Be Still And Know

1 Peter 2.18 NLT 'You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.' Everything about slavery is horrifying. The idea that someone could own another human being sounds barbaric, and so it is difficult for us to handle a verse like this which doesn’t seem to raise any objections to the institution of slavery. Indeed, slaves were told to respect their masters and to obey them, even when they were cruel. At the time of the early Church, slavery was extremely common. About 20 percent of the population were slaves and there was never any serious thought that the institution should be dismantled. It’s also important to realise that under Roman law, slavery was heavily regulated. Slaves received very low wages but they lived with the hope that, one day, they might be able to purchase their freedom. Slavery at any time is an odious idea, but clearly the experience was nowhere near as hellish or dehumanising