Michael Anderson tackles one of the more uncomfortable passages in Paul's letters this week, walking through 1 Timothy 6:1 and 2 on the behavior expected of believing slaves. He opens by explaining why he deliberately read the ESV's softened word bondservant instead of the Greek doulos, slave, and why understanding that word matters before applying the passage today.

Anderson lays out the historical picture first: slavery in the Roman world looked very different from American chattel slavery, and even Mosaic law regulated rather than forbade the practice. From there he explains why Paul addresses slaves directly in this letter without also addressing masters, tying it to Paul's concern that the gospel's message of equality before God not be twisted into a demand for social revolution.

The heart of the message applies these instructions to modern employment. Anderson identifies two ways a bad attitude toward employers can cause the gospel to be reviled, from the influence of Marxist thought on modern liberation theology to the simple, practical witness of how a Christian actually works. He then unpacks five specific behaviors from Colossians 3 and Ephesians 6 through which believers adorn the gospel through their work, and closes by examining the added responsibility of serving a believing employer well.

Anyone who has ever wondered how to think biblically about their job will find real, practical direction here.