Learning Obedience

Ephesians 6:1-9

Paul now addresses the child-parent and slave-master relationship. I believe this still falls under the heading of "submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" and "how to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."
The thing that is interesting to me is that Paul uses a relatively large amount of words to instruct slaves to treat their masters with respect (compared to the number of words that he uses to instruct masters on their treatment of slaves). Paul doesn't address what we would call the unjust structure of slavery. He is not attempting to break the yoke of slavery and set the oppressed free. He simply addresses the slave and tells them to how to behave as a follower of Jesus in slavery. Either slavery in that day and age was not injust or there is a great issue than oppression here.
Not having any children of my own and not being a slave or a master (although I do have people work for me who I do not pay... does that make me a slave master?), there is still a principle that I can take from this: all people have been created in the image of God and are owed my respect based on that alone. Part of my role as a follower of Christ is to spread the image of God (or the kingdom of God) where ever I can. One way that I can do that is to treat all humans with respect, acknowleding the image of God in them. This means that I, as an employee of the congregation, owe them my best work during the hours that I have said I will work for them and the hours which they are paying me to work for them. That is one significant way that I can show them respect. This means that I need to honour and shepherd and equip and lead my volutneer staff - not as a slavemaster but as a fellow shepherd - to do the work that God is calling them to do both in the youth ministry and in the rest of their lives. This is how I show them respect. In doing that I show respect for the image of God in them.