Biblical Slavery?

Titus 2:1-15

Any Christian who takes the faith seriously must somehow come to terms with the words of Titus regarding slavery. “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters,” we read, “and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to answer back, not to pilfer, but to show complete and perfect fidelity, so that in everything they may be an ornament to the doctrine of God our Savior” (Titus 2:9-10). This certainly sounds like a justification for slavery, and it was one of the passages used by otherwise godly people in the southern United States to maintain the practice into the 1860’s.

Was the writer of Titus really advocating bondage? Personally I find it difficult to tell. And my biggest fear is resorting to rationalization to somehow remove this stigma from the Bible. Slavery is more than wrong, it is evil, whether in the homes of wealthy Romans, on the plantations of North America, or in the work camps of the Third Reich. Even if most of the Bible was written at times when slavery was universally accepted, it is still evil. But there it is: “Tell slaves to be submissive to their masters…” that they may be “an ornament to the doctrine of God.” It sounds as though God has established slavery.

This is one reason why it is so very, very important to deal with scripture continually, to challenge it and to question it and to wrestle with it. If it really is what we claim it to be, the inspired word of God, then we aren’t going to break it. Indeed, to accept scripture uncritically is a disservice to God and a form of disrespect to God’s word. In the past taking the Bible too lightly has lead us to accept slavery as a divine “doctrine.” What forms of subjugation do we tolerate today because we have not struggled with scripture well enough to grasp its true meaning?

If your only exposure to scripture is a weekly sermon, Sunday School class, and this blog, that’s not enough. God’s words deserve to be ever before us, continually on our minds, so that through prayer and study we may come to better understand God’s will for us and our world. I invite you to join in the effort.

Prayer: Lord, may we find the courage to confront your word, and likewise be confronted by it, that we may better know your will for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.