What Ephesians 6 Teaches Us About Living Before the Lord in Our Relationships
Ephesians 6:5-9 says: “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” (NIV)
Many people read these verses in Ephesians 6 and think, “This is about slaves and masters — what does it have to do with me?” But if we skip past this passage, we miss out on a teaching that is essential for how we treat one another here on earth.
The Depth of the Text: This Teaching Concerns Every One of Us
In Paul’s day, the master-slave relationship was one of the most common social structures. Yet through this everyday relationship, God speaks a deeper, more universal truth: no matter what position you hold on earth, you are living before the Lord.
How should a servant treat a master? The text says to obey “with sincerity of heart… just as you would obey Christ.” Your obedience is never only toward the person above you; it is toward the One who is truly above all of us. Your service should not be mere “eye-service” — done only to win favor when someone is watching — but should flow from a heart that sees itself as belonging to Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, serving wholeheartedly, as if serving the Lord and not people. And God’s promise — that “the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free” — reaches far beyond the social categories of that time. It includes every believer: whoever you are on earth, the Lord sees everything you do, and he rewards you according to it.
But Paul does not leave this teaching only for servants. He turns just as seriously to masters: “Do the same to them, and stop your threatening… he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (v. 9). This means authority is never a license to treat others however you please. Whatever authority you hold is only entrusted to you for a time; you and the people under you both answer to the same Lord in heaven.
Applying It Today: Remembering Who We’re Really Serving in the Weariness of Relationships
In daily life, the thing that most often comforts us is our relationships with other people — and the thing that most often exhausts us is also our relationships with other people. Becoming a Christian does not mean you’re suddenly surrounded by saints. We are still sinners, and unfairness, misunderstanding, and injustice keep happening. You might say, “The person in my life is just too hard to deal with — I have nothing left,” and want to give up, staring at the sky and asking, “Lord, where is your promise?”
This is exactly where this passage confronts us. If you’re in the position of a “servant” — an employee, someone under authority, someone who takes instructions — don’t do your small daily tasks only for the person watching. Do them through the person, through the situation, for the Lord who sees. Your obedience toward people is obedience toward the Lord; even if people forget what you’ve done, the Lord remembers.
If you’re in the position of a “master” — a leader, a boss, a parent, someone who holds authority over others — this passage speaks to you too: don’t threaten or dominate the people under you, because you and they answer to the very same Lord who shows no favoritism. Whenever we forget this, it is often the Holy Spirit who, through the Scriptures opened before us again, wakes us up out of our own perspective and leads us back to stand before the Lord — something many of us experience, in one way or another, every time we return to his word.
Exhortation: Offering Our Service as a Gift to the Lord
Don’t let your labor be nothing more than an obligation no one understands. Open your heart, and offer everything you do as a gift to the Lord — your overtime, your service, the care you give your family — all of it done “as to the Lord.” And remember: “the Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV). People may only see your outward performance, but the Lord sees your heart — your tears, and your endurance.
May your heart meet the Lord’s heart in every act of service. And whatever position you hold, may you always remember who you truly are: there is a Lord in heaven, and you are the one who lives for him.
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