1 Timothy 6:1-2

1 Timothy 6:1-2

About one hundred and forty years before Paul wrote these words, the Italian peninsula was terrorized by a slave rebellion. Spartacus led a slave revolt that lasted for two years. He marched up and down the boot of Italy and defeated the Romans on about a dozen occasions. The fear of a slave revolt was never far from the Roman mind. Anything that might incite such a revolt was not tolerated. In Christianity we do not see a call to remake society or culture. Rather, we see God changing, remaking, and giving new life to individuals.

Paul calls for slaves to exhibit not a disposition that agitates under slavery but rather attitudes of respect, honor, obedience, and service. Paul is not denying the difficulties of the life of a slave. The word he uses for master is δεσποτες, from which we have the English word despot. It means unrestricted power, absolute dominion, confessing no limitations or restraints. Paul was well aware of the ugliness of slavery. He was not imagining a “happy slave” mythology. But there was something bigger here than personal liberty: the name of God in the doctrines of the faith.

In explaining the explosive growth of Christianity in the first century, no one seems to mention the possibility that it was the result of the attitudes of slaves toward their masters. We often hear about the need for Christians to be counter-cultural. What Paul describes here is perhaps the most radical example of being counter-cultural. In our culture we make demands and we assert our rights and demand fair treatment, but here we are told to do the opposite. Here we are told to honor and respect a despot, an evil person working in an evil system. The world has no way of processing that response. 

Our demands are easily defeated, but Christ's love can't be. Someone asked an elder statesman among Christians, “Why do so many people hate Christians?” His answer was simple: “Because so many Christians are jerks.” We have demanded our rights, we have demanded preferential treatment, we have made bad decisions, we have lost our voice, and we have become just one more agitating party. And we wonder why people don’t listen to us. 

And remember Spartacus? He died, and his movement came to nothing. 

“Lord, I surrender my rights for the well being of the Kingdom. AMEN”