Text: I Peter 2:18-25<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. Labor unions are lauded for the improvements they wrought in the workplace<\/p>\n A. By encouraging employees to act as one, many concessions have been won from\ncompanies\n
B. When the group appeals don’t sway an employer, strikes often will<\/p>\n 1. Strikes shutdown the “life blood” of a business, preventing the production\nof products\n
2. Strikes also aim to prevent employers from hiring replacements<\/p>\n
II. The Bible tells us much about employer and employee relationships<\/p>\n A. In the New Testament times, people were self-employed, contract laborers (such\nas in the Parable of the Field Hands), or obligated to a long-term relationship\n 1. Slaves or servants often was enter through some obligation (such as debt),\nbeing on the wrong side in a battle, apprenticeships, or a desire to gain\nsomething (such as Jacob’s 14 years of labor to marry Rachel)\n 2. The service lasted until the obligation was fulfilled. It could be a few years\nor it could last a lifetime\n
B. Masters had to supply food, clothing, and shelter<\/p>\n
1. Servants became a part of the household<\/p>\n 2. Not surprisingly, since men are involved, some took good care of their\nservants and many did not\n
C. While the circumstances are not exactly the same, we can learn from them<\/p>\n
1. In many ways, we have it easier<\/p>\n 2. If you don’t like an employer, you can leave. You don’t have to stay with a\nbad boss for a lifetime\n
III. Masters (Bosses and Employers)<\/p>\n A. Colossians 4:1 – Treat your employees justly and fairly, just as you wish to be\ntreated by God.\n
B. James 5:4 – God will hold bosses accountable for their behavior<\/p>\n
1. Malachi 3:5<\/p>\n
C. Ephesians 6:9 – Employees are not to be threatened<\/p>\n
IV. Servants (Employees)<\/p>\n
A. Colossians 3:22-25 – Work for your boss as you would work for God<\/p>\n
1. Not just when they are present<\/p>\n
2. Do it to win their favor<\/p>\n
3. Work sincerely and with respect<\/p>\n
B. Ephesians 6:5-8 – Again, notice with respect.<\/p>\n
1. How many respect their boss?<\/p>\n 2. You get to choose to some extent who you work for. These people often\nhad no choice.\n
C. Respect is especially due when your boss is also a Christian – I Timothy 6:1-2<\/p>\n
1. Sometimes familiarity breeds contempt<\/p>\n
2. Sometimes familiarity causes too much “chumminess” <\/p>\n
D. Titus 2:9–10 – Please your boss<\/p>\n
1. Do not talk back<\/p>\n
2. Do not steal!<\/p>\n
E. I Peter 2:18-25 – Even when your boss is bad<\/p>\n
1. Look to Christ as our example<\/p>\n
2. Even harsh bosses get our respect<\/p>\n
3. Christ did not retaliate, should we?<\/p>\n
V. Should a Christian strike?<\/p>\n
A. Should a Christian cause harm to his employer’s business?<\/p>\n
B. Should he hurl insults?<\/p>\n
C. Should we “strike” against God and His teachings?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: I Peter 2:18-25 I. Labor unions are lauded for the improvements they wrought in the workplace A. By encouraging employees to act as one, many concessions have been won from companies B. When the group appeals don’t sway an employer, strikes often will 1. Strikes shutdown the “life blood” of a business, preventing the production of products…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[246,105,659,200],"class_list":["post-23361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-employer","tag-employment","tag-jobs","tag-violence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61453,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-employer-relations\/","url_meta":{"origin":23361,"position":0},"title":"Notes on Employer Relations","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Leviticus 19:13 Job 31:13 Psalm 123:2 Malachi 3:5 Matthew 7:12 Ephesians 6:9 Colossians 4:1 James 5:4 See also: What does the Bible say about employment?","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18262,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-my-employer-to-demand-more-hours-from-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":23361,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong for my employer to demand more hours from me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been asked by my employer to work more hours since they laid off other employees.\u00a0 Is there anything against doing this in the Bible, if it means having less time with my young son and wife?\u00a0 This will not be overtime as I am a salaried employee.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50745,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-biblical-to-take-a-vacation\/","url_meta":{"origin":23361,"position":2},"title":"Is it biblical to take a vacation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, Is it biblical to take a vacation from work? Thank you. Answer: Employment is governed by rules set by governments and the agreement between the employer and the employee. For example, under the Law of Moses, the Israelites were required to not work on Saturdays (Deuteronomy 5:12-15).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-quit-because-my-boss-insists-that-i-falsify-invoices\/","url_meta":{"origin":23361,"position":3},"title":"Should I quit because my boss insists that I falsify invoices?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please, my employer is always asking me to falsify invoices against my will, and I feel guilty about this. Please should I quit the job because of this? Please, I need your assistance. Answer: The simple answer is that Christians are not allowed to lie. It doesn't matter what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40997,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-was-forced-to-start-working-evenings-am-i-lost-in-this-situation\/","url_meta":{"origin":23361,"position":4},"title":"I was forced to start working evenings. Am I lost in this situation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was forced to start working evenings at my job. It resulted in me losing my Wednesday night worship. I asked for a night shift and was rejected for it. I am currently looking for new employment. I want to keep the commands of Christ, but in my situation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56087,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/employer-employee\/","url_meta":{"origin":23361,"position":5},"title":"Employer — Employee","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Homer Hailey in\u00a0The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 12, Oct. 1952. In this, the Christian dispensation, God does not set forth one form of civil government as being above another. He does, however, lay down definite principles which are to govern the conduct of any kind of government, and principles\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23361\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}