1 Peter: Confidence in a Complex WorldSýnishorn

11: Significant Work

How it might have been:

I was so hungry, but it hurt too much to chew. Earlier that day, my master, Gaius, had just finished eating with his guests. As he got up, he noticed a stain on his toga. When he beckoned me, I hurried over, ready to receive instructions. Out of nowhere, he smacked me across the jaw, yelling that I had spilt food on him. 

Slavery was widespread in the Roman Empire. Among other things, slaves worked as housekeepers, farm labourers, construction workers, doctors, teachers, cooks, and estate managers. Some fared well and many went on to buy their own freedom. For others, conditions were atrocious: cramped and squalid living quarters, meagre rations, barely clothed, sexually exploited, regularly beaten. 

Being a slave was more than just having a rubbish job you didn’t get paid for. Being a slave was an identity, or perhaps more accurately, a non-identity. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, referred to slaves as ‘human tools’.

Remember, in this section of his letter (2:13-3:7), Peter is helping Christians see what it means for them to live as God’s people, as ‘foreigners and exiles’ amongst non-Christians. By doing so, they could witness to the goodness and reality of God and his gospel. Back then, the prevailing culture made slaves feel subhuman, and Christian slaves could be singled out for particularly harsh treatment by a non-believing master.

Then here, the Holy Spirit breathed life into these slaves who the world said were nobodies. He was opening their eyes to new possibilities: ‘You are not nobodies. You are God’s people, part of his mission.’ 

Chances are you’re not a slave, so what does this passage have to say to you? Laws and culture have moved on, so we must be careful how we apply passages like this. We shouldn’t let our bosses beat us up or take advantage of us. What we can say for certain is this. Whether your work is paid, voluntary, or informal, in the workplace or in the home, enjoyable or dull, appreciated or not, God has a purpose for you within it. As you go about your work with Christlike character, you can point others to God. If that were true for slaves back then, how much more so for us today?

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Reflect:

Think about the tasks you will do today. Which ones feel the most mundane and insignificant? How does the fact God is interested in these tasks change how you view them?

Who will you be working with and for over the next day or two? What do you think of the idea that you can point these people to God by the way you work and face the challenges of life? 

Pray:

Thank God for the work he has given you to do, and for the people your work brings you into contact with. Ask him to help you work in such a way that others see Jesus.