Ephesians 6:9
9 And, [kai] ye masters, [kurios] do [poieo] the same things [autos] unto [pros] them, [autos] forbearing [aniemi]
threatening: [apeile] knowing [eido] that [hoti] your [humon] [autos] Master [kurios] also [kai] is [esti] in [en] heaven; [ouranos] neither [kai] [ou] is there [esti] respect of
persons [prosopolepsia] with [para] him. [autos] KJV-Interlinear
9 And, masters, do the same
things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and
yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him. NASB
And to reinforce the previous verse. Anyone who is a master or a person in
authority needs to place themselves on notice.
Whether you are a king, a boss, a husband, a parent
or someone enforcing the law or anything else, you have a master over you,
namely God.
Jesus Christ is the one and only evaluator, and issuer
of rewards and blessings. So, do not abuse
your position, lest your eternal reward gets reduced, if not removed entirely.
So, no one has the right to abuse or misuse others
in their quest for power or profit or self-righteousness.
Don’t ever believe that you are absolved if you
have a bureaucracy or some hidden agenda to cover your actions.
Whether in private or in public, whether by your
own initiative or by written regulations, you have a first obligation to God to
do that which is right.
You do not have the right to determine for yourself
what is right or wrong. Often times too
many folks will use this excuse to avoid or to get out of something, or to
justify their agenda.
But no one in authority ever has the right to abuse
their authority such that you are advanced while others are harmed. No one has the right to advance themselves at
the expense of others. If you need others to pursue your dream or project, then
they should benefit as well.
If you have employees, they should prosper
simultaneously while you prosper.
Employees should never suffer in order that you may prosper.
If you have a position of advantage over someone,
then your policies need to benefit both, placing an additional burden on
yourself to aid those who are at a disadvantage.
Just as we have already studied, the husband has
authority over his wife, but at the same time, she is a part of himself, and he
needs to treat her as he would himself.
So also, everyone in authority needs to switch roles and apply their
standards to others the same as if they were applying them to themselves.
And as the last of this verse states, God does not
respect man.
So what does that mean?
You have nothing that God did not first give to
you. You are nothing that God did not first make you. You have no destiny that
God did not first provide for you. God
has no respect for your position or for your things, and certainly not for your
attitude or self opinion.
What God does respect is His word, in you. Therefore, regardless of whether you are a
man or a woman, a king or a peasant, the only thing that God will accept from
you, is His word in you and your compliance with His standards. Your own standards do not mean squat.
So, the spiritual life is level and equally
available for everyone. Your station in
life does not give you a disadvantage nor an advantage as compared to anyone
else. Neither money nor position nor
rank nor ability, nor health, nor anything else are an advantage, nor a
disadvantage in the spiritual life.
The only obstacle to your spiritual success, is
you.
