Ephesians 6:9 — In the Same Way!!!

READ THIS: Ephesians 6:9

9 And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

That first sentence is CRAZY! When Paul tells masters to treat their slaves "in the same way," he's referring to what he just told the slaves to do, which was:

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free.

So...Paul just told masters to obey their slaves with respect and fear...?! At heart, what this shows is that, in Jesus, there is no such thing as slave or master, because it is Jesus who is the true master of all, and He showed us what a truly good master does...and that's serve. Sure, in this world there will still be bosses and employees, and there are certain levels of authority that we have to listen to, but there is no one who can get away with treating someone else as anything less than the beloved of Jesus. It may seem like people get away with a whole bunch on this side of heaven, but God knows all that happens between us. And, for God, the CEO of a wide corporation and the homeless guy on the street is equally loved and valued, and God wants us all to treat each other accordingly. 

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Who is someone that you have a hard time treating with respect?

2. What are the thoughts that you think about that person? 
 
TRY THIS:
 
Spend some time thinking about what God might think about that person from questions 1 and 2! Next time you start to think along the lines of question two, maybe try and think about what God thinks of that person, too!

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