The all-sufficient Christ sanctifies our family relationships
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
In Paul’s day slaves also were part of the family relationship. The mighty Roman Empire ran on slave power. It is estimated that at one time perhaps a third of the empire’s population consisted of slaves. Convicts and prisoners of war were made slaves. Others were kidnapped by slave traders and forced into slavery; some became slaves because they could not pay their debts. Children of slaves, of course, were also considered slaves.
Paul here speaks of slaves as belonging to their masters’ households, because many slaves lived and worked in their masters’ homes. Light manufacturing was often done in homes. The master or the lady of the household would supervise anywhere from two or three to several dozen slaves in producing textiles, pottery, jewels, shoes, and other sellable items.
As the Christian gospel proceeded throughout the empire, many slaves became Christians. Occasionally their masters did too. In either case, it posed a question: How could the child of God, master or slave, relate his new religious status to his social standing?
Paul addresses that question in what some might consider to be a surprising way. Although in 1 Timothy 1:9,10 he condemns slave traders as immoral, he does not advocate, here or elsewhere, the immediate abolition of slavery. He does not call on masters to free their slaves or on slaves to revolt against their masters. Immediate abolition of slavery would bring chaos to the empire, and it would cause much human suffering, especially to those who were slaves. The violent overthrow of society’s institutions is not the Christian way. Many social reformers today miss a key point that the apostle makes here, namely, that the gospel aims primarily not at changing social patterns but at changing hearts. The apostle took social structures as he found them and spoke with the gospel to those who lived in them. If changes in the structures and institutions of society resulted from changes worked by the gospel in human hearts, those changes evolved quietly and peacefully. The apostle’s instructions to slaves and masters, if followed, would eliminate the evils and brutality associated with slavery and would dignify the labors of Christian slaves, both in their own eyes and in the eyes of their masters.
To Christian slaves Paul simply says, “Obey your earthly masters in everything.” The only exception to such obedience would be a master’s command that was contrary to God’s will. Christian slaves were not to be obedient simply to catch the master’s eye or impress him when he happened to be watching. They were to obey with genuine sincerity. If those who served would only remember that, ultimately, they were serving Christ, then they would find dignity and nobility in even the lowliest task. Laziness, dishonesty, and ill will toward their masters would be replaced by integrity, honesty, and willing service.
By wholehearted cooperation and full obedience to their masters, Christian slaves would also be promoting the cause of Christ. Their masters would see what transforming power the gospel has in hearts and lives. Even though those dutiful Christian slaves might never be properly rewarded for their efforts here on earth, the Lord himself assures them that, in the eternal inheritance that he has prepared for them, he will recognize and graciously reward the service they rendered to their earthly masters as part of what they did for him. On the other hand, both slaves and masters are reminded that the Lord sees how they treat each other. Those who deliberately do evil, no matter what kind of excuse they might think they have, will find that the Lord will not lightly overlook their misdeeds.
Paul’s directions to masters likewise emphasize mutual kindness and love. According to Roman law, a slave was a piece of property without any rights. A master could buy, sell, and even kill a slave legally. There were grotesque evils associated with slavery. Paul calls on Christian masters to exercise their lordship in the name of Jesus. Christian masters were to treat their slaves humanely, never forgetting that they too were answerable to a master, one much greater than themselves. They were answerable to the heavenly master, who died to save both slaves and free. The souls of all, no matter what their social standing, are precious in his sight, and he can fill the hearts of both slaves and free people with his love and enable both to live their lives to his glory. In an application of Jesus’ golden rule to the slave-master relationship, the apostle urges Christian masters in Colosse to treat their slaves in exactly the way they would want to be treated by the heavenly master.
In these verses Paul has more to say about the slavemaster relationship than about any of the other family relationships. This was only natural, because with this letter and the epistle to Philemon, the apostle was sending a runaway slave, Onesimus, back to his master, Philemon, in Colosse. Onesimus is mentioned in verse 9 of chapter 4, and the entire epistle to Philemon, also included in this book, is addressed to this situation.
The Christian principles that Paul sets forth for the relationship between Christian slaves and masters can provide guidelines for modern Christians in employer-employee relationships. Through these words of the apostle, the Lord gives dignity to our work. As Christians, we serve the Lord with our faithful and diligent labor in our various earthly callings. Our daily labors are the fruits of our faith and ought to be carried out in the spirit of serving the Lord. Throw yourself into your work, the apostle would urge today’s Christian laborers, as if your employer were the Lord.
Here on earth the employee who works diligently at his task may never be rewarded or earn any more than fellow employees who just “put in their time.” He may, at times, even become the object of his peers’ ridicule. But the Lord sees the fruitful labor of all his believers. Above all, he sees the attitude of their hearts, and he will graciously acknowledge and reward their faithfulness when they enter their heavenly home.
The Lord would likewise have employers deal fairly with their employees. Employers also have a master in heaven. If employers and employees followed these simple guidelines and respected each other in unselfish Christian love, many of today’s difficulties between labor and management would disappear. As a blessed by-product, the nation’s economy, based not on greed but on mutual consideration, would flourish. May each Christian employer and employee who reads Paul’s inspired directives to the Colossians remember that, though we may not be able to change the world, we can, with the Lord’s help, begin to change our little corner of it as we carry out all our tasks diligently and faithfully, doing them all in the name of Jesus.