Why Doesn’t the Bible Condemn This?

1 Peter 2:18-21, CEB – Household slaves, submit by accepting the authority of your masters with all respect. Do this not only to good and kind masters but also to those who are harsh.  Now, it is commendable if, because of one’s understanding of God, someone should endure pain through suffering unjustly.  But what praise comes from enduring patiently when you have sinned and are beaten for it? But if you endure steadfastly when you’ve done good and suffer for it, this is commendable before God.

You were called to this kind of endurance, because Christ suffered on your behalf. He left you an example so that you might follow in his footsteps.

                As we work our way through Peter’s letters, I would really like to skip this passage and I’m sure some of you might have wished I’d skipped it too.  Peter seems to condone slavery here and it is SO FRUSTRATING!   Why would Peter actually instruct Christian slaves to patiently endure violence without resisting.  This seems to contradict the core values established by Jesus:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me . He has sent me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed…” (Luke 4:18)

                To address this, we have to work to put ourselves into the culture of first-century Roman Empire.  It is estimated that one quarter to one third of the people of the Roman Empire were slaves.  Slavery was an established institution that wasn’t even controversial during this time.  It also had the backing of the full might of the emperor.  The Christians, on the other hand, had virtually no influence across the empire.  On the contrary, they were actively persecuted themselves. So, with all this taken together, there is NO chance that calling out or resisting slavery would result in anything positive.  Most likely, resisting or even speaking out against slavery would result in even more suffering in return.  This is the reality in which Peter is trying to speak.

                So Peter says something that he hopes will offer some encouragement and resolve in the midst of this unchangeable suffering.  He instructs those who are powerless to change what is happening to them to exercise the free choice to accept the suffering and even submit to it.  Why get beaten eve n more for resisting when you could submit to the suffering and follow the example of Christ.  Christ chose to suffer and because He did, His suffering brought redemption to those who suffer now. 

                If Peter were ministering today in post-modern America, he would have something VERY DIFFERENT to say about our sad legacy of slavery and racism.  We, unlike the first Christians, enjoy considerable influence in changing systems of oppression in our own culture – a culture where, only yesterday, state government officials actually tried to make the case that slavery was useful to those who endured it.  This is not only nonsense, but it is evil and needs to be called what it is. 

                It should be noted that the way in which Christians endured persecution and violence over the first couple hundred years after Christ slowly changed the collective mind of the Roman Empire and by 313, official religious persecution of Christians came to an end with the Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan.  The way they endured unchangeable suffering eventually won them influence that was needed to begin to question and change the unjust aspects of their culture.  We are the inheritors of two thousand years of banked influence.  Because of this, we owe it to the first Christians to challenge and change the unjust legacy of slavery and racism.  They had no power except the freedom to submit willingly and honorably to the violence leveled at them.  We have the power to be part of establishing more just systems that ensure that kind of unchangeable suffering disappears from the earth, ushering in the just rule of the kingdom of God.

Questions:  What is one way you can be part of establishing more just systems of treatment of all people in the community where you live?  To the extent that that you might be experiencing some unchangeable suffering, what might it mean for you to make the choice to submit honorably to it?

Prayer:  Lord, it is hard to accept that there is suffering that we can not do anything to change or avoid.  Help us to see our freedom even in those situations and help us to act in situations where we can make a difference.  Give us the wisdom to know the difference between the two. Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for the victims of slavery and racism across the world today. Pray for the courage and boldness to challenge injustice when we see it.

Song:  Lift Every Voice and Sing – Berklee School of Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xit09LrjJUU