Since slavery has been illegal in the United States since 1865, what can we possibly learn from these directions Paul gives to bondservants and masters? Well, this is yet another specific example of what Paul told all Christians to do back in 5:21 – to “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” And that mutual submission is, in turn, how all our relationships should express what Paul told us to do in 5:1 – to “be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

So, how might we apply this particular example of mutual submission to our own culture? Slaves may not have masters anymore, but employees certainly have bosses. So, wouldn’t it make sense for followers of Christ to work hard for their employers with a sincere heart? Since Jesus submitted Himself to the Father’s will, shouldn’t we also render all our earthly service with good will? Doesn’t it make sense for those who bear the Spirit of Christ to consider our employers as more important than ourselves, just as Jesus gave Himself up for sinners like us?

But verse 9 says that the shoe is also on the other foot, that bosses and employers have exactly the same responsibility to those who work for them. Instead of bullying our subordinates, we must also treat them the way Christ treated us, serving them by being concerned for their safety and welfare, paying them fairly and promptly, and not asking them to do immoral or unreasonable tasks. Employers must not emulate Ebenezer Scrooge when he was a bitter, penny-pinching, selfish miser, but instead the thoughtful, generous man he became by the end of Dickens’ story.

So that’s the bottom line – if envy should not give anyone an excuse for slacking or shirking in the workplace, greed should also provide no reason for abuse or neglect. So, whether we are slave or free, whether we are the bosses or the employees, we must stop looking out for ourselves, and instead work as hard as we can for the benefit of one another. And history tells us that’s not only the way to greater holiness, but to greater prosperity.

Ephesians 6:5-9 (ESV)

5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man,
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.
9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.