Masters, give your bondservants what is just and
fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
Colossians 4:1
In this day and age, it is hard to imagine that there were ever slave owners who were true Christians. During the time of the Roman Empire, when slaves comprised 75% of the population, it would have been difficult to imagine that society could function without the practice. Christianity changes people, and from there, the civilization changes.
The Apostle Paul advocated for slaves, because many of the early believers were considered the property of others. He appealed to their Masters that they were Christ’s slaves and had a Master in Heaven. They needed to show mercy and respect to the men and women who served them, if they believed that Christ would give them mercy and forgiveness.
The applications of these verses are still valid today even though the socioeconomic structure of our culture is very different. In the modern church, there are business owners and administrators who still boss people around and can make or break those who work for them. They, too, need to be reminded that they have a Boss in Heaven who is also watching them to see how they handle their own human resources.
In the first century, sometimes slaves would be elders in the church and teach their owners spiritual truths. God wanted everyone treated with love and without partiality. The Christian boss in the last-century church needs to realize that God is more interested in just and fair treatment of employees than He is about the business’s bottom line. That employer needs to remember that he also has a Master in Heaven.
February 1
