Most of our lives are spent with our families and at work, so if Christianity is to mean anything it will have a profound effect in these areas of our life. So Paul now gives instructions on family and work. These are in a way a cut-down version of what he says in Ephesians 5:22-6:9.
Wives are to submit to their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives. Now we have an enormous problem with submission, in fact it is something we tend to recoil from. This is partly because we have a wrong view of authority, and all have experience of wrongly exercised authority. In Ephesians Paul says two key things in relation to this. First we are to submit to one another, and secondly husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Biblical authority shows itself in serving others.
The instructions here to both men and women go against some common attitudes in society. Some feminists almost engender a hatred of men. There is not meant to be a "battle of the sexes", we were made to work together in harmony. We are not meant to treat women as sex objects. Instead we should treat them as precious daughters of God.
Children are to obey their parents and parents are not to embitter their children. Discipline does not mean finding every fault we can, it does not mean correcting every little thing. Such an approach leads nowhere.
We are to do our work as if working for the Lord. We are not to work hard just when it will be noticed, but as an attitude of life. Our human bosses may or may not treat us well, may or may not reward us properly. But we work for the Lord, and we know we will receive an inheritance. So we are motivated by our heavenly reward, not our earthly reward. And if our bosses do mistreat us we can be sure that they will have to answer to God.
Masters are to treat their slaves well. In human terms they may have had complete ownership and authority over their slaves, but in reality they too would have to answer to God.
Our awareness of the Lord has a deep affect on our everyday lives.
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