God’s Ethic For A Modern Work Environment
Ancient historians estimate that there were some 60 million slaves in the Roman empire — about one-half the population.
Practically everything was done by slaves, even doctoring and teaching.
The second century Roman lawyer, Gaius, wrote that “it is universally accepted that the master possesses the power of life and death over a slave.”
If a slave ran away, he was branded on the forehead with the letter F for Fugitivus and sometimes even put to death, with no trial.
It is into this culture that the apostle Paul speaks to those slaves and masters who had become Christians.
The way they were to respond to each other was now to be governed by the fact that they both had a new master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Though slavery no longer exists in this country, the principles which Paul sets forth are still applicable in our lives in those places where we work each day.
Let’s look at what Paul has to say to us concerning the ethic we are to carry with us into our work environment.