GOD’s Heart vs Man’s Heart I

Eph.6:^5&9 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ… Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he has no favorites.”

Yesterday, I said that knowing and seeing the injustices of slavery, I struggled with seeing God acknowledge slavery in the Bible (Eph.6:5-9). My struggles made me seek God’s heart concerning slavery and I will share my discoveries with you. If you have had similar struggles, hopefully, you can have some peace like I have because of what I found in the Bible. Firstly, it is important to mention that every man (black or white) must take responsibility for his life. There is no excuse for bad behaviour. You cannot remain in mental slavery; it is your responsibility to pull yourself out of it. However, the injustice of slavery is huge. The abuse from the masters – they forcefully changed their names, food, language, and then eroded their economy. They took advantage of their women and children.

Take the xenophobic attacks in South Africa for example, when you interact with some of these people, you discover that they actually have a mental problem. Similarly, in the United States, the greatest crime against blacks is by blacks. So, it is not about just killing black people, these people really need help. They cannot seem to rise above the system, because the system was designed to keep them down. Today, slavery has spread beyond the black man as Asians and westerners are now being enslaved. Modern-day slavery is even more sophisticated, more lethal.

I see from scriptures that slaves could be bought (Lev. 25:44). Slaves could be captives of war, (Num.31:25-47). Slavery could result from debts (2 Kings 4). Children become slaves not servants because their fathers could not repay a debt. And every child a slave gives birth to belongs to the master, so slavery continues generationally (Gen.17:12-13). Even Abraham, the friend of God, had salves born in his house. Also, people voluntarily enter into slavery (Ex.21:5-6). Inspite of all this, God says, “slaves, serve your masters like unto Christ” and He was not talking figuratively. Again, I struggled with that.

However, what I discovered in reading the Bible and understanding the person of God is that the world is broken. And in the fallen system that man created, slavery is a painful reality. In many cases, God will work with the broken system until someone rises and changes things. When that change happens, God will endorse it. A lot of things happening today are not God’s will. Wars and terrorist attacks are not in God’s will, but He is managing the situation to bring about His ultimate will. And God’s ultimate will come to pass in Jesus Name. Amen!

Prayer (song): You’re a great God, You’re a good God, You’re a kind God, that’s all I know. Amen!