Ephesians 6: 5 – 9 NLT
“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. 6 Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. 7 Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.”
The word “slaves” is a word we recoil from in the 21st century. We especially think of the slavery we know occurred over the past 400 years when people, especially from Africa, were captured and brought to Europe and North America to work in horrible conditions. In Bible times, especially in the Roman Empire, slaves were primarily people whose countries the Romans conquered. Likely 30% of the population of the Roman Empire at that time were slaves. Some had terrible working conditions, but some were treated more like we would consider the “working class”. This would include people with various skills in building, maintaining property, nannies, teachers, and even doctors. Today, slavery has been abolished in most of the world, but there are still places where people are treated dreadfully in sweat shops where they work for pennies, or in human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
In these verses in Ephesians 6, Paul is not advocating slavery. He is just dealing with a situation that was happening in his world. In 1 Corinthians 7: 21 – 23, Paul says this: “Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23 God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.”
The verses of today can be applied to our current working conditions. Instead of masters and slaves, we can use the words employers and employees. The previous verses in Ephesians 5 and 6 talk about family relationships. Remember, wives are to respect their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Children are to obey and honour their parents, and parents are not to provoke or exasperate their children. Those relationships are the basis of our lives, but working relationships also take up a huge part of our days.
As employees – “obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Now that is a challenge!
Wherever I work, I need to treat my boss with respect. I need to work hard even when I’m not being watched or supervised. I need to try to please my boss, do the work just the way that boss would want. It seems as a Christian, I should be the type of person who would be considered for “Employee of the Year” award. That is such a challenge because often, if we’re honest, we don’t respect our bosses that much. We might even think we’d do a better job if we had that position. The real crux of this whole situation is the sentence – “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
Would your day look any different if you started it by praying something like this: Heavenly Father, help me at work today. Help me to do my job well so that when my colleagues think of me, they know I am an open and honest worker. Help me to treat the people I come across with love and kindness. Lord, I want people to come to you because they have seen how much you have made a wonderful difference in my life.
There is another verse/challenge that strikes home as well. “Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.” Someday when we get to heaven, will God reward you for the life you lived on earth – in your family – at work?
Paul now addresses the management/bosses at work. “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.” Just think for a moment. When the president of a large company and the janitor in one of his/her manufacturing plants stand before the Lord, they are equal in the Lord’s sight. If you are the owner of a business, or a department head in business, or a principal in a school – or in any leadership position at work – and you are a Christian – are you known for your honest and loving ways?
Remember the “thesis” of these chapters? “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.” (Ephesians 5: 1 – 2)
I don’t know which is the hardest advice to follow – being a good employee or being a good boss. To behave in a way at work that will attract our fellow workers to God definitely needs prayer. It’s a huge challenge.
Our song for today is Love God Love People by Danny Gokey