One of the funniest and actually most painful things about the Dilbert comic strip is the "pointy haired boss". He's so incompetent, it's ridiculous.
Some of you may have a boss like that or did at some point. What does the Bible have to say about all this? We took at look at boss/employee relationships in church on Sunday. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the whole workplace environment from a Christian perspective.
Here are my notes if you'd like to read through them before commenting.
The Pastoral Epistles, 1 Timothy 6:1-2
Intro….Bad bosses… Dilbert, the Pointy Haired Boss…
How many of you have ever had to deal with a difficult boss?
Text: 1 Timothy 6:1-2
What's the deal here? Is Paul promoting slavery? Is the Bible backwards in its teaching? I thought we were all past slavery in our country…
Let's talk about the "slave" culture/issue as mentioned in the Bible:
In patriarchal times certain members of the household were "bond-servants" and others were members of the family.
Family members had different rights and privileges than bondservants, the greatest being family members were heirs of the estate but the bondservants had no entitlement to it.
Under the Mosaic law, Israelites could not be taken as bondservants, but those of Gentile nations could be. (Leviticus 25:44)
Those Israelites who were taken into a household as hired servants were assured of gaining their liberty in the year of jubilee and they had the right of redemption - that is, they could pay money to gain freedom again.
An Israelite could voluntarily choose to become a hired servant for his entire life.
The Bible condemns abuses against bondservants in the most emphatic terms (Leviticus 25:53) but it does not explicitly condemn the practice of a householder having servants.
On to the NT…Anyone who mistreated servants was soundly condemned in the writings of the Paul.
About half the population of the Roman Empire in the first century was composed of slaves. Several times in the NT we read of the conversion and baptism of entire households (Acts 16:15; 1Cor 1:16). So there were many Christian slaves at that time.
Not all Christian slaves had "believing masters." But those who did were not to show any less respect for them.
Instead, they were to serve them even better, realizing that they were setting a good example for and benefiting their brothers in Christ.
In earlier societies, these "class distinctions" were more marked. Wealthy landowners had their own servants.
At the time of Paul's writing to Timothy (before unemployment insurance, social security and Medicare)- it was not necessarily a disadvantage to be a bondservant to a wealthy landlord.
If the landlord was benevolent, he provided for his servants, looking after them even into their old age and in times of illness.
Many of the parables of Jesus are based on such a relationship between the "Goodman of the house" and the servants in his charge. (Luke 12:41-48; 14:15-24; 15:17-19; 16:1-13; 19:12-27; 20:9-16)
1 Cor. 7:21, Titus 2:9-10 and Philemon 1:10-17
In the culture of this new church in Ephesus, there was a great social and legal gap between masters and slaves.
However, as Christians masters and slaves became spiritual equals, they also became brothers and sisters in Christ. (Galatians 3:28)
Paul is actually affirming this master/slave relationship and is now giving guidelines for Christian slaves and masters.
In the same way, Paul's counsel can apply to us today in our working situations.
Employees should work hard, knowing that ultimately they are working for God, showing respect for their employers.
Likewise, employers should be fair and good (Eph. 6:5-9, Col. 3:22-4:15).
Our work needs to reflect our faithfulness to and love for Christ, just like our relationship with our families, our neighbors, where we volunteer, clubs or organizations we're a part of.
We need to be known for our love, for others and for Jesus.
For us today in our culture…every society has different classes. Even we have and upper, middle and lower class.
We may travel "first class" in the better seats at the front of the plane, some of us can afford full time nannies. House cleaners, landscapers…
Let's say you are in a lousy job situation.
Obviously if it's detrimental to your sanity or health or safety, you may need to look for another job.
However, if it's bare-able, think of the great example you can be, especially to the other Christians who work there who also recognize how bad things many be.
My summer working at KCDA….I "hated" the job (really a lack of maturity on my part) and Kevin Waiters "loved" the job.
He always set such a good example for me. However, I couldn't see it because I wasn't willing to look at the bigger picture.
Conclusion:
"God has revealed a system by which freedom will be granted to all that believe and obey, not simply a freedom from the oppression of one's fellowman, but a greater freedom. We have the hope of being freed from the curse of sin and death, being granted eternal life in God's Kingdom."
God has intervened in the course of history to provide deliverance from slavery, really any sin we become a slave to. GOSPEL
"One of the great ironies of the human experience is that most men, when given the choice between slavery to sin and freedom in Christ, choose slavery, slavery to the exercise of the passions of the flesh rather than to the will of God."
Intro….Bad bosses… Dilbert, the Pointy Haired Boss…
How many of you have ever had to deal with a difficult boss?
Text: 1 Timothy 6:1-2
What's the deal here? Is Paul promoting slavery? Is the Bible backwards in its teaching? I thought we were all past slavery in our country…
Let's talk about the "slave" culture/issue as mentioned in the Bible:
In patriarchal times certain members of the household were "bond-servants" and others were members of the family.
Family members had different rights and privileges than bondservants, the greatest being family members were heirs of the estate but the bondservants had no entitlement to it.
Under the Mosaic law, Israelites could not be taken as bondservants, but those of Gentile nations could be. (Leviticus 25:44)
Those Israelites who were taken into a household as hired servants were assured of gaining their liberty in the year of jubilee and they had the right of redemption - that is, they could pay money to gain freedom again.
An Israelite could voluntarily choose to become a hired servant for his entire life.
The Bible condemns abuses against bondservants in the most emphatic terms (Leviticus 25:53) but it does not explicitly condemn the practice of a householder having servants.
On to the NT…Anyone who mistreated servants was soundly condemned in the writings of the Paul.
About half the population of the Roman Empire in the first century was composed of slaves. Several times in the NT we read of the conversion and baptism of entire households (Acts 16:15; 1Cor 1:16). So there were many Christian slaves at that time.
Not all Christian slaves had "believing masters." But those who did were not to show any less respect for them.
Instead, they were to serve them even better, realizing that they were setting a good example for and benefiting their brothers in Christ.
In earlier societies, these "class distinctions" were more marked. Wealthy landowners had their own servants.
At the time of Paul's writing to Timothy (before unemployment insurance, social security and Medicare)- it was not necessarily a disadvantage to be a bondservant to a wealthy landlord.
If the landlord was benevolent, he provided for his servants, looking after them even into their old age and in times of illness.
Many of the parables of Jesus are based on such a relationship between the "Goodman of the house" and the servants in his charge. (Luke 12:41-48; 14:15-24; 15:17-19; 16:1-13; 19:12-27; 20:9-16)
1 Cor. 7:21, Titus 2:9-10 and Philemon 1:10-17
In the culture of this new church in Ephesus, there was a great social and legal gap between masters and slaves.
However, as Christians masters and slaves became spiritual equals, they also became brothers and sisters in Christ. (Galatians 3:28)
Paul is actually affirming this master/slave relationship and is now giving guidelines for Christian slaves and masters.
In the same way, Paul's counsel can apply to us today in our working situations.
Employees should work hard, knowing that ultimately they are working for God, showing respect for their employers.
Likewise, employers should be fair and good (Eph. 6:5-9, Col. 3:22-4:15).
Our work needs to reflect our faithfulness to and love for Christ, just like our relationship with our families, our neighbors, where we volunteer, clubs or organizations we're a part of.
We need to be known for our love, for others and for Jesus.
For us today in our culture…every society has different classes. Even we have and upper, middle and lower class.
We may travel "first class" in the better seats at the front of the plane, some of us can afford full time nannies. House cleaners, landscapers…
Let's say you are in a lousy job situation.
Obviously if it's detrimental to your sanity or health or safety, you may need to look for another job.
However, if it's bare-able, think of the great example you can be, especially to the other Christians who work there who also recognize how bad things many be.
My summer working at KCDA….I "hated" the job (really a lack of maturity on my part) and Kevin Waiters "loved" the job.
He always set such a good example for me. However, I couldn't see it because I wasn't willing to look at the bigger picture.
Conclusion:
"God has revealed a system by which freedom will be granted to all that believe and obey, not simply a freedom from the oppression of one's fellowman, but a greater freedom. We have the hope of being freed from the curse of sin and death, being granted eternal life in God's Kingdom."
God has intervened in the course of history to provide deliverance from slavery, really any sin we become a slave to. GOSPEL
"One of the great ironies of the human experience is that most men, when given the choice between slavery to sin and freedom in Christ, choose slavery, slavery to the exercise of the passions of the flesh rather than to the will of God."
