THE LIMITS TO FREEDOM

In order to raise, teach, and socialize children, families need an authority structure. Paul chooses a different word for ‘obey’ here, better translated ‘listen’ or ‘pay attention’ (Greek hypakouo, meaning listen to, pay attention). In many languages, hearing and obeying are related – as in the older English ‘hearken’ and ‘heed’. Today, with so many other demands on children’s attention, it is difficult for them to know which messages they should pay attention to. Loving Christian parenting involves creating an environment in which children will listen to their parents. But bringing children up in the ‘training and instruction’ of the Lord (4) is not about rules and restrictions. It is about helping children to know Jesus, modeling Jesus to them, and guiding them in discerning His way through life.

Christians like William Wilberforce fought for the abolition of slavery, confronting the inhumane exploitation of human beings for profit, countless deaths on slave ships, and brutal treatment on the plantations. The Bible nowhere condones this depraved practice, and today’s passage expressly condemns it. A different kind of slavery, however, was a social reality in the ancient world. Many slaves became de facto family members with serious responsibilities. Slavery was a reality that early Christians had to face when both slaves and owners were becoming Christian. Paul dealt with this issue several times (eg., Col 3:22; Phlm). Authorities thought Christianity a radical threat to social order. The last thing the church wanted was Christian slaves revolting, bringing death to themselves and probably to their fellow Christians. The revolutionary idea here is not overthrowing slavery but the radical possibility of choosing to live a godly life within an unjust system.

Knowing what you know today, how would you have treated those under you during biblical times?