Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Colossians 4:1 (NIV)

Modern readers are likely taken aback by the first verse of today’s chapter in which Paul encourages slave masters to do right by their slaves. Why those who added chapters and verses to the text didn’t leave this verse as part of the previous chapter is a head scratcher for me because 4:1 is clearly coupled with 3:22 in which Paul encourages slaves to do their work as if they were working for God. The two verses are part of one thought.

The inclusion of slaves and slave masters in Paul’s letter to the Colossians has everything to do with a very real and personal situation Paul, and the Colossian believers were dealing with.

A modern reader wonders why Paul didn’t take on slavery as an issue of social justice. I’ve known many a critic to cite this issue as one of the reasons they refuse to believe: that Paul doesn’t condemn slavery. As I’ve pondered and meditated on the Great Story over the years, there are a few conclusions I’ve made.

First, the abolition movement would not get started until 1200 years after Paul. Slavery had always been a part of daily human life throughout history. No one questioned it in Paul’s day. France was the first country to outlaw slavery in 1315. The abolitionist movement was fueled by followers of Jesus as well as the age of Enlightenment in the following few hundred years.

As I have written before, I view the Great Story and the history of humanity as the story of one giant life-cycle. As humanity has matured from infancy to adulthood over the millennia it, like any individual human being, humanity as a whole has grown and matured, as well as struggling with core human flaws. Slavery has largely been outlawed today (though it still exists), but we’re clearly still struggling with hatred and violence that goes all the way back to Ishmael and Isaac, to Cain and Abel. Bottom line, I can’t fault Paul for not being an abolitionist in a time when it wasn’t even a consideration.

Second, there were other social ills in Paul’s day that the followers of Jesus were addressing. Roman law allowed for infanticide. If you didn’t want your baby, you could legally throw it on the dung heap. Followers of Jesus rescued and raised them. Lepers were shunned to suffer together in small enclaves outside of society. Followers of Jesus moved in with them, took care of them, and sometimes got leprosy and died with them. Followers of Jesus took care of the sick, the poor, the orphans, and the widows. Followers of Jesus built the first hospitals.

So, Paul didn’t approach slavery as a social justice issue, but as a personal one. There was a member of the local gathering of Jesus’ followers in Colossae named Philemon. He had a slave named Onesimus who stole from Philemon and made a run for it. Onesimus is now on the run, and if caught, can receive the death penalty under Roman law. The runaway slave just happens to run into Paul (coincidence?) and through their relationship, Onesimus places his faith in Christ and becomes a follower of Jesus.

In today’s chapter, there is a final section of personal greetings that most people gloss over or ignore. But there are often some really good stories buried in those words. Paul tells the Colossians that it is a man named Tychius who is going to deliver the letter Paul is writing, and with Tychius he is sending Onesimus. Tychius is carrying another letter that we know as Philemon. Onesimus, Philemon’s thieving, runaway slave is now Philemon’s brother in Christ. Onesimus is returning to his slave master to ask forgiveness and make things right. In Paul’s letter to Philemon, Paul urges him to forgive and be gracious.

Of course, all of the Colossian believers know both of these men. They were part of their community. Philemon was part of their local gathering. The very real conflict would affect them all. Paul’s encouragement to all the Colossians for slaves and slave masters to serve God by serving one another is subtle reference to the Onesimus situation Paul knows they will all be facing.

As I look back at history, I find that large meaningful social movements typically begin with a person, or a small group of people, who simply start doing the right thing by individuals in their personal circles of influence. Their actions inspire others to join in doing the same. It grows and spreads. Who knows if, in the grand scheme of things, Paul’s encouragement to Philemon and Onesimus to look beyond their earthly circumstances and view one another as brothers in Christ was a seed that took root and eventually grew into the abolition movement.

And, as a different Paul used to say, now you know the rest of the story.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.