Jump Start # 1172

Titus 2:9-10 “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.”

Slavery was part of the New Testament world. There were different ways people became slaves. Sometimes it was the result of war. Your side lost and now you are forced out of your home and land and you are owned by others. Sometimes a person was born a slave. If the parents were slaves, you were a slave. Debt could result in slavery. If you couldn’t pay your bills, you were the assurance that the debt was paid. You became a slave. That would be bad news for many people today.

The stories of slavery in most cultures is sprinkled with good reports of some being set free and horror stories of some being abused. The New Testament didn’t specifically forbid slavery. In many New Testament books, such as Ephesians, 1 Peter and here in Titus, instructions are given about the conduct of the slave master relationships. It is implied here in Titus, that the slaves were Christians. In some cases, like Philemon, the masters were Christians as well. Often they were not. What is remarkable, in most cultures where the gospel has been introduced, slavery ends. It’s hard to practice the golden rule while owning another person.

Our American freedoms and democracy makes it difficult to understand what the life of a slave was like in the first century world. Our verse today, addressed to the slave, contains both positives and negatives. There are some things to do and some things not to do.

First the negatives:

1. Not argumentative.

2. Not pilfering. Pilfering is a form of stealing. Often a person pilfers because he does not feel that he has been treated right. So to compensate, he steals. He justifies stealing because of the way he is treated.

The positives:

1. Be subject to your masters

2. Be well-pleasing

3. Show all good faith

We don’t own slaves and we are not slaves. You may feel that way to the company you work for, but you are not. You can quit. Slaves couldn’t do that. So is there an application for us? Certainly.

Consider the spirit and attitude that Paul is trying to develop here. Don’t be argumentative. Some argue about everything. This happens in Bible classes. This happens in marriages. This happens everywhere. Being argumentative stirs things up. It irritates people. Now this is not a call for tolerance and everything goes. Absolutely not. Don’t throw out the rest of the Bible because of one verse. The emphasis is not about what God said or right and wrong. The kids want to go out Friday night and they want to stay out until 2 AM. Mom and dad say no. An argument erupts. This is NOT the application here. Parents need to parent. No one has any business staying out until 2 AM. Only bad things will happen. This is not about Bible teaching, parenting or right and wrong. It’s fussing about things that do not matter. It’s fussing about things we don’t feel like doing. The master would tell the slave to do something and he’d argue. He’d argue because he didn’t want to do it. Stop that, is what Paul is saying. So many arguments are about getting my way and trying to get a cheaper deal. We argue about things we cannot do anything about. We argue with the TV when the people on the TV cannot hear us. The argumentative spirit is next to the complaining spirit. Arguing. The one that argues feels he is right. Often he isn’t.

Pilfering. Stealing. Taking things that are not ours because we feel that it is owned to us. The big company, we reason, will never miss this stuff. They waste so much that no one will know. For all the hours I put in, they ought to give me this stuff. Nice try. Doesn’t work. It’s stealing. It’s justified in your mind. It’s probably not justified in God’s mind. That’s why Paul was told by God to tell slaves to stop pilfering. Slaves would have opportunities to steal food and household items. This stealing would hurt their influence, cheapen their character and ruin their souls with God. Paul’s words are to stop it.

Be well-pleasing. Strive to get along. Do what you are told to do. Do your job well. Get about things and give it your all. My mother told me, if you are going to do something do it well the first time. That stuck with me. Why do a shabby job and then go back and have to do it right. Do it right the first time.

Show all good faith. Keep God invited into your life and your world.

Argumentative…pilfering…well-pleasing…showing good faith—those are attitudes we choose. These set the course of how we play the game and journey through life. The “all about me” person will be argumentative and pilfer. He’s right and always right. He sets others on edge and becomes a real pain—in marriage, at the work place, and even in the church. Now the one who is well-pleasing and shows good faith—they are a pleasant and refreshing spirit. They are good to work with. They are helpful and hopeful. They bring life and sunshine to a dark place.

The difference in the two, being argumentative or being well-pleasing—is a matter of choice. It’s not the circumstances that determine that. It’s not who the master is that decides this. It’s your choice. The same remains true for us. We can be sour and mean all the time, or we can be pleasant and helpful. We can make a scene at the check out register, or we can understand that people make mistakes and try to be encouraging.

It’s the every day stuff that really shows our faith. What we really are comes out in those every day situations.

How about you? Which are you going to choose today? Arguing or well-pleasing? Your call. Your choice.

Roger