I May Not Be the Master, But I Can Be Bossy

I’ve noticed how easy it is for me to dismiss passages of Scripture that don’t immediately appear to address me.

In Colossians 3, Paul is addressing the community of faith and offers some general counsel to all followers of Jesus explaining how they can do life together. From there, he turns his attention to husbands and wives, parents and children, and then masters and slaves. Right there I catch myself dismissing the text. Paul writes:

Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven. (Colossians 4:1)

I’m not a master, I don’t have slaves. The text doesn’t address me. Right?

If I pause and think about it for a minute I realize that there might just be some application to my life. Although Paul is speaking to those with particular roles, the idea of how those who are “boss” and those who are not has broader application. Here, Paul insists that those with the authority to make decisions for others are to carry out their role with justice and fairness.

How often do we readily and willingly pursue that? When I have the upper hand, when I have the chance to get things to go in my favor, the tendency is to make take advantage of the advantage–the ideas of pursuing what is really just and fully fair tend to fade into the background.

So, if I do have the opportunity to “be in charge,” what should I do with that opportunity?

Jesus offers me some insight that is consist with Paul’s advice here. He explains:

Jesus said to [his disciples], “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all.” (Mark 10:42-44)

If I want to live consistent with Jesus’ view of life, when I have the opportunity to “be boss” the only thing to do is to serve others with that authority, to become a slave with that power. From a kingdom vantage point, that counteracts the tendency toward being”bossy” (and seeking to have my own way or leveraging the opportunity for my advantage). As a result, I will be much freer to pursue what is just and fair for all.

Is It About Being Boss?

In earlier posts we explored what it means to be “dressed for life.” Picking up on Paul’s language found in Colossians 3, his description in 3:12-14 became the foundation for thinking about how we relate to one another.

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. (Colossians 3:12-14)

Paul uses “getting dressed” language in these verses. He is describing what character qualities a follower of Jesus is privileged to wear in all of her or his interactions with others because of the new life enjoyed through Jesus. After explaining the general implications of this kind of living, Paul turned his attention to specific relationship in the latter part of Colossians 3. He addresses husbands and wives, parents and children, and then slaves and masters.

We have parallel relationships in our world to the husbands and wives and the parents and children as existed in Paul’s day. However, for those living in the Western world in the twenty-first century, we don’t really have anything exactly like the slave and master relationship Paul touches on. But that doesn’t mean that there are not some appropriate implications for us from what he wrote (as we have already seen in earlier posts on work, rooted in how Paul addresses those who were slaves). So, let’s listen to what he has to say about those who are “masters.”

Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven. (Colossians 4:1)

It would be easy to dismiss this verse as having little, if anything, to say to us because we don’t have slaves. But if we listen for the truth behind the injunction, there is a word that could speak to us.

Masters–those who have others “enslaved” to them–typically provide work for their slaves. Here, Paul enjoins masters to provide their slaves “justice and fairness.” The word his uses for “grant” is one that would have carried the sense of provide for or give to or assign. Because the human master is not really the one in charge (but the Master in heaven is the one in charge), Paul calls earthly masters to provide what is just and to grant what is fair to those who labor for them. And that idea certainly is broad enough to touch on many relationships I step into.

In the workplace, am I more concerned with assigning work to those “under me” than I am about whether they experience what is just and fair in the work environment? In the home, when my children carry out the chores I have assigned them, am I more concerned about whether the work gets done exactly as I insist it be done than about them tasting what is just and fair? When my coffee order is not to my liking, when the checker in the grocery store is too slow, when the teller at the bank has messed up my deposit, when the receptionist at the doctor’s office seems to be oblivious to how long I have been waiting, what will they experience coming through me?

Will I exercise my “right” to boss such people around to ensure they get done what I feel needs to get done the way I want it done in the time frame I think is appropriate? Or will I respond to them in a fair way, a just way, recognizing that all of this is playing out under the gracious guiding hand of the one Master in heaven? What will I wear as I step into my occasions to be “boss” in big ways and little ways?