Ephesians 6:1-9
Matthew 24:45-51 "Who
then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the
servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that
servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will
put him in charge of all his possessions.
48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself,
'My master is staying away a long time,'
49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat
and drink with drunkards. 50
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and
at an hour he is not aware of. 51
He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“When the cats away, the
mice will play.” This old proverb speaks
to how many of us have felt when our boss is on vacation or away from the
office for a meeting. Maybe we don’t “play,”
but maybe we relax a little. We eat at
our desk when we’re not supposed to. We
make phone calls on company time instead of waiting until our break. We take a little longer lunch, because no one
will notice. But, in our passage this
week, Ephesians 6:1-9, Paul gives us different instructions to live by.
In Ephesians 6:5, Paul
addresses slaves and masters. Slavery in
the Greek and Roman world was very different than the slavery we are familiar
with. The practice of slavery was often
considered an economic and even practical need.
Estimates in this time period recommend that up to one-third of the
population in Greece and Rome were slaves.
Some people were born into slavery, while others became slaves during
their lives because of their inability to pay debts. Sometimes parents would sell their children
into slavery or adults would choose a life of slavery so they would have a
better life. The Old and New Testaments
provide regulations governing the treatment of slaves (see Exodus 21) and
require masters to take good care of their slaves.
Paul is reiterating how
Christian masters and slaves should serve one another. There should be a mutual respect, serving one
another as if serving the Lord. Whether
we work for someone or have others who work for us, Jesus is Master of all of
us. Even in Jesus’ parable in Matthew
24:45-51, He encourages the servants to be wise and serve their master well
even in his absence in order to receive a blessing. We too must do our best, no matter what the
situation. We must be a people of
integrity, doing our work as if doing it for God!
Blessings,
Pastor Amy
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