1 Timothy 6:1-2

Summary retelling of 1 Timothy 6:1-2

Paul tells all who are slaves to regard their masters with honor so that their faith in God would bring a positive witness to their master rather than a negative one.  Also, a slave of a Christian master must not be disrespectful of their position because in Christ they are brothers.  Instead, slaves of Christian masters should work even more hard because they know that their efforts are going to benefit another person in the faith.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The first teaching that Paul gives here is a bit difficult.  Notice that Paul seems to treat the idea of slavery as a part of life.  Paul doesn’t come out and say, “Master, free your slaves because slavery is wrong!”  Mind you, I’m not trying to say that Paul agrees with slavery.  Rather, what I think is important to remember is that for Paul there are two different worlds we live in.  There is the world of the flesh, in which some people may find themselves as a slave.  The other world is the spiritual one, which is where our relationship with God takes precedence.  Thus, what Paul is saying here is that spiritual matters are far more important than fleshly matters.  We might agree that slavery is wrong, but we also might not be able to convince the fleshly world of that fact.  But what we can do is remember that our witness to Christ is more important than our fleshly circumstance.  So even if a person finds themselves in slavery, what is more important is that the person work towards bringing their master to Christ rather than work to free himself or herself.  This is a hard teaching, but it really shows that we should be primarily concerned in this life with bringing others to Christ.

Does it feel inherently wrong to hear Paul talk about life as a slave and not hear Paul condemning slavery?  How hard do you think it would be to be a slave and care more about your master’s relationship with God than even your own freedom? 

Second Thought:

Paul then tells slaves that if they have a Christian master they should not be resentful about being a slave.  Certainly, this would be human nature.  If I was a Christian slave of a Christian master, it would be so easy for me to be bitter towards my master.  After all, how can “my brother in Christ” still think that it is okay to also be “my master!”  Paul knows this is human nature, and he wants to remind Christian slaves that our own personal freedom is secondary to our witness to God.  We need to be careful anytime that we start thinking about our desires over and above what God’s desire for us in this life might be.

How tempting would it be for a slave to demand their freedom from a Christian master who is supposed to “love one another?”  What does it say about a slave who instead of demanding their own rights simply acts out of love towards their master?

Third Thought:

Paul then tells slaves that if they are under a Christian master they should work even harder.  In an ideal world, this should be true.  In an ideal world, a Christian slaveholder would treat his slaves like his own children.  In an ideal world, the Christian master would love his slaves.  In an ideal world, it should be easy for a slave to love and work hard for their Christian master.  In many respects, Christian slaves should behave towards their masters as all Christians should behave towards God (after all, are we not slaves to God in Christ)?  However, we do not live in an ideal world.  Christian masters do not always treat their slaves with love.  Christian slaves do not always work hard for their masters even when they are treated with love.  Christians in general do not always respond to God (who is our master) with love as we should.

Is it easy to say that you love God and would do anything for Him?  Why is that statement so hard to live up to?  Why is it important for us to realize that even when we are treated well we don’t always respond as we should?

Passage for Tomorrow: 1 Timothy 6:3-5