In the Workplace

In the Workplace
Words of Faith 6-14-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Timothy
[1] All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. [2] Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.

Don't take this passage as a divine endorsement of slavery. We must realize that Paul was working within a culture with some horribly sinful social institutions that were not His choosing.
So, why didn't Paul urge enslaved people to flee from their enslavers? This was apparently not the agenda Paul was led to by the Spirit at that time. Other matters were more immediately pressing. In the broader reading of Paul's life and letters, we see that Paul had great confidence in the providence of God. From Paul's perspective, if God wanted to free a believer who was enslaved, God could do so. Forcing the issue might even interfere with the purposes of God.
As a Pharisee, Paul was steeped in the teaching of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), which included the story of Joseph and how God used his enslavement to save the sons of Jacob from famine. God was at work even through the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt as this provided the place where they grew into a great nation.
Paul knew from his own life that God sometimes allowed Him to be jailed so the jailkeeper might be converted to faith in Christ! The time that Paul spent in a Roman prison was not wasted. In fact, the whole praetorium guard had been converted!
Paul had a unique trust in the providence of God to place him exactly where God wanted to use him. So it is not surprising that Paul recommends that enslaved people should do their work showing respect to their master‑‑ whether the master is a believer or not. That was the priority of that day.
But in the time in which we live, we must be absolutely clear-- Slavery is wrong. Human trafficking is among the greatest of evils. We are called to work for the freedom and liberty of all people.
In devotional study, our best application of this text is not to slavery‑‑ but to the workplace. In the ancient world, various forms of slavery were the primary "work institutions," especially in the Roman world. We must never soft-sell human exploitation, but many enslaved people were indentured because of debt for a period of time. Debts could be repaid by family members, and freedom could be attained. We read about "freedmen" who had found freedom within the culture.
Many enslaved people were captured in times of war and served as laborers. Some were quickly recognized as artisans and created beautiful details in Roman structures. Others were well education and served as teachers in Roman homes, often becoming a part of the family. While many were manual laborers, other servants had a beloved role in homes caring for children.
None of these circumstances justifies one human being "owning" another human being as property that could be bought or sold. But this helps us understand the time in which Paul was writing.
For us? Sometimes the situations we work in may seem like slavery. We may feel like a large mortgage or student debt "owns" us, but this did come from decisions we made with the intention to repay.
We may find ourselves in a workplace that seems oppressive or unfair. We may be tempted to complain or cause trouble. Paul suggests a different possibility: Show respect to the boss, even when that boss is not respectful or respectable. You may have an eternal influence on that person. You may be the only connection for eternal hope.
There is another warning. Be careful not to show less respect than you would in another situation if you work for a Christian boss. Working for a Christian boss is wonderful, but sometimes Christians take advantage.
I recall several times when Christian business owners went out of their way to hire people from the church. I have also heard how some Christians sometimes take advantage of such a situation by pressing the limits of tardiness and days off or asking for special consideration.
Just because we have a Christian boss who is forgiving and patient does not mean we should use company time to make phone calls or do personal work. How sad that our human nature will lead us to subtly take advantage of a blessing offered by God through a Christian boss. Let it not be so.
How are your working relationships? Are they hard? Perhaps God has you there for a reason you have not yet discerned. Do you work for a Christian? Be extra careful to give respect.

Lord, help me to be faithful in whatever situation You allow in my life. Let me be a witness to those who do not believe and especially faithful to those who do believe. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.