Responsible Freedom
RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM
COLOSSIANS 3:22–4:1
What can we apply in these verses to our view of our work?
The economy of the Roman empire was sustained on slavery. Not merely the lowest, most degrading tasks, but all forms of manual labor were considered beneath the dignity of a citizen and proper only to slaves. Moreover, by Roman law, and also in the common view, slaves were given no recognized existence. They were not people, but property, having neither rights nor legal recourse against harsh and brutal treatment.
Since many of the early converts to Christianity were slaves, and others owned slaves, it was necessary for Paul to clarify his position on slavery. The apostle deals with the situation as it then existed. He argues that a Christian may serve God in any social status. External circumstances are unimportant. While Christian slaves should avail themselves of opportunities for release, even if they remain unliberated they may know the dignity of being the Lord’s freedmen (1 Corinthians 7:20-24).
In the second section of the household code nearly twice the amount of space is assigned to the relationship of slaves and masters as compared with the directions to the free members of the household. The reason for this is not merely the immediate problem of Onesimus but the greater complexity of the issues involved. The apostle is aware of the sense of injustice which the condition of slavery provoked. What he does is to set the relationship of slaves and masters in a Christian perspective which shatters traditional conceptions. Though conscious of the inequities between slaves and their masters, Paul orders the slaves to obey wholeheartedly as an act of reverence to the Lord. When it is love for Christ which impels slaves to work heartily, Paul offers the encouragement that they share in the inheritance of the saints (see 1:13), and are citizens of a kingdom which refuses to distinguish between people in terms of slavery and freedom (3:11,22-24). He also warns that a condition of slavery offers no excuse for disobedience. Moral responsibility extends to slaves as well as to all other people (3:25). By insisting on this fact, Paul succeeds in restoring a sense of stature to those who were degraded in their own eyes by their condition.
The responsibility of masters is to treat all their slaves with equal fairness. No room is allowed for favoritism or for action based on a mere whim or a flare of temper. The reminder that they also have a Master is a sober warning that God will hold them responsible for the way they have treated their slaves. The acknowledgement of a Master in heaven provides a safeguard against dishonest service from slaves, and against abuse of power by their owners.