Respectful Relationships

(Ephesians 6:5-8)

Part of the call to Jesus Christ is to learn to respect others. It is part of the process of change going on in all those who are truly seeking the ways of God to learn respect.

As we grow in maturity in Jesus Christ we grow into the image of Christ, which is the image of God the Father. And as we know God is love. If we are to learn to love as Christ first loved us, then we need to also learn respect. Respect for God, respect for Christ and respect for those around us.

These few verses in Ephesians 6 teach us the ways of respect. Although it speaks about slaves, it is equally applicable to working relationships and all situations where we come into contact with others.

Respectful Working Relationships

Before continuing, let’s first look at the verses under review.

5 Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ; 6 not in the way of eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to men, 8 knowing that whatever good any one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. (Ephesians 6:5-8)

We don’t have too many slaves these days, especially in Western societies although it is evident from various news broadcasts from time to time that there is still a slave trade going on in the world.

However, the principle of a slave-master relationship is in some ways akin to an employee-employer relationship. Certainly not identical by any means but in the sense that the slave/employee works for the master/employer. Similarly, the master/employer has certain expectations of the slave/employee which if met will be rewarded, but if not met will be punished.

In verse 5 we see that the slaves were exhorted to be obedient to their masters, and likewise an employee needs to obey the reasonable requests of an employer. The master/employer has certain goals or objectives they wish to achieve and the delegation of work to the slave/employee is aimed at achieving those objectives.

As Christians, the slaves were encouraged to work heartily and in full devotion to the requests of their earthly masters, and in the same way employees should do likewise with employers. And it goes on to say in verse 6 that this work should not be by way of “eye-service” but working from the heart as servants of Christ doing the will of God.

I am sure that you will have seen people who do work under the terms of “eye-service.” They look good when the boss is around, but slack off when they are not under scrutiny. They may also be people who “suck up” to the boss for their own purposes, trying to get on the boss’s good side without doing the required work. These people exist in all organisations and you may have come into contact with them as fellow employees, as a customer trying to receive a service of some kind or even as the boss who has this type of person as an employee.

The person who works as “eye-service” is not showing due respect to their boss or organisation. They are in it for themselves, not to serve or seek the betterment of the organisation.

We are called to NOT be like that.

Do your job seeking to do the very best that you can at all times. It should make no difference whether they boss is around or not. And when you do work respectfully, you earn the trust of the boss, just as a respectful slave would earn the the trust and respect of their master.

And this is the point. Respect breeds respect in return and it builds trust.

As Christians we are called to render our service as if we were working for the Lord directly. That is how we should work at all times because it is the essence of a respectful relationship. Work as though the Lord Himself was watching at all times.

And the amazing thing is that you will receive the approval of those for whom you are working as well as the approval of the Lord. You are showing respect and acting in accordance with the truth.

The Reward of Respect

In the last verse in this section we see that when we show the respect deserved and due to those around us, we receive a reward.

The reward is that whatever we give to those around us, in this case the labour we put into our employer’s tasks, then we will receive the same again from the Lord.

The respect we give will be the respect we get. The honour we show will be the honour we receive from the Lord. The blessings we give will be the blessings we get back from the Lord. We are learning to walk in the ways of the Lord and so receive His blessings as we fulfil the requirement on all of us to:

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (James 2:8)

And;

“Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:3-5)

These are the ultimate expressions of the love of God in us and through us. To show love begins with respect and building respectful relationships.

And even though the first few verses of this section in Ephesians 6:5-8 speaks about slaves, the last verse is an open statement to all Christians. It speaks to every person in Christ showing that the attitude of respect, and not just the appearance but the deep felt, from the heart kind of respect, is a necessary requirement for us all if we are to live in Christ’s eternal kingdom.

So let us do this. Let us learn to respect everyone, regardless of their station in life. Respect those above us, but also those who are working for us. Respect the organisational employees who we are speaking to when we need help. I can assure you that you will get more help by being respectful than by being a tyrant.

Likewise let us build respectful relationships in all of our dealings.

Let us also build respectful relationships with our family, friends and acquaintances. Work on showing respect to children, parents, siblings and extended family as well as friends.

When you show respect to others you give them a blessing and you will receive a blessing from the Lord. So build those respectful relationships and so show by your actions that you are a child of God.

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