What Is Respect? Part 5: The Workplace
This is the fifth post in a seven-part series; see parts 1-4 first.
The Study Thus Far
Again, my main proposals for working through each level of the respect pyramid are as follows:
- All respect is ultimately for God
- Respect has three different forms or levels
- The different levels have different theological bases
- The different levels have different requirements
I am still working through the five sub-categories in the second tier of respect, which I have called submission to authority. After the previous posts on marriage, parenting, and government, this post will seek to examine submission in the workplace. As I work through each sub-category of submission in the respect pyramid, I am doing so according to five main scriptural principles more fully explained in my second post:
- All authority is God’s authority (Romans 13:1-2).
- Our use of authority makes claims about God (Genesis 1:26-30).
- All leadership should be servant leadership (Matthew 20:25-28).
- The goal of authority is to encourage godly living (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
- Submission is living out your position before God (1 Peter 2:13-15).
This series is seven posts long so that each sub-category of submission can receive its own post.
- Introduction & Courtesy
- Submission, Part 1: Marriage
- Submission, Part 2: Parenting
- Submission, Part 3: Government
- Submission, Part 4: Workplace [this post]
- Submission, Part 5: Church
- Imitation & Conclusions
But before we can examine submission in the workplace, we
need to say a word on a concept that will occur frequently in this post:
slavery in Scripture.
Slavery in Scripture
In recent years, the Bible has come under attack for its
seeming endorsement of slavery. There are multiple cultural and historical
factors lumped into this discussion, but two main points need to be stated
plainly up front: the Bible does not abolish slavery, yet the Bible argues for
the dignity of slaves. In today’s cultural milieu, these two statements seem
contradictory – how can a person have basic human dignity if they are owned by
another person? Some of the struggle here is one of foisting modern cultural
values upon the past, but the major struggle seems to be how God could allow
such an institution to continue even though it is prone to such evils and
abuses. As is often the case, some information will help us to better discern
the answer to the question; to that end, I will briefly examine the biblical
handling of slavery in the contexts of the Old and New Testament.
But another point must be made before we can deal with the
Old Testament view of slavery: the Mosaic Law allowed for slavery. Yet, on the
heels of this statement another must be immediately made: the Mosaic Law heavily
regulated slavery for the benefit of the slave. First, while the Law allowed
for slavery, kidnapping a person to enslave them was a capital offense (Ex.
21:16). Second, while the Law bans the permanent slavery only of Israelites (Ex.
21:2; Lev. 25:44-46; Deut. 15:12), it also explicitly forbade abusing
foreigners in any way (Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33; Deut. 10:18-19). Third, while
the Law does state that a man can enslave a female war captive as a wife (Num.
31:27-18; Deut. 21:14), he must allow her a month of mourning before treating
her as his wife, and once she becomes his wife – even if not his first wife (Ex.
21:10-11) – he can no longer treat her as a slave and sell her since she is a
member of Israelite society (Deut. 21:10-14). Fourth, we must acknowledge that,
while the Law allowed for the cultural practice of slavery in its ancient
context, it gave rights to slaves which they lacked in other Ancient Near Eastern
societies: sharing in the benefits of rest and feast days (Deut. 16:11, 14; Ex.
23:12), protection from physical abuse (Ex. 21:26-27), and the command for Israelites
to shelter runaway slaves (Deut. 23:15-16). In fact, most slavery in Old Testament
Israel is better labelled “servanthood,” since it usually concerned
impoverished Israelites voluntarily indenturing themselves either to pay off a
debt or escape abject poverty (Lev. 25:39-43) [1]. Further, all debts were cancelled and Israelite slaves released every seven
years (Deut. 15:1-6), and a master was required by the Law to provide a
released Israelite slave with provisions and wealth to prevent future enslavement
(Deut. 15:12-15). All of this is based on the cardinal Old Testament doctrine
that all people are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27). So, while slavery was
permitted in Old Testament Israel, it was not presented as an ideal but regulated
to prevent abuse and preserve life.
The point that ancient slavery in the Roman Empire was not
identical to the historic enslavement of Africans in the U.S.A. has perhaps
been over-emphasized. While it is true that U.S. slavery was based upon
ethnicity while Roman slavery was not, it is also true that there was an
extensive caste system in Roman society which placed foreign slaves at the bottom
with the worst treatment and jobs. Also, while it is true that Roman slavery
made a way for slaves to earn their freedom and even citizenship upon their release,
it is also true that a slave in both systems lacked rights and was subject to
their owner’s whim, leading to frequent physical and sexual abuse [2]. Again, while it is true that some slavery in Rome was essentially indentured
servitude for a specified time, it is also true that many slaves were captured prisoners
of war [3]. Yet it must be remembered that one often could not identify a Roman slave by
sight alone, and some slaves in this system were elevated close to the top of the
social ladder [4]; close
to one fifth of Rome itself was enslaved at its height [5], while in the rest of the Empire the average was around 10% [6]. In this cultural environment, the New Testament did not seek to abolish slavery,
but instead reminded Christian slaveowners to treat their slaves justly (Eph.
6:9) and that they were accountable to their own slaveowner – God – for the
treatment of their slaves (Col. 4:1). Paul tells Philemon to view his returned
slave, Onesimus, not as a slave but as a brother in Christ (Philemon 16), and though
he stops short of commanding all Christian slaveowners to release their slaves,
he does tell enslaved believers to seek their freedom if possible (1 Cor. 7:21).
As was the case in Israel, God’s regulations of Roman slavery in the New
Testament were designed to elevate and protect those who were enslaved.
In summary, objection to the Bible as a whole on the basis
that it does not openly condemn and abolish slavery is misguided by a modern
assumption that an enslaved person cannot be viewed as having equal value,
which is what the biblical treatment of slavery teaches. The Bible does not
seek to overturn every social structure that could be abused, else it would of
necessity abolish all authority structures; rather, it teaches fallen people living
in fallen social structures how to be godly within those structures. For slaves
and slaveowners, that means treating each other as having equal value before
God, even if they have a distinction in social status and authority. Ultimately,
this is impossible without the Gospel, which teaches:
“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.” (Gal. 3:28)
Which is why, historically, slaveowners in the United States
prevented slaves from learning about Christianity until they had created a
distorted version of it that supported slavery [7]. Christianity inherently lifts the status of enslaved people.
Submission Sub-Category 3: Employment
All authority is God’s authority – It is important to
note that in the Old Testament context it was God himself who canonized a
system for managing slavery in ancient Israel, explicitly declaring himself as
the head of the hierarchy: God à
slaveowner à
slave. The same hierarchy is enacted in the New Testament, when God says to slaveowners
regarding their slaves, “he who is both their [i.e., the slave’s] Master and
yours is in heaven” (Eph. 6:9) and commands slaves to “be subject [i.e.,
submit] to your masters with all respect” (1 Pet. 2:18). What this
submission entails will be worked out later on, but it suffices now to say that
the New Testament declares God as the one who calls the shots in slavery; for
our situation today, that means God holds the right to tell both employers and
employees how they ought to act – he is master over both.
Our use of authority makes claims about God – Scripture
makes this principle the least explicitly, possibly because there were fewer
slaveowners than slaves in the early church. The pagan philosopher Celsus
described this movement as consisting of “only foolish and low individuals, and
persons devoid of perception, and slaves, and women, and children."[9]. Regardless, the principle still stands as God has established himself as head
of the slavery hierarchy. This may seem a strange statement to make, but Paul and
other New Testament writers refer to themselves repeatedly as slaves of Christ
(Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Tit. 1:1; Jas. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1; Jude 1), and Paul describes
salvation as passing from an old master – sin – to a new master – God (Rom. 6:16-23).
While this is not endorsement of everything that ever happens under slavery
(just as God does not endorse all evils done in marriage, parenting, government,
and churches), God does not see identifying himself as the good master as
incongruous with his good and loving nature. Indeed, both Greek words used to
refer to slaveowners in the New Testament are used for God as well: the first is
kurios (Eph. 6:5; Col. 4:1), the word translated “Lord” when referring
to Christ; the second is despotēs (1 Tim. 6:1; Titus 2:9; 1 Pet. 2:18), used
to describe God as sovereign ruler (Luke 2:29; Acts 4:24; 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4 Rev.
6:10). Since God describes himself as the master of believers, believing masters
are responsible to be the kind of master that God himself is, lest they promote
a blasphemous picture of him. Therefore, God commands them, “stop your
threatening” (Eph. 6:9) and “treat your bondservants justly and fairly”
(Col. 4:1), for he himself is patient, just, and fair (Ex. 34:6-7). What this
means in the modern context is that employers of today must likewise treat
their employees in such a way that they present them with an accurate picture
of God.
All leadership should be servant leadership – Again,
the specific New Testament commands on this aspect with regard to slavery are few
and general because of the disproportion of slaves to masters in the early
church, yet Scripture is not silent. I have already listed two of the commands given
to slaveowners in the previous section: “stop your threatening” (Eph.
6:9) and “treat your bondservants justly and fairly” (Col. 4:1). These commands
clarify two key principles for slaveowners and, by extension, employers. First,
the ends do not justify the means. There are tactics used by employers that,
while they may be effective in boosting production, are nevertheless sinful,
such as threatening and injustice; the latter likely refers primarily to unjust
wages [10], a practice clearly condemned elsewhere in Scripture for both slaveowners and
employers (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14-15; Mal. 3:5; Jas. 5:4). God cares how employers
treat their employees.
Second, elevate rather than degrade those under you. Rather
than following the norms of the world around them, which viewed slaves as
property to be abused for the benefit of the slaveowner, Paul urges justice and
fairness in all dealings with human beings in God’s image, slaves included.
While Peter does command slaves to submit even to unjust masters (1 Pet. 2:18),
no believer should aspire to be this type of master or employer (Ps. 9:12; 12:5;
Micah 6:8) because “you also have a Master in heaven” (Col. 4:1) and “the
wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no
partiality.” (Col. 3:25). God holds everyone accountable for their actions
toward others, whether employer or employee.
But the next principle was even more shocking to the ancient
world, for after describing the responsibilities of slaves to their masters,
Paul says “Masters, do the same to them” (Eph. 6:9). This does not mean
that masters were to submit to their slaves’ authority, but that they were also
to carry out their role “with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as
you would Christ” (v.5), remembering Christ’s words: “as you did not do
it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me” (Mat. 25:45). He
calls them to join their slaves in, “doing the will of God from the heart, rendering
service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever
good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a
bondservant or is free” (v.6-7). So, the third principle for slaveowners
and employers is that they should treat those under them as their equals, both
as images of God and as either siblings in Christ or those in need of him. As
with the other sub-categories of submission, here too God places the burden
upon the higher position. It is not enough for a believing employer to treat those
under them ‘as good as the world does’; they are called to be radically different
in showing sacrificial, loving leadership for the benefit of their employees, and
so to be “blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the
midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in
the world” (Phil. 2:15).
The goal is godly living – Here again there are few specific
passages dealing with this principle for masters and slaves; though Scripture is
not silent – the principle becomes apparent with a little work. As has been
shown already, although slaves are commanded to submit even to wicked masters, enduring
unjust suffering for God’s glory (1 Pet. 2:18-19), Scripture is also clear that
such is not the ideal and that masters should treat their servants well (Eph.
6:9; Col. 4:1). But for a grander picture, we must zoom out from passages that
deal only with slavery. The New Testament is clear that the primary
relationship between any two believers – whether they are husband and wife,
parent and child, ruler and citizen, master and slave, or pastor and congregant
– is the bond of Christ that makes them one family (1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27-28;
Col. 3:11). What this means for our study is that the superior is bound to
fulfill all of the one-another commands of the New Testament toward the
inferior [11].And
why? So that “the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with
which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow
so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:16). Like husbands, parents,
and governments, masters and employers are not to inhibit the spiritual growth
of those under them but rather foster it, for the goal of all authority is to
encourage godly living.
Submission is living out your position before God – So,
what are the responsibilities of slaves to their masters, and by extension of
employees to their employers? As was the case with children to their parents
and citizens to their government (though conspicuously lacking for wives to
their husbands – see my second
post), slaves are commanded to obey their masters (Eph. 6:5; Col. 3:22),
and the manner of this obedience is “as you would Christ” (Eph. 6:5). As
I have done for all previous authorities, I must caveat that we do not follow
sinful leaders into sin (Acts 5:29), so leadership which would harm or degrade
a human being in God’s image – including the slave – must not be followed; to
do so would be sin. This caveat freed the ancient slave from obeying the sexual
advances of her or his master, as it does the modern employee, of whom 10% of
men and 25% of women are likely to experience sexual harassment from a
workplace authority [12]. Additionally, I should note that this is the only hierarchy for which Scripture
explicitly gives an escape strategy: “But if you can gain your freedom,
avail yourself of the opportunity” (1 Cor. 7:21). By extension, a modern
employee is free to change jobs if they feel compelled to sin.
But let us return to the obligations of the slave. He must
not only obey, but do so “with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart”
(Eph. 6:5; cf. Col. 3:22) and “not by the way of eye-service, as
people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the
heart” (Eph. 6:6; cf. Col. 3:22); “they are to be well-pleasing,
not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith” (Tit. 2:9-10).
The slave must live out his position in a way that reflects on God correctly: “so
that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior” (Tit.
2:10). If the master is a believer, the standard is yet higher, for then slaves
“must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they
must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are
believers and beloved” (1 Tim. 6:2). In summary, Christian slaves are commanded
not only to fulfill their obligations, but also to have the right heart in the
process, one that submits to God and therefore to his appointees in the
hierarchy as well as serves the authority out of Christlike love and a genuine
interest in their well-being as an image of God. To flip the summary statement I
gave for employers, It is not enough for a believing employee to treat those over
them ‘as good as the world does’; they are called to be radically different in showing
sacrificial, loving service for the benefit of their employers, and so to be “blameless
and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and
twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Phil.
2:15).
Conclusion
This has been another long post, but there were many things I
needed to say in laying the foundation to draw out the principles from these
passages. I hope that I have sparked some helpful meditation for you, and that
you go on to discern and study these matters with the guidance of the Holy Spirit
– don’t just take my work for it! This matter of respect is important to me
because it is important to God, and he wrote about it in his word; though the
vocabulary is different, we need to study the Word to better understand how God
desires for us to live. As I look around at this world and its many injustices,
one that stands out to me is the abuse of the individual employee by the system
in which he or she works, and this was also a great concern for the writers of
Scripture. On that note, I leave you with the words of Psalm 12.
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
I will now arise,” says the LORD;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
The words of the LORD are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
[1] Paul
Copan, Is God a Moral Monster?, pp.124-127.
[2] Nadya
Williams, Cultural Christians in the Early Church, p.97
[3] James
Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, p.227
[4] James
Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, p.189
[5] Everett Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, p.59
[6] James
Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, p.221
[7] Craig
S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, “Philemon:
Introduction”
[8] James
Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era, p.224
[9] Origen,
Against Celsus, ch.49
[10] Horst
Balz and Gerhard Schneider, The Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament,
vol.3, p.39
[11] Love
(John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17; Rom. 12:10; 13:8; 1 Thess. 3:22; 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:22;
4:8; 1 John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 11, 12; 2 John 5); live in harmony (Rom. 12:16;
15:5, 7); edify, don’t sinfully judge/hinder (Rom. 14:13); greet (Rom. 16:16; 1
Cor. 16:20; 1 Pet. 4:14); care for (1 Cor. 12:25); serve (John 13:14; Gal.
5:13); bear burdens (Gal 6:1-5); bear with (Eph. 4:2; Col. 3:13); be kind (Eph.
4:32); value more than yourselves (Phil 2:3); encourage (1 Thess. 5:11); do
good (1 Thess. 5:15); stir up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24); confess your
sins (James 5:16); show hospitality (1 Pet. 4:9).
[12] Kathleen
C. Basile, Ashley S. D’Inverno, and Jing Wang, “National
Prevalence of Sexual Violence by a Workplace-Related Perpetrator,” National
Library of Medicine
All Scripture verses come from the ESV.
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