786 英翻中 (486) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for your Lord. 無論作什麼都是從心裡作, 像是給主作的. 02/07/2024
3. Masters and Servants: Honesty and Devotion (
Slavery was an established institution in Paul’s day. There were sixty million of them, and many of them were well-educated people who carried great responsibilities in the homes of the wealthy. In many homes, the slaves helped to educate and discipline the children. 奴隸制在保羅時代就存在。有六千萬奴隸，其中許多是受過良好教育的人，他們在富人家中擔負著重大的責任。在許多家庭中，奴隸幫助教育和管教孩子們。
Why didn’t the church of that day openly oppose slavery and seek to destroy it? For one thing, the church was a minority group that had no political power to change an institution that was built into the social order. Paul was careful to instruct Christian slaves to secure their freedom if they could (1 Cor.
Something should be noted: the purpose of the early church was to spread the gospel and win souls, not to get involved in social action. Had the first Christians been branded as an antigovernment sect, they would have been greatly hindered in their soul winning and their church expansion. While it is good and right for Christians to get involved in the promotion of honesty and morality in government and society, this concern must never replace the mandate to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). 應該注意的事是：早期教會的目的是傳播福音和贏得人心，而不是參與社會政治活動。若早期基督徒被加上反政府的教派標籤，那麼他們在贏得靈魂和擴大教會宣教將受到極大的阻礙。雖然基督徒參與促與政府和社會的誠實和道德的重整行為，是好和正確的，但這種做法，絕不能取代去全世界傳播福音的大使命（可 16:15）。
You will remember that the book of Colossians was one of four letters that came from Paul’s Roman imprisonment; the other three were Philillp, Ephesians and Philemon. Read Paul’s little letter to Philemon and see his attitude toward slavery. Paul did not advise Philemon to treat his runaway slave severely, but to receive him as a brother even though he was still a slave. In fact, Onesimus, the slave, was one of the men who carried this letter to Colosse (Col. 4:9)! 歌羅西書是保羅在羅馬監獄中所寫的四封書信之一；另外三封是以弗所書, 腓立比書, 和腓利門書。閱讀保羅給腓利門這封短信，就能看出他對奴隸制的態度。保羅沒有建議腓利門嚴厲對待他逃跑的奴隸，即使他仍然是奴隸，他建議腓利門也要把他當成兄弟。實際上，奴隸阿尼西母就是把這封信帶給歌羅西的人中間的一位（西 4：9）！
A Christian servant owed complete obedience to his master as a ministry to the Lord. If a Christian servant had a believing master, that servant was not to take advantage of his master because they were brothers in the Lord. If anything, the servant strived to do a better job because he was a Christian. He showed singleness of heart and gave his full devotion to his master. His work was done heartily, not grudgingly, and as to the Lord and not to men. “Ye serve the Lord Christ” (Col. 3:24). 作為僕人的基督徒, 有義務完全順服他的主人，作為對主的事奉。如果他的主人也是有基督信仰者，他不應該利用他的主人，因為他們都是主內的兄弟。若是的話，僕人應該努力做得更好，因為他是基督徒。他應表現出專一的心意，並全心全意地奉獻給他主人。他是以誠心誠意地的工作來完成，對我們的主而不是對人。 “你們所事奉的乃是主基督”（西 3:24）。
Single hearts and sincere hearts were necessary for Christian servants to please God and serve their masters acceptably. These instructions emphasized the positive side of obedience. Servants were to obey to please God, not just to avoid punishment. Even if the master did not commend them, they would have their reward from the Lord. In the same manner, if they disobeyed, the Lord would deal with them even if their master did not. God is no respecter of persons (Acts
In our society we do not have slaves. But these principles apply to any kind of honest employment. A Christian worker ought to be the best worker on the job. He ought to obey orders and not argue. He ought to serve Christ and not the boss only, and he ought to work whether anybody is watching or not. If he follows these principles, he will receive his reward from Christ even if his earthly master (his boss) does not recognize him or reward him. 在我們現今的社會中，沒有奴隸。但是這些原則適用於任何形式的誠實僱傭。基督徒工人應該是工作中最好的工人。他應該服從命令，不要爭論。他應該服侍基督，而不僅是服侍老闆，無論別人看到與否，他都應該在工作。如果他遵循這些原則，即使他的屬世主人（他的上司）不承認他或不獎勵他，他也將從基督那裡得到獎勵。
I have a friend who, years ago, was fired from his job for working too hard. He was earning money to go to college, and he wanted to give the employer a good day’s work each day. The trouble was, his zeal was showing up the laziness of some of the other employees—and they started fighting back. One of them falsely accused my friend of something, and he was fired. He lost his job but he kept his character, and the Lord rewarded him. 我有位朋友，幾年前，他因工作太努力而被解僱。他當時正在為上大學而掙錢，他想給雇主每天一份美好的工作。問題是，他的熱情表現，顯出了其他僱員的懶惰，於是他們開始反擊他。其中一位虛構假事指控我的朋友，他被解雇了。他丟了工作，但保留了自己的品格，而主則賞賜了他。
In today’s complex, competitive world, it is sometimes difficult for a Christian to obey God and hold his job, or get a promotion. But he must obey God just the same and trust Him for what he needs. Unsaved fellow employees may take advantage of the Christian worker, but perhaps this can be an opportunity for the Christian to witness and back up his witness with his life. It is far more important to win a lost soul than to make a few extra dollars. 在當今這個複雜而競爭激烈的世界中，基督徒有時很難順服上帝，並保持其職務，或獲得升職。但是他必須同時一樣的服從上帝，並為他所需要的而信靠祂。未得救的雇主可能會利用基督徒的工人，但這也許可以成為基督徒見證，和用生命支持他的見證。贏得失喪的靈魂比賺取額外的錢更重要。
Just as the husbands and wives and parents and children have mutual and reciprocal responsibilities, so do masters and servants. Paul admonished the Christian masters to treat their servants with fairness and honesty. This would be a new idea to Roman masters because they considered their slaves as “things,” and not people. Masters had almost total control over their slaves and could do with them whatever they pleased. Few unsaved Roman masters ever thought of treating their slaves with fairness, for slaves deserved nothing. 主人和僕人的相互的責任，正如丈夫和妻子，以及父母和孩子的相互責任一樣。保羅告誡基督徒主人要公平和誠實地對待他們的僕人。對於羅馬主人來說，這概念對他們將是新的意念，因為他們認為奴隸是 “東西”，而不是人。主人幾乎可以完全控制了他們的奴隸，並且隨心所欲地使用他們。很少有未得救的羅馬主人曾想過要公平對待奴隸，因為他們看待奴隸不是人。
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