A good relationship with God and people is inherent
to the teaching of the Bible. It is
at the heart of the 10 commandments
and it is reaffirmed by Jesus in Mark 12:30,31: “Love God … love your neighbour…”.
In chapters 5:1-6:2
of
Paul’s letter to Timothy he deals
with relationships at different levels.
In 5:1-2 Paul
tells Timothy how to relate, as a
pastor to older men, younger men , older
women and younger women in the church.
In 5:3-16 Paul helps Timothy in terms of relating to widows and vulnerable people in the
church.
In
5: 17-25 Paul
explains how we ought to relate to the
elders of the church, particularly in the matter of the church’s
material support of them, and in the
matter of dealing with accusations against
the elders.
In 6:1-2 Paul
deals with the matter of the relationship of slaves
towards their masters. Further instructions on this matter
are found in Ephesians 6:5-9 (Timothy’s congregation) and Colossians 3:22-4:1 where directives are not only given to slaves
but also to their masters. The
letter to Philemon in particular is about a slave called Onesimus who had stolen from his master Philemon, and who had
fled. Onesimus had become a Christian
though Paul’s ministry in Rome, and Paul, in this letter appealed
to Philemon to take him back as a
brother in the Lord.
I am taking the liberty to apply the slave –
master relationship to the employer –
employee relationship. The biblical principles governing the relationships, be they slave – master or employee-
employer are similar. But there is a vital difference. An employee
enters into a voluntary agreement
with an employer to work for them
for a certain mutually agreed upon wage. A slave is a person who is the property
of, and wholly subject to, another person. John Stott points out that slaves have three defining
characteristics: “Their person is
another’s property, so that they may be bought and sold; their will is subject
to another’s authority; and their labour is obtained by another’s coercion”
[1].
They are “under the yoke of slavery.”
Paul is giving directives to Christian slaves regarding their attitude
toward their masters, whether they
be non-Christian or Christian masters.
It is estimated that at the height of the Roman practise of slavery as much as
a third of the Roman Empire were slaves.
So we are not surprised that the gospel
came to slave and free [Gal. 3: 28],
since the gospel of Jesus was never
limited to any class of people,
but that it was always intended for the whole world. And so it was inevitable that Paul should write directives to Christians who were slaves,
remembering the specific challenges
associated with the life of a slave.
Slavery is still very
much in practise in this modern world. [2]
Modern slavery is a multi-billion-dollar industry with estimates of up to U$35
billion generated annually. The United Nations estimates that roughly 27 to 30
million individuals are currently caught in the slave trade industry. India has
the most slaves of any country, at roughly 18.4 million. China is second with
3.4 million slaves, followed by Pakistan (2.1 million), Bangladesh (1.5
million), and Uzbekistan (1.2 million). By percentages of the population living
in slavery Uzbekistan tops with 4% of its population living under slavery
followed by Cambodia (1.6%), India, (1.4%) and Qatar (1.4%). Mauritania was the
last nation in the world to officially abolish slavery, doing so in 2007.
Modern slavery is frequently a by-product of poverty.
Countries that lack education, economic freedom, the rule of law, and which
have poor societal structures tend to
encourage and propagate slavery. In Namibia slavery is forbidden by our
constitution. Chapter three, article 9
on “Slavery and Forced Labour“, point # 1
says: “No persons shall be held in
slavery or servitude.” Point #2 says,
”No persons shall be required to perform
forced labour”.
So, the matter
that calls for comment is the
fact that Paul says nothing here to condemn slavery. In fact Paul
calls on Christians who are “under a yoke
as slaves to regard their masters as worthy of all honour.” Were you expecting Paul to be a William Wilberforce, leading a campaign for
the liberation of slaves? Why did Jesus,
or the apostles, or the early church do nothing to abolish slavery? How do we
explain this, since Paul freely acknowledges that slaves are under a yoke?
The simplest answer
would be that the institution of slavery was woven into every part of the
ancient world. Dismantling slavery spontaneously would have brought about the instant
collapse of society, resulting in chaos. So, there is nothing said about that at all, and instead he gives Christian slaves an instruction to submit to their masters.
Here we learn once again that the gospel marches to a different drum. It employs a
different strategy. The gospel is not indifferent to the plight of
slaves, but it solves the problem
in a different way. The gospel
always begins by dealing with primary
causes. The physical liberation of
slaves is not the first priority
for the gospel. The first
priority of the gospel is the
liberation from the slavery of sin. When Jesus was reading from Isaiah 61 in the synagogue,
he read , “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives…” [Lk
4:18]. The context is very clear
that He was talking about the slavery of
sin, from which every social evil flows
, including the slavery of which our text speaks.
Furthermore, we need
to be assured that Paul did
encourage slaves to seek their
freedom if they could attain it. Paul
makes it clear that if a Christian who is a slave has an opportunity to become
free, he ought to take it [1 Cor.
7:21,22]. In his letter to Philemon, he encourages
him to receive Onesimus, his runaway slave “no
longer as a bondservant, but more than a bondservant, a beloved brother.” I understand this to mean that Onesimus
was going back to work for
Philemon, who would care for him
physically and treat him as a brother in the Lord.
But mark this! Slavery, along with a host of other forms
that demean human beings is an institution that arises from of a fallen world. People were never
designed by God for slavery. But there it is! Many people are poor and literally sell
themselves into slavery. Others are sold into slavery by their parents because
of poverty. Poverty is another result of life in a fallen world. Jesus said, ”the poor you will always have with you” [Mk. 14:7]. And poverty lends itself to
exploitation, and it needs to be regulated. And so, in Exodus 20-21, in giving the civil law to Israel, God also gives
laws on slavery , not because He designed it so, but to regulate such practises in a fallen world, reminding masters
to treat their slaves well. [Ex. 21:1] The law is designed to regulate
life in a fallen world. It
regulates slavery. It
regulates divorce [Deut. 24:1-4]. And yet the Bible condones neither. The civil law
simply mitigates and constrains. But it
does not condone
issues such as slavery. I repeat, people were not originally
created to be slaves. We were created for freedom under God!
And so Paul says
to Christian slaves (who are
under the yoke of slavery) that they should honour their masters. The explanation is given in v.1 : “Let all who are under the yoke as bondservants regard their own
masters as worthy of all honour (and
here is the reason) so that the name of God and
the teaching may not be reviled.” Paul gives an evangelistic reason. He tells the Christian slave that even in his less than ideal
position, his behaviour to his master has a
bearing on God's reputation. God’s Word is at
stake. The truth of the gospel is
at stake. This is remarkable. The glory of God in the eyes of a master is at stake in the behaviour of a slave who professes Christ!
So, how does this all
apply to us? None of us are slaves, at least not in the way that these people
were slaves and yet the principles apply
to us, especially as we consider this
in the light of our working
relationships as employers and employees.
1. Principle #1 : As employees
in the service of our employers
we are called to ensure that in so doing we honour God and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This means that we
honour the Name of God by fulfilling
the highest standards in our employment.
Nowhere is this more true than when we work for a non- Christian
boss. Even those that are not nice to us! The apostle Peter makes that point: “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters
with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but
also to those who are harsh” (I
Pet.2:18).We are to bear witness to the gospel of Christ in the way that we
live. The way that we live either commends the gospel, or it undermines the
gospel. Let that be an abiding lesson to all of us! The greatest barriers
of our gospel witness in our
community and in our working environment are our lives. Our
lives will either commend the truth or undermine it.
2. Principle
#2 : If we have the privilege
of working for a Christian boss, we are not to abuse them on the ground that they are our brothers. Paul is saying to these Christian slaves that
they ought to serve there masters even
more diligently, and better, precisely
because they are fellow believers. Our equality in Christ can be no excuse for
poor service.
3. Principle #3
is not found in our text, but as indicated
already, we find it in Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3. I am adding it here
because I wanted to add a word for masters or employers.
(i) The
first point here is that “enslaving” people is wrong (see 1 Timothy 1:10). And even though slavery is a societal fact Paul encouraged a
believing slave-owner named
Philemon to give Onesimus, his slave, his freedom on the basis that he is a brother in the Lord. Once you have spiritual freedom through the gospel, social freedom should
follow very quickly. In business terms that means that we need
to treat employees with fairness
and respect. It means paying them a fair wage
so that they can live in dignity.
(ii) In
Colossians 4:1 Paul exhorts the slave-owners in Colossae to treat
their slaves justly and fairly, knowing that they too
where accountable to their Master in heaven.
Both, the Christian employer and
employee ultimately have one Master to whom they must give an account. In his
letter to the Ephesians Paul tells the slave-owners in the Ephesian church, to stop their threatening, reminding them that
God, their common Master shows no partiality when
it comes to judging actions (Eph.
6:9)
How are you acting towards those who are over you or under
you? Has the gospel taken hold of you in
such a manner that it affects those who
are over or under you? You cannot possibly act in the way that Paul is describing here unless you have a
new heart and a new nature. Unless the Holy Spirit indwells you are not
likely to have such inclinations.
Since we came to know Christ, He has often put his finger on
wrongs we have done to other people, particularly as we begin to understand the fact that the Lord Christ bore our sins on the
cross and grants us total forgiveness. So the
great rule for life, in whatever station we may find ourselves in this life is this:
The gospel, Jesus, FIRST. Everything follows from that.
William
Wilberforce (1755 -1833 ) who led
the abolishment of slavery in England in
the 18th/ 19th
century could do what he did only because of the powerful gospel preaching, the Great Awakening, that
happened in the pulpits of Britain at that time! The gospel is the true basis for our freedom, and for that we
continually labour here at Eastside!
Amen.
