We are at verse 5. In my bible, this next section has a subtitle of "Slaves and Masters." Verse five says, "Slaves obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey christ." We are going to go through this word by word, so it is clear what the author intends to convey.
The word translated slave here is also translated as servant or bond-servant in other translations. If you think servant in this context could mean someone who chose to serve someone else as a paying job, like a servant in Downton Abbey, you would be wrong. The greek word clearly refers to someone who is legally bound to another person and has no personal freedom or rights. (Link) The word obey in this passage clearly means to do what the master says. (Link) The phrase "respect and fear" in this passage is literally "fear (link) and trembling (link)" in the greek. It seems the authors of the NIV tried to soften the meaning. Not only must the slaves obey with fear, they must obey sincerely. What good is sincerity, if you are afraid? Isn't sincerity of more value if it is under no compulsion? What are they to be afraid of? The consequences of disobedience?
The next verse says,"Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of christ, doing the will of god from your heart." Here is a common refrain in christianity, "hearts" will be judged. It is not enough to obey, you must do it from the heart. An insincere heart nullifies obedience. How does one person tell if another is sincere or not? How do you measure sincerity?
Verse 7, "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the lord, not men,(But they are serving men.) because you know that the lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free." No, we don't know that. When do slaves get this nebulous reward and what exactly is it? Paul has not told us in this letter. He has mentioned slavation, inheritance, redemption, and power for those who believe. But what does that actually mean? And why must our hearts be sincere as long as we are doing "good"?
Verse 8, "And masters treat your slaves in the same way." Yeah, right. Masters are to serve their slaves wholeheartedly as though they were obeying christ? Since when? Why aren't they just told to give the slaves their freedom and hire them for reasonable wages? Why aren't they told it is wrong to own another person? Why does god not promote personal autonomy? Could it be because the god of the bible is a product of that era and had the same values that the people of that time held?
Last, masters are told not to threaten their slaves, because he who is in heaven is the master of them both and he shows no favoritism. So, all christians are Jesus's slaves. They are to sincerely obey him with fear and trembling. But what has he commanded that must be obeyed? Back in Ephesians 2:15, the author says Jesus abolished in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. So far, all the commands in this letter have come from the author. None have been claimed to come from Jesus or god. Does one obey Jesus by doing what Paul says? Why should anyone do what Paul says? Again, what is the consequence of disobedience? Why must they fear and tremble? Also, how can god have no favoritism and still allow the inequity of the master/slave relationship to exist?
No comments:
Post a Comment