Introduction
Today's topic is complex. Therefore, we have added an extra section entitled “Does the Bible condone slavery?” because this topic merits more time than this devotional framework of Ephesians allows. Let’s get to the text today, follow the standard format, and learn about this text’s application to us. Then, in the extra section, let’s discuss slavery in the Bible.

Today’s Scripture
Ephesians 6:5-8 (New Living Translation)

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.

Explanation and Reflection
Here, Paul talks about slaves and masters. Today, we will deal with slaves, and tomorrow we will cover masters. We will primarily use these terms to refer to employees and bosses. However, the slave and master paradigm could be applied in multiple contexts (volunteer and leader, child and parent, etc.). Paul guides us through interactions when we are low on the ladder in a situation.

1. Obey
   Paul says, “Obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear.” When you are lower in status, there is power, and that power is achieved through compliance. Of course, our obedience to any earthly masters cannot outweigh our obedience to Christ. When obedience to the world leads us to disobedience to Christ, we must choose Christ. However, be careful. Too often, we interpret calls to obedience as disobedience to the Lord when, in fact, we just don’t want to be told what to do. We should not avoid obedience where we can and cover it over by invoking the name of the Lord. Friends, don’t unrighteously invoke the name of the Lord because you want to disobey your earthly masters. Obey and be a witness.
2. Serve
   There is not just a call to serve here. There is a call to “Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ.” We cannot begrudgingly do our work. We are called to serve with joy and excellence even when we don’t want to.
3. Honor
   Everyone can be honored. Even our enemies, jerks, and unfair bosses are made in the image of God, worthy of respect, and have something in them worth honoring. Dignity should be extended to all people, including those above us. While we can disagree, we cannot disrespect.
4. Work Hard
   The Lord has given you gifts and placed you in a specific situation to work. Maximize your gifts by taking advantage of the opportunity He has provided. Grind for the kingdom. God desires to advance His mission through your work in your workplace. Even if you work in the worst environment, bring glory to Jesus by being the best worker you can be. Don’t complain. Don’t be difficult. Don’t surf the web. Don’t be lazy.
5. Remember
   No one enjoys a bad boss or work environment, and there are legitimate reasons for leaving in some circumstances. You have rights, and some situations are unacceptable. However, in a bad situation, our first call is to “Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do.” In bad conditions, you don’t work for man, you work for the Lord. You don’t work for money, you work for the Kingdom. Our first filters are “How can this bad situation honor God?” and “How can this bad situation be used to move Jesus' agenda in this world forward?” Our first filters are not “This is hard, so I shouldn’t do it,” or “My boss is a jerk, so I should just bail,” or “My coworkers don’t appreciate me, so I should look for another job.” It’s not that these things don’t matter, but the kingdom usually advances through adversity, not prosperity. God may want to use your bad situation for good. Remember, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). Light shines best in dark situations around dark people.

Question of the Day
Here’s a question for you to think about and apply:
How can you be a better servant to someone who has authority over you?

Extra Content: Does the Bible condone slavery?
When you read about slaves in the Bible today, let me warn you: You are probably going to cringe. These verses and others have been used to justify not only slavery in Bible times but also the evil slavery we have seen of Africans in American history. Ephesians 6 leaves us with a terrifying question: Does the Bible condone slavery? Here are some ideas we must keep in mind.

• Divine Accommodation
  As we read the Bible, we must remember that the ancient world was very different from the world today. That doesn’t justify bad behavior, but even the term "bad behavior" is relevant to geography, time, and culture. What makes the Christian faith viable in all times and places is how God works with people where they are. The fancy theological term for this is divine accommodation. It’s the idea that there may be some practices a culture exercises that are not part of God’s ideal for humankind, but He tolerates them out of love and patience. For example, many figures in the Old Testament had multiple wives and even concubines. This is against God’s ideal, but He tolerates it because He is up to other work, either in the person, culture, or redemptive history. I promise you that some things in the church and Christian pop culture are practiced and even celebrated today, but they are outside God’s ideal. Yet our Lord, slow to anger and merciful in judgment, tolerates these things in love, hoping that all will come to repentance rather than pouring out wrath. The same seems to be the case in Old and New Testament slavery.
• Prescriptive vs. Descriptive
  Also crucial in reading the Bible is the concept of prescriptive vs. descriptive texts. Prescriptive texts tell the reader what to do and how to live. Descriptive texts simply retell history with little or no moral instruction intended. Descriptive texts just recount history but have no moral judgments. Some texts about slavery are prescriptive, telling masters and slaves how to treat one another. Others are descriptive and tell stories about slavery but may not serve as a moral framework. Just because the Bible talks about slavery (descriptive) doesn’t mean it justifies it.
• Old and New Testament Slavery
  It’s also very important to note that slavery in both the New and Old Testaments was radically different from the horrible slavery we saw in American history. Old Testament scholar John Walton writes:
  "In Israel, then, the institution of slavery was not the result of bigotry or ethnic exploitation. It was an economic relief structure designed to deal with insolvency and its related threat to life and welfare that was all too common in an agrarian society. It was supposed to reflect compassion, not oppression. This was a God-approved institution. God’s interaction with Israel was rarely designed to replace one shape of society with another. God was concerned that, whatever the shape of their social institutions, people should live out the holy status they had been given in association with a holy God."
  Debt was common in the ancient world, and for people to pay off their debt, they went into slavery. This debt servitude could also involve someone’s family. A poor family might “sell” their daughter to a rich man as a “slave” in the hope that she would have a better life. Sometimes this turned out like an arranged marriage, and the daughter was economically and emotionally blessed. Other times, this arrangement led to abuse, and she was treated like property. In this case, she was more of a sexual slave than a partner. All of these slavery arrangements hinged on one thing: how will the master treat the slave? As we will see next, God is very vocal about ethics in these situations.
• Slaves Are People to Be Treated Well
  Both the Old and New Testaments hold the idea that if there are slaves in a culture, they are to be treated well and seen as human beings. Tomorrow, we will cover an example of New Testament instruction about slave treatment in Ephesians 6:5-9. Today, let me provide just a few of the many Old and New Testament references on slavery.
• Exodus 21
  Please go read Exodus 21. According to Exodus 21:6, the master provides such a good household that the servant asks to stay for the rest of his life. According to Exodus 21:7-11, female slaves are to be treated with high respect. Even if things are not working out, the slave master can’t sell her to a foreigner and must take good care of her. Exodus 21:12-32 deals with conflict between slaves, people, and even animal issues. As you read this instruction on conflict, notice how strict the laws are around harming or killing people, including slaves. It’s fair to conclude that slavery could be bad or good in the Old Testament, but God’s desire for all people was for everyone (slave and free) to be treated very well.
• Philemon
  The authors of the New Testament would affirm this Exodus 21 idea that all people were to be treated well and as equals. Paul goes a step further. In the book of Philemon, the slave master (Philemon) is asked to receive his runaway slave Onesimus not as a slave, but as a brother (Philemon 1:16). This is revolutionary. When people in the first century heard this, they would have been blown away. Referring to a slave as a “BROTHER!” was shocking and yet commanded because of the convictions of the New Testament worldview.
• Galatians 3:28
  In Galatians, Paul states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Again, this is another revolutionary statement in the first century. At this time, slaves were not seen as people with the same status as masters and had no rights under Roman law. Yet here, Paul tells the church that we are all one in Christ.
• We are Slaves
  Finally, it’s important to understand that the authors of the New Testament not only wanted people to treat slaves well but also wanted free first-century Christians to identify with them! Read Matthew 20:26-28, Philippians 1:1, Titus 1:1, and Romans 1:1. Being a slave was a metaphor of honor in the early church. It was one of Paul’s favorite greetings to open his letters. This was utter stupidity to the Romans. The idea that a free man would take on the title of a slave was repulsive and downright nuts. Today, we are all called to be slaves like Christ and Paul in a world that thinks it's ridiculous.

In closing, let me state this clearly: There is no Biblical justification for slavery today. And since American slavery is marked with racism, it’s important to state this: There is no Biblical justification for racism. Racism is evil in all its forms and entirely out of alignment with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Christians should be at the forefront of justice for those who are enslaved and seeking to be peacemakers in the area of racial reconciliation. Slave or free, white or black, we are all equal before the throne of God and deeply loved together.