EPHESIANS - Chapter 6 - Verse 7
Verse 7. As to the Lord, and not to men. That is, he should regard
his lot in life as having been ordered by Divine Providence for some
wise and good purpose; and, until he may be permitted to enjoy
his liberty in a quiet and peaceable manner, See Barnes "1 Co 7:21,
he should perform his duties with fidelity, and feel that he was
rendering acceptable service to God. This would reconcile him to
much of the hardships of his lot. The feeling that God has ordered
the circumstances of our lives, and that he has some wise and good
ends to answer by it, makes us contented there; though we may
feel that our fellow-man may be doing us injustice. It was this
principle that made the martyrs so patient under the wrongs done
them by men; and this may make even a slave patient and submissive
under the wrongs of a master. But let not a master think,
because a pious slave shows this spirit, that therefore the slave
feels that the master is right in withholding his freedom; nor let
him suppose, because religion requires the slave to be submissive
and obedient, that therefore it approves of what the master does.
It does this no more than it sanctioned the conduct of Nero and
Mary, because religion required the martyrs to be unresisting, and
to allow themselves to be led to the stake. A conscientious slave
may find happiness in submitting to God, and doing his will, just
as a conscientious martyr may. But this does not sanction the
wrong, either of the slave-owner or of the persecutor.
This book has been accessed more than 2074327 times since June 1, 2005.
