WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A CHOICE

Ephesians 6:5-6 KJV
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

Dear Believer,

The passage above is part of Paul’s admonition to servants in the days when the Roman Empire had up to 30% slave population. Historians estimate that slaves accounted for up to one-third of the population of Rome and Italy alone.

These slaves had no rights. Although many of them became educated and were even placed in positions of trust like teacher and guardian, they couldn’t do anything without the approval of their Masters and their life could be taken any time by a wicked master.

Some modern unbelievers have accused Christianity of supporting slavery because of passages like this. They say Paul should have encouraged slaves to rebel against their masters. What they don’t realize is that the slaves had no chance.

Decades before Paul wrote this epistle, a man named Spartacus had led an army of 120,000 slaves in rebellion. They had some success until they were crushed in a battle. The surviving 6,000 slave warriors were crucified as a lesson to all others. It wasn’t the 21st century…and the collective consciousness of humanity hadn’t become positively sensitive enough to accommodate anti-slavery thoughts.

There were Christian slaves in the Roman Empire of which Ephesus was part. They couldn’t do anything physically to have freedom and the fact was that many of them would die in slavery. As distressing as that may sound, the Apostle taught them something that brought a bigger perspective into the matter.

Paul essentially taught them to reckon their servitude as a ministry to the Lord. It was an act of faith.

“Serve your master as if you are serving Christ Himself.” Jesus even said the slave would receive reward from God for doing so.

I see a great principle here. The service you are giving because you don’t have a choice may seem to you like enslavement. As a Believer, however, you can stop seeing such service as drudgery and start seeing it as a service to the Lord Himself.

I shared all this to show you that in this world, some people, even Believers, may find themselves in situations that they can’t help.

For you as a Believer, it is a different matter. When it seems there’s nothing you can do to escape some ‘slave’ service, reckon it as service to the Lord. Paul was imprisoned by the Romans, instead of complaining, he called himself, “a prisoner of the Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 3:1). He didn’t even call himself a prisoner of conscience. He said he was there to serve the Lord. He eventually wrote many of the Epistles in prison.

There are many Believers suffering in communist and Islamic prisons today in lands where the gospel is being resisted by authorities. They may not have a choice. They are serving the Lord.

Believer, reckon the pressure, challenges and sacrifices of today as service to God, not mere suffering. You will be ultimately rewarded.

The Lord manifest His presence in your life mightily.

Have a great day.

Your friend,
Deon.