Paul the
apostle has written instructions to Timothy his “son in the
faith” concerning false teachers, his personal call and
conversion, troublemakers, prayers and intercessions for leaders,
women, bishops, deacons, latter times, heresies, personal devotion
and gifts, widows and elders, and the sins and good works of men. In
chapter six and verse one of his letter to Timothy, Paul turned his
attention toward “servants” and “masters” where
we read:
Let as
many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of
all honor,
that the
name of God and his
doctrine be not blasphemed.
The
verse begins, “Let as many servants as are under the yoke
count their own masters worthy of all honor,...” Paul
began with “Let as many servants as are”
which is the Greek phrase, “eisi hosos dulos hosos eisi” which
has double emphasis meaning “allow, permit, give place to whoever,
however many and all who are servants, bondmen or men in servile
conditions” “under the yoke”
or “beneath the burdened or bondage” “count”
or “consider, deem, account and think” “their own”
which means “pertaining to one's self, one's own and belonging to
one's self” “masters” or “lords” “worthy”
which means “weighing, having weight, having the weight of another
thing of like value or worth as much” “of all honor” or
“a valuing by which the price is fixed”. “Servants”
were to esteem, count as precious and price at great value their
“masters” according to Paul.
The verse continues,
“...that the name of God and his
doctrine be not blasphemed.” Paul
continued by sharing the reason why
“servants”
must give honor to their “masters”
- “that the name”
or “the word and character which includes everything within the
thoughts or feelings of which is aroused in the mind of the one it is
directed to” “of God”
or “the Godhead, trinity, God the Father, Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit and spoken of the one and only and true God” “and
his doctrine” which refers to “His
teaching, instruction and precepts” “be
not blasphemed” which is the Greek phrase
“blasphēmeō hina mē blasphēmeō” and
means “reproached, railed at, reviled, calumniated and evil spoken
of”. The idea was that should a “servant”
not “honor”
his “master”,
God Almighty and His word would suffer ridicule and reproach by those
who observed the servant's behavior.
As
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we may find it a little easier
to relate to his direction if we use “employee” and “employer”
in the place of “servant”
and “master”.
When we know Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we as employees are
to “honor”
our employers. Should we not do so, those who look upon us will at
minimum wonder about our true faith and possibly ridicule our belief
and trust in Jesus Christ. In other words, people are watching us,
and they are observing how we manage our relationships with our
employers. When we honor our employers, not only do we obey the word
of God, but we also bear witness that we have a relationship with
Jesus Christ that far exceeds any relationship we have upon the earth
– including our employment. May the Lord Jesus bring us to the
truth of His words, and may we be honoring employees and servants as
He desires us to be.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy how believing masters are to be treated, so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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