Be Still And Know

1 Timothy 6:1 All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. It’s hard for us to imagine what it must have been like when slavery was normal. Between ten and 20 per cent of the population were slaves in Roman times, so it was an issue with which everyone was familiar. Because the members of the Church were largely drawn from the poorer members of society, it is likely that the proportion of Christians who were slaves was much higher. It was vital, therefore, that Paul handled the question of how Christian slaves should act towards their masters, and the fact that he did so in many of his letters shows what a major issue it was. Here, he told slaves to give their masters full respect, whether they were Christians or not. That must have been tough, especially if their masters were unreasonable and cruel. However, Paul knew that if Christian slaves acted aggressively and rudely towards their masters, it would give the faith a bad name.