Focus: Job 31:14 - KJV
14. What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?
Job 31:13-15
Our God is against slavery in any form. Hence, He commands that we love our neighbors as ourselves. There is none that maintains slavery and can claim to love the enslaved like himself. Slavery therefore is anti-Christ and it comes in many formats. For some, it is to employ laborers and price down their wages. For some others, though they appear to be paying more than what their peers do, however, they treat the laborer like a nonentity. Yet, no man predetermined his race, circumstance or place at birth. If therefore, God has chosen us to be cousins as children from the loins of Noah, He expects us to treat one another equally. Therein lies love.
Job was not sure what he would tell God for ever treating anyone as a slave. Some would claim Paul advised servants to be obedient to their own masters. That definitely was not to say God sanctioned slavery but counsels those who find themselves in such situation not to strife because of it, knowing that with God, their salvation is imminent. The same Paul wrote to Philemon about Onesimus his slave asking the master to free his slave since he found salvation in Christ and had become one of the brethren. Some people find it more comforting to take their slaves from amongst the brethren, the children of God. But what would they answer to God when He comes to ask: what did you do with that which I gave to you?
The Lord wants us to be careful how we treat others. Indeed, he wants us to know that whatever we do to them could turn our ways also. Someone said God forbid! Right. But if we are to love as we love ourselves, we ought to do only those things we would want others to do to us. That maid, driver, chef, gardener and so on, are they treated like our children in the home or there are dichotomies and distinctions? God is saying we should not be as unloving as Abraham who did not consider Eleazar of Damascus son enough to be his heir simply because he was his servant. Let us be as loving as our God. We all were far away from being part of God’s family and He has deemed it loving to make us joint heirs with His only begotten such that what Christ is entitled to, we are also.
Please pray:
Father, I thank you for your love that brought me into your family despite being a mere slave of sin hitherto. Help me O Lord to reciprocate your love in my life by showing the same kind of love to others who may even be so undeserving like I was in time past, in Jesus’ name. Please forgive me for maltreating others by putting them into servitude, in times past, as if I am anyway superior to them; and help me to do much better going forward, in Jesus’ name. In the end, do not let me lose out on my sonship to you and being joint heir to the Lord Jesus Christ, in Jesus’ name.
Please share with others. God bless you.
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