Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 2:17-21
Slavery was a fact of life in the Roman world of the first century, and Peter addresses it as such. It isn’t accurate to insist that the Bible condones it, however, as some would do. It was not permitted under the Law of Moses, and the New Testament addresses it only as one of the ways of this world. There were many in the past who quoted the New Testament’s treatment of slavery in an 
attempt to justify the practice, and of course there are some today who use the same approach to discredit Christianity, but in both cases, such commentators demonstrate a complete lack of understanding concerning the nature of the New Covenant, which established a Kingdom not of this world, and in opposition to this world.
Since we, for the most part, live in places where slavery does not exist as an economic system, we can draw insight from this passage regarding our relations with employers, and that is how I’ll approach it here.
Peter is telling slaves (employees) to submit themselves to the bosses out of regard for God. He goes on to say that we should do this not only with “good” bosses, but with the harsh ones as well. For our time, let’s look at it this way: If you are a Christian and you have a bad attitude at work, how does this look to your fellow workers or your boss? You talk about all the good and wonderful things, and then you are resentful, demanding, lazy and cause problems for everyone. So, is this what it is to be a Christian? Seems a fair question. If you are always telling your friends that the boss is always trying to cheat you, what kind of impression does that make?
OK, to be fair, I was almost always in management, but to me you would just sound petty and selfish, certainly not like a humble servant of Jesus… but maybe I’m wrong.
Peter goes on to ask what good it would do for you to suffer a beating for doing wrong? For our time, you sure can’t complain too much if you get fired for doing something wrong, can you? Getting in trouble for doing right is a whole different matter! In all cases, Peter is saying that we need to do what is right in God’s eyes and in building God’s Kingdom, and if that requires some sacrifice on our parts, that’s well worth enduring for His sake. Jesus thought so, and as a result of His willingness to suffer and sacrifice, you and I are free from sin and death!
In the next section, Peter looks directly at the suffering of Christ, and we will dive into that one next time!
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Don. Started reading this thinking “studying verses – yawn”, and ended thinking this was a really useful read.
The value for me of these chunks you are doing is to better “connect the dots”. I found myself two thirds of the way through – totally engaged – and “… love your enemies … ring any bells?” Just that.
Simple (!!) – yet not something I would have seen on my own. Thank you!
“studying verses – yawn”
I’d never say that don’t have a unique way with words Paul! Glad it helped, and yes, it’s almost always the simple answer that turns out to be right!
Wow – extract that and it does look a little lacking!
>> There are times when the bible and its verses don’t grab me – I tend to read your posts in the middle of the day, in the middle of other things. So I am not always salivating and ready to rock. Today was one those occasions.
Despite that, your words brought the verses – and the bible – and the lord – to me without any “readiness” in my mind. Which surprised me, and which I hoped would (possibly not clearly enough) compliment your wisdom and gentle love – not to mention the lord’s eternal patience with me! I was totally caught out by the power of something unexpected – it was a lovely wow moment here..
(am I the only one who is not always “in the mood” for caressing every verse? please say it is not so!!)
🙂
No Paul, it isn’t so, you were humble enough to admit it, which is to your credit!
Great post, Don. One of my erstwhile “Inconvenient Scriptures” List. But here’s one of those places I think so beautifully demonstrate God’s “stage setting” approach. I used to struggle, in my spiritual childhood, with the sense of being “one of God’s Divine Herd”… being a “grain of sand along an infinite beach of humanity”. How could OmniGod… possibly even KNOW me… let along love me, hear me, care for me, etc.? My itty bitty human life SO limited the possibilities for OmniGod.
That didn’t stop Him, though. And, over time, He just “stretched me”. Not to where I could comprehend or confine HIM… but to where I could truly accept that He cannot be comprehended or confined… and yet, He can and does, infinitely and intimately know me… every cell, atom, and instant. That this is true and real for each of us. And that He has placed each of us… perfectly… in His view for our joy, redemption, grace, and love… within the absolutely perfect moment and place in His Omniverse.
And that for every single one of His intimately known and loved Children, each of us, that is a unique time and place across all of humanity and all of history. Why? Because He Alone is the Absolute, the Constant, the Still Point Around Who Creation Revolves… not us, or our time, or our place, or our culture.
Our role? To be salt and light. To be vessel for Him. To bring light and love into dark places and to heal the broken. To carry not only His “words”, but His Word (the Holy Spirit and all that infinite love), to the 1 lost rather than the 99… giving Him hands, feet, and tongue in our world again.
He could just as easily placed me as a slave in Egypt, or Greece, or Rome, or Jerusalem… 2500 years ago, as placed me here and now. So for all and any of us. We could, even today, have been born anywhere on the globe… including TERRIBLE places, HOPELESS life prospects or cultures. ..
Would our mission change? Would our calling change? Would His will for our lives change? I don’t think so.
I used to “not like” this text. I used to “not want to hear this”. But now, today, not so much. To me, this text says, “It’s all Me, Little Monk. It’s all bringing Me and sharing Me. Don’t get distracted by the stage props… stay with the role… stay in character… stay with what you know your lines to be. And never EVER just act them from your head, but live them from your experience and your heart. Live them loud and large, so others can be captured by them, and begin to adopt the role for themselves, entering onto My stage for their own parts.”
Yup, I don’t mind hearing this so much anymore…
Grace — LM
I’m with you in every word of your comment, LM, this is one of those inconvenient, but wonderful texts. Yes, for sure, it’s all about Him, His grace, His priorities, his work and His love in me… and… and you and you over there! As soon as a person sees how amazing that is, he or she has moved up to Big Boy status in their outlook. Thanks for a great comment for you’ve enriched our understanding by posting it… It would make the start of a great post in its own right, btw.
Don, please realise I’m not trying to be provocative (in a negative sense) here, nor start ‘something’… but after watching a short YouTube clip about women ‘tricked’ into sex slavery (while thinking they were going to be dancers) I wonder at which point slaves should NOT serve their masters well.
*sighs*
I agree entirely, but what we know as the sex trade today is an entirely different thing than what was the economy of the Roman Empire… and many other empires. The sex trade we hear about would fall under the category of sexual immorality and violence in the NT.
The slave trade today goes far beyond anything that was practiced in Roman times or even in antebellum America. Most of the clothing we buy, cheap or otherwise, is connected to slavery in other countries through the manufacture of the fabric or the assembly of the garments themselves! I got a big wake up call on this issue at a National Youth Workers Conference I attended some years ago. A young man, who had been rescued out of child slavery in a fabric manufacturing plant in a third world country, pointed to a scar that ran from his eyebrow to his chin and told us all that he would wear that scar for the rest of his life so that we could wear what we choose. He begged us as Christians to learn where our clothing comes from and choose wisely. As a child he had stumbled in the factory where he was enslaved, and struck his face against a machine. To prevent his wound from bleeding onto and ruining the fabric, the boy’s master held him down as he laid a red hot poker to his wound to sear it together and stop the bleeding. He was afforded no other medical attention! In many ways America’s lust for the best and most of everything has made slaves of much of the rest of the world. As Christians we need to wake up to this injustice! I live in a small Midwestern city where not too many years ago a sex slavery ring was broken up in an airport hotel involving Somali boys who were being held captive and sold to whatever perverts the pimps could find coming off the planes at our airport!! Another with young women chained to beds and drugged out of their minds was found in a nearby suburb!! Slavery is all around us and permeates our culture in ways we often overlook! I am not in anyway disputing your message about Christians being good workers. I just wanted to use the topic to educate about modern day slavery.
Thank you for sharing this information. It needs wider circulation.