Submission at Work
3-16-25
Rights. We hear a lot about people's rights these days. It seems that in our modern culture the most important issue facing people is that they get to experience whatever they feel is their right in life. That seems to go hand in hand with the entitlement mentality that we are developing with young people in this nation. Everyone feels that they are entitled to what they feel they are entitled to and that they have a right to whatever they feel is their right.
We hear about reproductive rights, but what about the rights of the baby? There are immigrant rights, but illegal criminals shouldn't be allowed to do whatever they want to do. Prisoners have rights which safeguard them against cruel and unusual punishment. But death row inmates don't have the right to be spared the death penalty, since that is an appropriate punishment for certain crimes. What about the rights of the people that they murdered? Women were seeking federal constitutional protection for their rights through the equal rights amendment. It, however, didn't gain enough steam and failed to pass. Pro-union folks feel that workers have a right to organize while non-union folks feel all workers have a right to work whether unionized or not.
If people do not receive the rights to which they feel they are entitled, they oftentimes take matters into their own hands. That may result in fights breaking out; in possessions being stolen; or riots erupting on the streets. Those expressions can also result in walkouts, strikes, boycotts and political rebellion. Such protests are usually motivated by the belief that everyone is equal in every way and entitled to exactly the same things as everyone else. That is a false assumption.
As Americans we do have certain rights and those rights are very dear to us. Our Declaration of Independence even lays out some of those specifics. It declares that we have the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's intentionally vague and leaves a lot of room for speculation and application.
But elsewhere our rights are specifically laid out for us. We have the right to own property; we have the right to a safe personal zone that is free from physical and personal attacks on our person; we have the right to protest, the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, the right to practice our religion as we see fit and other political rights that are guaranteed for us in the constitution.
But our rights have limits, and that's what the point is in the next section of 1 Peter that we're going to look at this morning. Last week, we saw where Peter instructed his readers that they were to submit to the governing authorities. There is no command in Scripture given to us that justifies any sort of rebellion or uprising against the government by believers. This morning, we're going to see where Peter continues his teaching on submission. He moves from politics to work and commands believers who are servants or slaves to submit to their masters. Let's read 1 Peter 2:18-21a.
Peter is specifically talking here about slaves and servants and how they are to relate to their masters. Those aren't situations that really apply to us today in American in 2025. What is relevant to us today is how we are to relate to our bosses and our superiors in the workplace. When it comes to how we are to relate to work, instead of talking about rights, we should be talking about sacrifice and responsibility and obligation. When it comes to being an employee and how we need to be relating to our jobs and our co-workers and our bosses, it should be those words that take center stage, and not a demand for rights.
The point that Peter is making and the point that is made throughout Scripture, is that a focus on rights in the workplace, whatever the result might be, isn't compatible with the Christian life. Instead of demanding rights, believers are to be concerned with obedience and submission to God's will. When workers obey and submit to their superiors, as God commands, they prove themselves to be good witnesses and that witness will ideally make a difference in the lives of others. Paul makes the same command. Eph. 6:5-9.
Peter's exhortations in this passage may not directly relate to us today, but it did directly apply to his readers. There were millions of slaves in the Roman Empire. In fact, the workforce in the Roman world consisted mostly of slaves. The term "servants" was used to describe household servants. Most of them served in a home or under an estate owner. Their duties ranged from being farmers who plowed the owner's field to doctors who cared for the family's medical needs.
The way they were treated varied from situation to situation. Some masters loved their slaves as trusted members of their household and treated them like family. Others did not look at them that way and treated their slaves very poorly. Either way, they were normally paid for their services and could expect eventually to purchase their freedom. There was some legislation that regulated the treatment of slaves, but they still owned little or nothing and had no legal recourse if they were mistreated.
As the gospel spread throughout the Greco-Roman world, many of the first converts to Christianity were slaves. That reality is why the NT has so much to say about servant/master relationships. Not only were they a large part of the Roman Empire, they also made up a large part of the early Gentile church. Therefore their role in society and their role in the church raised some important issues and questions.
One issue that they had to deal with had to do with freedom. Believing slaves often assumed that since they had become free in Christ, that they also had a right to freedom from their masters. Another issue that had become a problem in the early church was that converted slaves often became elders and leaders in the church, oftentimes holding leadership and authority positions over their masters. You can imagine how awkward and difficult that would have been to deal with. So the issue of a slave's subordination to his master in the workplace had to be addressed. NT teachers didn't advocate any sort of rebellion or uprising on the part of the slaves. Instead, apostolic teaching focused on making sure Christian slaves' attitudes were right.
The right attitude that they needed to develop was one of submission. They were to continually submit to their masters who had absolute ownership of and complete control over them. Not only were they to submit, but they were to submit with all respect. That means there was to be no bitterness or negativity. They were to serve and submit with an attitude of gracious honor. When they served and submitted with gracious honor to their masters, they also showed respect to God Himself.
Such a God-fearing attitude was to extend to the good and gentle masters. Good means "one who is upright, beneficial and satisfactory." Gentle refers to "one who is considerate, reasonable and fair." Therefore, the good and gentle master is one whom it was easy to submit to. However, Peter also urged his readers to have a submissive attitude toward masters to whom he described as unreasonable. Unreasonable means "curved or crooked" and refers to someone who is perverse or dishonest. That kind of master is hard to submit to.
This is all well and good and helps us to understand what Peter was saying to his readers, but how does it apply to us today? The same way it applied to servants in Peter's day. In the workplace, employees are to submit to employers as if they were serving Christ Himself. Such submissiveness prevents all rebellion, protests or workplace disturbances of every kind, even if your employer is unreasonable.
We can look to the story of King Saul and young David as an example of what this type of submission might look like. David illustrates the submissive attitude God seeks in the context of serving under someone. It wasn't a good, positive situation that David found himself in.
David knew that God had chosen him to be the king following Saul. With that knowledge, you think he might have been tempted to take matters into his own hands. But he didn't. David started out serving in Saul's court, playing the harp and leading the troops into battle. So in essence, Saul was David's boss. You would think that working with the king who was supposed to be serving God would be an ideal situation. Yet, that's not how it turned out. Saul was a terrible boss and after awhile, treated David very badly. He not only treated him badly, he tried to kill him, not once, but at least two times. 1 Sam. 18:6-11. That wasn't the only time Saul tried to kill David. 1 Sam. 24:2-7.
There was another time when David had an opportunity to kill Saul and exact his revenge and take the throne that was going to be his someday, but he didn't. 1 Sam. 26:6-12. David was able to survive and thrive during this time because he was willing to wait on God and on God's timing, instead taking matters into his own hands. He didn't demand the right to rule; he didn't insist on exacting revenge against Saul. Even though Saul was an unreasonable boss, to David he was God's anointed king. David therefore, was willing to do what he could to submit to and serve Saul as the king. That is a biblical example of how we can relate to and submit to our employers.
It should not matter to believers what their circumstances are at work. What really matters above all else is that we maintain our testimony before a watching world. We do that in the workplace when we labor with an awareness of God's glory. We need to always work as if we are working for the Lord, because we are. Everything we do and say and think in any and all circumstances we find ourselves in, needs to be done and said and thought to the glory of God. Seeking God's glory should motivate us to godly behavior and submission at work.
You might be thinking, that's fine of you to say pastor, you work for the church and don't understand what we go through at work. Oh, I understand all right. I haven't only worked in church related jobs. When I was in high school, I worked at a toy store in one of the big malls in Omaha. It was a job stocking shelves and standing in the back making sure no one stole anything. My boss wasn't very good. I was in the band and had certain Fridays that I couldn't work because of home football games. But my boss repeatedly scheduled me to work those nights and eventually I had to quit because of that.
I worked at the food service at our dorms in college. I worked at a fast food place in Lincoln during college and one summer worked for the city where I grew up mowing lawns. I worked for a TV station in Kearney, NE after graduating from college. I have plenty of work experience in plenty of secular jobs. Some bosses were good and some were not good.
When I was working for the TV station, we felt God calling us into full time ministry. So I took a week of vacation and visited a couple of seminaries to see if that was the direction God was leading us. I had told my boss at the station what was happening. When I returned, I was given my two week's notice and informed that they had hired my replacement while I was gone. On my last day at the station, we had one of the reporters from work over for dinner. She was amazed at how we were handling being fired. But thanks to the Lord's working in our lives, we were able to keep a godly perspective and have a godly witness to her.
The point that Peter is trying to make is that it doesn't matter if our earthly boss is good or bad. Our response and reaction to our employers has nothing to do with them and everything to do with God. That's what it all comes down to. The Lord wants us, whether we are suffering unjustly or not, not to falter in our witness. Instead, we need to humbly and patiently accept unjust treatment, knowing that God has sovereign control of every circumstance that we find ourselves in. Ps. 33:11.
Peter ends this section by stating, "For you have been called for this purpose." As soon as the Holy Spirit calls people from darkness to light, they become an enemy of the world. They also become a target of unjust and unfair attacks as they seek to obey Christ. 2 Tim. 3:12.
It is more important to God that those who are citizens of heaven display a faithful testimony, marked by spiritual integrity, than that they strive to attain to all of their perceived rights in this world. It is more important to God for believers to uphold the credibility of gospel power than to attain to a raise or promotion in their job. It is ultimately more important to God that believers demonstrate submission to His sovereignty in every area of life than that they protest against problems at their workplace.
Does that mean you should never stand up for your rights in the world or at work? No, you can still do that, just make sure you maintain your witness and your integrity. Is it wrong to seek or get a raise or promotion at work? Absolutely not. There's nothing wrong with doing well and moving up the ladder. Just make sure you don't abandon your beliefs and convictions along the way. Is it wrong to seek change at work? Nope, as long as you keep your eyes and your focus always on God and His sovereign control of your life and don't ruin your witness in the process.
When believers encounter trials on the job, they ought to view them as opportunities for spiritual growth and evangelism. The chief reason God allows believers to remain in this world is so He might use us to win the lost and thereby bring glory to His name.
So when your boss is impossible and you hate your job, either look to get a new one or start to look at your current job with a different outlook. See if there is an opportunity to witness and to glorify God right where you're at, believing that God has you there for a reason.
As our singer and musician come now, we invite you to seek to glorify God in your job and seek to make a different there in the lives of others. If there is some decision or profession that needs to be made this morning, we invite you to come now as we stand and sing.