Be Respectful

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Day 1: Be Respectful

Rev. Luke Powell

Let's finish studying 1 Timothy this week! Chapter 6 of Paul's great letter to his young friend begins with words about respect.

Let's read it: "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. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves. These are the things you are to teach and insist on." (1 Timothy 6:1-2)

Does the Bible Endorse Slavery?

Some people feel that passages like this endorse slavery. Of course, the American slave trade of the 1600s and 1700s was particularly famous for this - using the Bible to justify slave trading. Some have argued that the slave trade of biblical times was not brutal like it was in the 1700s, but was more of an employment-type of arrangement. Some have suggested that if the Christians had immediately tried to solve the slave problem in the Roman Empire, it would have spelt the end of the church, because something like a third of the population were slaves, and some slaves had slaves of their own! It was such a part of the culture that the Christian way was actually to transform how slaves and masters respected and treated each other, rather than trying to abolish the whole thing at that time (although it's worth noting that it was the Christians who pushed for slavery to end in the 1800s - because by then it had become brutal and terrible).

What Paul Taught Slaves and Masters

So notice here that Paul's message for the slaves and masters of his day is for them both to treat the other with respect. Slaves should respect their masters, and work hard in the role they're in. Masters should be devoted to the welfare of their slaves.

For Paul, disrespect between slaves and masters - one way or the other - would actually bring slander to the name of God, and the standing of the Christian message.

So how does this apply to us in a world where slavery is outlawed? Well, listen to the words of Albert Barnes, the great commentator on the New Testament, in his comments about the word "slave": "The word is that which was commonly applied to a slave, but it is so extensive in its signification as to be applicable to any species of servitude, whether voluntary or involuntary. If slavery existed in Ephesus at the time when this epistle was written, it would be applicable to slaves; if, any other kind of servitude existed, the word would be equally applicable to that. There is nothing in the word itself which essentially limits it to slavery."

Serving With Respect Wherever You Work

This is not just about people owning people. It's about wherever you serve.

• Do you, as a Christian, work harder in the places where you work?

• Do you serve more diligently because you want to glorify God in the things you are doing?

• Do you treat the people above you and below you with respect and dignity?

If you are serving in some capacity, do you fully respect those above you?

If you are in charge and leading in some capacity, are you devoted to the welfare of those under you?

Christians, Paul is saying here, are people who are respectful.

If you want to be found faithful, in the end, be respectful in the way you treat people as you serve and as you lead.

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