Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ. ~Ephesians 6:5
Our nation used this and verses like this to justify slavery for far too long. The word “bondservant” in the ESV is translated “slave” in other translations. The word in Greek is doulos and means slave.
I’ve heard so many people say that since we don’t have slavery anymore, we can substitute the employee/employer relationships here. And that may apply, especially since it’s always a good thing to approach your boss with a sincere heart, but the word here really is “slave.”
So what do we do with that?
The concept of a society free of slaves is a rather recent development. Ancient philosophers couldn’t comprehend a world without slavery. Plato (428-348 BC), the philosopher who dreamed up our current education system (elementary, middle, high school, university), has within his work a sorting method: the smartest of the smart had the opportunity to rule the world, while those who didn’t make the cut were designated to be slaves. Slaves were uneducated and fed by their appetites – living with only enough resources for the next meal. Slaves were the ones who did all the manual labor. These were the farmers and construction workers, the cooks and the maids. They didn’t have the freedom to choose their career path, and often their masters were harsh. While Plato may have lived 400 years before the Apostle Paul, it was still in that context that these words from Ephesians were written.
Today everyone has the right to an education, but that doesn’t mean that everyone works a job in a university, perpetually expanding upon their education. The world *needs* the balance. In our world today, one group is not better or worse than another. In fact, most people who work the manual labor jobs get paid more than those in academic fields.
But, unlike today, being in the uneducated slave class was not voluntary. Those who ruled the world determined which class a person fell into, and once labeled a slave, they reported to a single person. That person determined the quality of life for his slaves. Today, we have the right to quit a job and apply for a different one. Today, if we don’t like what we do, we have the freedom to take a few classes, earn a degree or certificate, and choose the field in which we work.
Today, we have the freedom to say, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” That’s a relatively new concept.
So what made ancient slavery a sin? It was the lack of freedom to choose one’s lot in life. Slavery in any form is an abuse of humanity. Slavery says that people “own” other people.
I would love to say that our nation hit a breaking point with the Civil War and we’ve moved beyond it, but truly we still see signs of segregation everywhere. Slavery regarding race may have ended (though racism has not), but statistically we have more modern slaves in the human trafficking industry than we did at the height of slavery in our nation.
The Apostle Paul wrote the words in Ephesians to a class of people, encouraging them to approach their masters with joy. Kindness is contagious. We all know that one’s job satisfaction has a lot to do with the attitudes of those they work with. Paul is simply telling the people to work with joy.
If that’s the only application this verse had ever had, this wouldn’t be an issue. But no one caught in modern slavery can approach their master with a sincere heart. Modern slavery is pure evil, and as Christians indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we ought to be on the front lines of ending slavery in our world.
So what can we do? Pray. Serve those in need (providing for a person’s basic needs will prevent that person from turning to a questionable source for those needs). Pray some more. Serve the church, give to the mission of the church, and pray some more. For another action step, sign up for International Justice Mission’s prayer newsletter. They send regular prayer lists of people/situations around the world involving slavery and those fighting against it.
Beverly Womack says
As I read this, the thought occurred to me…. victims if domestic abuse are also slaves of sorts. Do they have the freedom and the right to leave and not go back? Yes, but there is often brainwashing involved that takes away the victims free will. How do you account for the number of victims that stay, or continually go back to their abuser? Abusers are typically very narcissistic and skilled in the maneuvers that will help them prey on women who are naturally givers. The cycle is difficult, at best, to break. Add to that a generation raised in the cycle, viewing it as “normal”, and you have a recipe for modern day slavery that can happen in our midst. Praying is truely the best answer. God can save those victims. He can even save the abusers. Intercessory prayer is incumbent on all Christians on the behalf of those who have given up.
As usual, thank you Kristi for all you do and the light you shed on God’s word.