Today's Scripture
Working for the Lord Ephesians 6:5-9
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; 6 not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, 8 knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.
9 And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.
RJ's Devotion
What does the passage say?
V. 5-6 Slaves need to be obedient to their masters.
V. 7-8 Render your service with enthusiasm, instead of grumbling.
V. 9-10 Masters need to treat their slaves with dignity and honor.
What does this passage say to me/us?
The passage we read is a passage hard to understand because we do not understand the master-slave relationship.
However, we need to see the intent of Paul, who is writing this letter.
He wants to emphasize that Christians should have a different perspective compared to the world.
The world says the slaves should obey their master because of their earthly obligation. Paul says, don’t do it because you are his slave, but because your Lord is God.
Jesus’ life was a life of service. So remember we are called to follow him, and our prize or reward is not in this world.
On the other hand, he also points out to the Christian master. Even though the world validates your mistreatment of you slave, as a follower, you should love and honor even the lowest person.
To learn how to live in this manner might be tough. However, the effect of our obedience, not because of what the world says, but because of what our Lord said, will be the agent to transform the world.
Prayer
Lord, help us to see what you want us to do. We take away the perspective of the world and follow the perspective of the kingdom.
In Christ, we pray, AMEN
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