Give Better Than You Get

Do you know who Paul was speaking to when he penned these words?

He was talking to slaves and bondservants – folks living less than free lives.

This is one of those instances where the world behind the text is every bit as important as the words on the page. Read these words again, but this time, don’t forget the listener’s chains.

The context changes things, doesn’t it? Makes it feel as if we might now choke on words we were just encouraged by.

Don’t read Paul’s instructions to slaves here as a passive endorsement for the practice of slavery (a few verses later, he reminds slave-masters that they will answer to the Master of heaven for how they treat their slaves – yikes!). Instead, let these words harmonize with Christ’s other choking-hazard commands: to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, and turn the other cheek.

Does Paul really expect me to believe that God wants me to give better than I’m getting?

Yes.

Paul wrote these words with chained hands. He understood well that it takes more strength to love than to hate.

May the God of peace give you strength to love the most despising person you’ll encounter today as if they were Christ himself. Amen.