who we are and what we’ve accomplished. There is truth in that thought however, that’s not the heart of the matter for those of us who have entrusted our lives to Christ.
The call for Christians is to live for Christ and seek to glorify Him even in our most difficult relationships. That’s not to say that we become doormats for people to walk on and take advantage of, rather we are to seek to do those things that honor and please the Lord, and in doing so we show that we are Jesus’ disciples.
Our responsibility is to imitate Jesus in all things, in all ways, to all people. This is not something for the faint of heart!
So the challenge for us is to live out our faith in all our relationships, serving one another with love, whether that’s your boss, your employee, your student, your teacher, a family member, or even that noisy neighbor. Easy to say. Not always easy to do!
But Jesus is able to do this, and as we continue to pursue our relationship with Him, His love infuses us and enables us to love others when our ability to love and care for someone would typically run dry.
That’s world-changing stuff!
Even more reason to draw closer to Jesus, don’t you think?
God bless you and know that you are prayed for constantly.
Scott
|
