Have we become slaves in ways hidden to us? Scripture warns
us to not become anyone’s slave:
·
Were you a bondservant [often translated as “slave”
from the Greek “doulos”] when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you
can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was
called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who
was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price;
do not become bondservants of men. (1 Corinthians 7:21-23 ESV)
We are only to be bondservants to our Lord. To have other
masters is to compromise our allegiance to our Lord, as Jesus had warned:
·
“No one can serve two masters, for either he
will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other…” (Matthew 6:24)
Does this injunction apply to our employment? Why shouldn’t
it! Here is the distinction we must make. Are we yoked to our jobs in such a
way that we have become so dependent upon it that we cannot leave it? If we are
no longer free in this regard, then we are yoked to another master. Therefore,
Paul had warned:
·
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For
what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has
light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a
believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my
dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from
them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing… (2 Corinthians 6:14-17)
When we are yoked, we are no longer free to serve the Lord. The
same pertains to our relationships. We can have friends and family who do not
share our faith. However, we cannot be so yoked together that it takes away our
freedom to leave, if leaving is what would honor the Lord.
This doesn’t mean that we cannot work for an unbeliever.
Many of God’s people had worked under kings and pharaohs without compromising
their relationship with their Lord, their ultimate King. Daniel served under
Darius, King of the Medes and the Persians. However, Darius had signed an order
requiring that, for a month, no one could
petition any other deity apart from Darius. However, this didn’t stop
Daniel from praying to the God of Israel. However, Daniel was caught and
brought to the king, who was required, by his edict, to throw Daniel to the
lions. However, his God rescued him:
·
Then the king was exceedingly glad, and
commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of
the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his
God. (Daniel 6:23)
Would we have followed the King’s edict, or would we be a
Danel who “had truted in his God?” If we had joined the military, would we
serve in an unjust war and allow the military to be our master at the expense
of our relationship with God?
This is a hard question for me to ask, since I believe in
the necessity of a strong military and the “just war” concept. However, would
we be willing to take a stand against this “master” if our Lord required it? If
not, we shouldn’t place ourselves in such a position. Since we are His bondservants,
we would have to flee from any situation that would force us to compromise:
·
Do you not know that if you present yourselves
to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either
of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Romans
6:16)
Would we be willing to entrust ourselves to God as Daniel
had? This same question pertains to sending our children to public school and
university. What is our responsibility for them before God? Before all else,
they belong to Him and have simply been entrusted into our care:
·
“And these words that I command you today shall
be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall
talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when
you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
No longer can we expect the secular system to train up our
children in a way pleasing to God. Instead, the system has become antagonistic
to God. Therefore, to send them to such schools is to send them to wolves who
seek to devour their minds. Are we free to do something about this, or have we
chosen a lifestyle – a master – that requires a two incomes? Have our jobs and
lifestyles enslaved us so that we can no longer serve the Lord?
Our Lord does not want us to be bondservants to the system,
dependent upon it for our lives. We were made to be free to serve and to
worship only the Lord:
·
Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it
is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you
serve.’” (Matthew 4:10)
This must also be our motto!
No comments:
Post a Comment