Masters

“Masters, do the same to them, and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” Verse 9.

Those who are “masters according to the flesh” tend to require too much of their “servants.” The better a servant does his work and the less he contradicts, the greater the demands that are made on him, whereas a lazy servant who talks back gets by more easily. What accounts for this is the weakness of the flesh and the mas­ter’s own cowardice.

An employer is within his rights as long as he pays a just wage and makes reasonable demands. But the moment he begins to pressure his subordinates or hold back their pay, he has gone too far. The struggle against the lords of this world, who rule in the darkness of this age, arises from the fact that in their darkness such masters, by their tyranny, oppress those in their service—body, soul, and spirit. I have seen weak, impressionable souls be­come mentally ill under such tyrants.

A servant that has been enlightened by God will recognize the fine line between serving and being oppressed. He must watch and see to it that his master never crosses this line, for the Spirit that is in us is stronger than the spirit that is in the lords of this world in this dark age. Servants are obliged to serve as unto Christ, as long as their master’s demands are within reason. But if a master goes beyond these limits, his servant must confront him there and take up the battle.

Such is the battle with the lords of this world: the employer has all the rights on his side both from God and from people; but the moment he transgresses his own laws and exceeds his own limits, he will have both God and man against him. Under such circum­stances the employee will always be the victor—provided he has done his best to discharge all his duties within the bounds of rea­son, because our faith is the victory that overcomes the world. This proves that even a master according to the flesh has his superior and lord—the Lord of heaven.