Eph. 6:5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; 6 not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. 7 With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. 9 And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
[true verticality - what’s the highest/tallest thing you’ve seen up close?]
It might be easy to dismiss this passage because we live in America. The land of the free. From sea to shining sea. Slavery doesn’t exist anymore. At least not in the traditional sense. But there’s a different kind of slavery running amok in this land of the pilgrim’s pride, where my fathers died. The common assumption is that freedom means that I basically should get to do what I want. When I want. And with whom. That’s straight out of oxford:
free·dom
/ˈfrēdəm/
noun
- the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
Let freedom ring. Sometimes we’ll go ahead and put an asterisk on that: *As long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else, right? But freedom is one of our worship words. Pretty much I can do whatever I want. I get to choose. Because I am the captain of my ship. Master of my domain. Me, master. Me tarzan. We do get this kind of de-evolution if left unchecked, where I become less human and more animal. So given to giving in to what I want, I grow up to be - a slave. Almost like an animal. A creature of baser instincts, crawling from one craving to the next, mistakenly assuming that doing what I want is the key to the pursuit of happiness. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - that’s what we’re all about, aren’t we? As long as we don’t hurt anyone else. And that, as long as you agree with me… But I am a slave - to vainly trying to fill the gaping God-shaped hole in my heart, what Pascal called the infinite abyss.
Here we find one of the pitfalls of freedom. Freedom can lead to a different kind of slavery. The empowering of an insatiable master, this unexpected almost undetectable subjugation to the tyranny of self. We can be almost unaware of its pull on us. Yes there are tremendous upsides to freedom. So much good has gone forth under this banner of liberté. And yet… the more choices I have, the more I have to choose, the stronger the pull of self…
Another pitfall is that we have this loss of verticality. All men are created equal, right? We are dedicated to this proposition, and yet in throwing off the absolute despotism of the king, we’ve sort of torpedoed our ability to appreciate true verticality. Freedom can impair our capacity for vertical orientation. Aviators call this Spatial D.
Sometimes you’re flying along, and the clouds set in. Or the sun goes down. And it can be hard to know which way is up and which way is down. You can become disoriented. Not only can you not see which direction you are going, but you can’t see even the horizon. You can’t see the ground. Sort of like driving in total fog, or at night w no headlights. Only far more dangerous. And your internal sense of gravity can get shifted. You can be flying at an angle - or upside down - and not even know it. You can easily get off course - or worse. It’s called spatial disorientation, or spatial D - and it can be deadly. Pilots invariably encounter various visual impairments, and so they learn something called IFR. Instrument flying. As opposed to VFR. Visual flying. In IFR you don’t rely on what you see (or think you see); you rely on instruments to give you accurate information. Six main ones actually - called the [Sixpack]. But here’s something interesting - according to the FAA, you can get spatial D even on a clear day. Up to 90 percent of orientation is provided by visual cues, and the eye can play tricks. That’s why pilots learn to use this Sixpack of instruments - it gives reliable data if/when visibility is limited, or in the event you do lose your orientation. Spatial D.
This here [Bible] is our Sixpack, not for flying but for living. It helps us when spiritual Spatial D sets in - which it does. As Christians we rely on God’s Word. It’s our heading indicator, tells us which way we’re going. Our turn coordinator, are deviating off the path? Our airspeed indicator, what kind of forward progress are we making? As much as anything I think, it’s our altitude indicator - shows our true elevation in relation to God and to those around us. True verticality. There is a God, almighty Maker of heaven and Maker of earth. And I am not He.
Psalm 14:1-2
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
[true verticality examples - burg khalifa and angel falls, kolner dom]
And so there’s this balance, this counter balance if your will. Yes, all men and women are created equal, and that’s especially true in Christ, in the family of God, where we find this unfathomable equality which really does level the playing field, where in Christ and through Him we are all ranking ourselves under one another - because He is greater. And there’s the counter balance. Whatever we do, in whatever relationship or circumstance I find myself, there is this vertical orientation that informs everything. Paul repeats it over and over and over in this last section on relationships. As to Christ. Slaves of Christ. What God wants. As to the Lord. From the Lord. Master in heaven. A real capital M Master in heaven - and that’s the key.
Master. Usually the word is translated as Lord. Americans, we don’t use either word much in our daily lives. I think as Americans we really have next to no clue as to what the word really means. [d’Lord - why do you call Me Lord…?] The root means authority. The one with the authority/power of deciding. Calling the shots. And we like for that to be me. Most of us. Usually we like to be in the drivers seat. Some of us, we prefer not to drive - the passenger seat - or even the back seat - but even then we can become backseat drivers. We like to have the remote. The remote control. We like to be in control. Self-determination. It’s the American dream. The New Colossus! Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be what? Free. It has beckoned the oppressed of the world for generations. They can come to our sea-washed sunset gates, through the golden door - and finally have the remote. The land of opportunity - to call their own shots… The authority to decide - and become all about self. But there IS this other path…
I’d like to suggest that the journey of the cross carries us away from these pitfalls of freedom. He who would come after Me must do what? DENY himself. Life ultimately is not all about what I want, getting what I want, doing/speaking/thinking whatever I want. THAT path is death to the soul. He who would save his life will what? Life is about learning and living into the truth that I have a Master in heaven. That’s the counter balance to freedom. Yes, it is a tremendous privilege to live in a country where we do have so much access to resources and opportunities. But the end of an unbalanced pursuit of what I want is unbridled selfishness. And isn’t that what we see in our country? Not everywhere certainly, not everyone. But even with the asterisk, pursuing what I want will never fill the hole in my heart. Not unless/until my wants merge with those of my Master, the King of heaven. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. What do YOU want, Lord? HE is the One Who made me, Who made me for Himself. That’s what Paul is continuing to talk about here. He brought it up back in 5.17 - understand what the Lord wants. Let your wants flow together and merge with His.
And now Paul is specifically talking to slaves, and I imagine that our perception of a slave would be to see ourselves as NOT getting to do what we want. As a slave, I don’t get to choose. The master chooses. The master decides. I do what HE wants. Which means I NEVER get to choose, so I’m unhappy. Or am I? Paul is saying, no. No, no, no. The key to happiness is not getting to choose what I want. Figure out what God wants. Live in to that. And if you happen to find yourself in a place where you are required to rank yourself under another person, even and especially one who for all intents and purposes is an equal (maybe they’re even flawed - they likely are) - DON'T disrespect them. Don’t just go thru the motions. Don’t roll your eyes at them in arrogance. Respect their decision. Respect them. Do whatever it is you are being asked to do with all your heart. With all your might. Fear and trembling, Paul says. As. To. The. Lord. He is our ultimate Master. That situation you're in is He in charge of that?
Slaves. These are willing slaves, btw. They had a choice - but they actually chose to give up the remote. But now they’re in a relationship where someone else has the power of decision. Children are in the same boat. As well as women/wives - Paul is looking at prime examples of the truly powerless. Vulnerable. And the Lord here is saying, hey, those of you who are powerless - trust the Lord. Trust Me. Look to Me. I’m the one in charge. In fact, I’ve put you there for a season for a reason. I’m gonna work things out. Serve Me. But He’s also saying, hey, you there, the one with the power of decision over others, the one with the remote. I put you there as well, for a reason, for a purpose. You are just a steward… You think you have power? You think you have authority? That’s My power. I only loaned it to you. For a season. Don’t abuse your position. Don’t abuse the people I’ve given to you. You think you are better than them? Remember who I am. Look up, and get your spiritual orientation back. Next to Me, you are no better than anyone else. So take care and take good care of them.
And here’s the thing - it’s maybe not as hard to follow (or lead) those who are NOT flawed. People mess up, and we think we are better than them. We get spatial D. It’s not as hard to follow Jesus (altho it is still admittedly hard - but for different reasons?). But what about those flawed persons who are in positions of authority over you? What about when they mess up? What if they actually hurt you in some way? Is it possible that the Lord’s plan for you may have included some hurt, some woundedness that would be something which only He could heal?
Someone in power - maybe a boss, a leader, maybe a dad/parent - they treated you unfairly. They did something or said something that made you angry. Maybe a lot of things. And it hurt. I do think the Lord allows us to hurt sometimes so that we can learn (or re-learn) that He is our Healer. Christ our Healer. I mean, isn’t that exactly what He allowed to happen to His own Son on the cross?
Hagar was being mistreated by her mistress, Sarah. Sarah was barren and told Hagar to bear a child on behalf of the family. But when Hagar got pregnant Sarah became resentful - and mean, prompting Hagar to run away in order to get away from the unreasonable authority. Out in the wilderness - what does God tell her? He heard her. And He saw her. He saw her situation. And He was going to use it, use her faithfulness [Gen 16]. The Lord does see you. El Roi, Hagar calls Him - The God Who sees. Whatever you and I are going thru. He sees us. He hears us. He is with us. And He is going to use it. He has wonderful plans for us.
We like this side of El Roi. The God Who sees us when we’re in trouble, Who comes to our rescue. But we maybe don’t like the other side of El Roi so much. The One Who see us when we’re going through the motions, slacking off, abusing our freedom, misusing His blessings. The One Who sees us when nobody’s looking, when we think we can get away with something. The One Who is the Real Master.
C.S. Lewis puts it this way, “As democracy becomes more complete in the outer world and opportunities for reverence are successively removed, the refreshment, the cleansing, and invigorating returns to inequality, which the Church offers us, become more and more necessary.”
You and I need regular opportunities for reverence. To look up and get reoriented in our hearts. To be reminded that God is greater. He is in control. To be reminded that when we submit to human authority, we are submitting to Jesus. And again, the way we follow (and lead) reveals the true condition of our heart. The extent of our submission to Christ - or lack thereof. As to Christ. Slaves of Christ. Who have a Master in heaven…
Don’t you know Who made everything? Haven’t you heard about Him? Hasn’t it been told to you from the beginning? Haven’t you understood it ever since the earth was made? God sits on His throne high above the earth. Its people look like grasshoppers to Him. He spreads the heavens out like a cover. He sets it up like a tent to live in. He takes the power of princes away from them. He reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. Isaiah 40:21-23
Is. 40:25-31
“So who will you compare me to? Who is equal to me?” says the Holy One. Look up toward the sky. Who created everything you see? Family of Jacob, why do you say, “The LORD doesn’t notice our condition”? Don’t you know who made everything? Haven’t you heard about him? The LORD is the God who lives forever. He created everything on earth. He won’t become worn out or get tired. No one will ever know how great his understanding is. He gives strength to those who are tired. He gives power to those who are weak… those who trust in the LORD will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.
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