Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 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.
Ephesians 6:5-6 (NIV)
Bondservant
Domestic work was a way for men and women to immigrate to New France. Domestic service, however, became a distinctly female occupation in Canada during the 19th century. Whereas in the 1820s approximately one-third of colonial servants were male, by the late 19th century more than 90 percent of Canadian servants were female. Domestic service was the most common form of paid employment for Canadian women before 1900. In 1891, there were nearly 80,000 women working as domestic servants in Canada.
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According to experts, there are more people enslaved in our world today than at any other time in history. Christians have long led the fight against slavery and continue to do so today. Slavery was common in Jesus’ day as well, and many slaves became His followers. So the Bible gives some advice to them on how to live as followers of Jesus, and that advice is good for all of us. Paul writes this in Ephesians 6:5-6: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.” Everything we do must have a two-fold purpose – to do the will of God and be a faithful witness for Jesus. We are all people under authority, and Paul calls us to sincerely show respect to those who lead us. Far too often in our social media world today, this isn’t the case. Christian, are you being obedient to this Biblical call in your attitude and words to those in authority?
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley