SUNDAY August 22, 2021
Obedient Bondservants
Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
Ephesians 6:5-8
In this culture, Paul wanted Christians to understand that they needed to obey their masters who ruled over them. A slave who willingly served his master was known as a bondservant.
In Exodus 21:1-11 we find the understanding of a bondservant. In the Old Testament, Hebrew servants would be bought. A servant served his master for six years, when his time of servitude was completed, the master would ask his servant if he would like to remain. He had the choice to leave and be free or willingly stay.
If the servant was treated well and he loved his master, he could make the choice to stay with his master for the rest of his life. Then the master of the house would take the servant to the doorpost of his house where he pierced his right ear lope and placed an earring. This meant his servant was now a bondservant. He would serve his master by his own freewill––by choice.
Christians are bondservants of Jesus Christ. As an employee, we are to set an example in our service to our employers. An employee should honor and respect their employer. Even if your employer is not a Christian, you have the responsibility to set an example at your place of work. Pray for them, the company and the rest of the employees. Be a light to those around you. They will witness your joy and honesty.
The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I will not begin to be a saint.
~Oswald Chambers~
[A Bondservant of Jesus]
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