A note from the Pastor’s Desk:

“Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.”

Colossians 4:1

Good Morning Dearly Beloved,

As the famous quote from Lord Acton says, “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Most people, if given a little authority, will reveal their true colors in short order. It is easy to be gracious when you are talking to your boss, but how do you treat the person who reports to you, the server in a restaurant, or the person working on your project? In the ancient Roman world, masters had absolute, unchecked authority over their servants. The law placed no boundaries on their behavior. It was into this environment that the Apostle Paul wrote our study verse this week. He established a boundary, not based on law, but based on serving Jesus Christ, which was counter to the culture of the day. The verse establishes a timeless principle that strips away human pride and establishes a gold standard for leadership.

Students of the Bible must at times acknowledge and accept textual criticism that points out flaws in our modern Bible. The placement of our study verse this week is an example of a structural error in the thirteenth-century assembly of the Bible. This verse should not be the beginning of chapter four but rather the last verse of chapter three. It does not introduce a new thought, but rather concludes the household codes messages of the last chapter. This verse provides the counterbalance to the instructions the Apostle gave to the servants. As you read Colossians, if this verse feels out of place, you are correct.

The core message of this verse comes with the Apostle saying, “give unto your servants that which is just and equal.” These words were not going to change the culture and laws of the day immediately. However, they did challenge those masters who were also disciples to see the world through a different lens. The notion that master and servant were equal, in all ways, before God was revolutionary. The master’s belief in equality before God forced him to reconsider his servant’s compensation. However, the scope of the modifications he made extended beyond compensation to include considerations of workload, chastisement, and other aspects of the conditions under which the servant worked.

The last phrase of our study verse motivates the master to change his behavior. In Roman culture, the master answered to no one about his property and servants. In particular, the treatment of the servants was under his complete discretion. The Apostle upends this by showing a higher economy; every earthly master is also a servant of the true Lord and Master in heaven. In fact, in God’s eyes, because he does not see earthly divisions of people, all of his children are equal. Thus, the master and the servant both answered in the same fashion to God. The words of the Apostle in this verse were to remind masters that earthly authority is limited to stewardship of what God has given. Thus, his standards of love, grace, and mercy should be exercised along with authority.

While our modern culture is very different from that of 1st-century Rome, the lessons of this verse still apply. We are all in various relationships with differentiated power structures. How we treat those with less authority and power in our relationships should reflect how we desire God to treat us.

Our Prayers are with you daily,

Brother Jeremiah