Marsha's Musings: Employer/Employee Relationships & A Little Bird Walking

My Quiet Time:

All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against. Those who have believers as their masters must not be disrespectful to them because they are brethren, but must serve them all the more, because those who partake of the benefit are believers and beloved. Teach and preach these principles. (1 Timothy 6:1, 2 NASB)

This passage can be applied to the employee/employer relationship of today.

It is far to easy for employees to trash their employers behind their backs, especially when it is an unfair employer.  Yet what I read here says I am to regard them as worthy of all honor.  Why? So that the name of God and the doctrine of the church will not be evil spoken of.

Then Paul says if you have an employer who is a believer, not to be disrespectful to them. For some reason, sometimes it is easier to be disrespectful of a believing boss than an unbelieving boss.  Perhaps it has to do with the family thing.  We are quicker to treat our own family with disrespect than we are those outside our family.  I suppose because we want to make a good impression on those outside.  We are not to do this!  Not at home and not in the work place!

I must say Paul gets right down to the practical aspects of Christian living.  He doesn't leave any stones unturned.

I dare say, that if all Christians worked hard at putting into practice all the practical Christian advice that Paul writes about in his books, that churches would not have to feel like they need all sorts of programs and activities to keep people interested in church and to attract new people in.  Our lives alone in the way that we treat each other and care for others would be attraction enough to bring others in and all these other trappings would not be needed. 

I would venture a guess that the early church did not have all the trappings of the present church.  They did not have to have programs and activities to get people coming and keep people there.  It was the lives and testimonies of the people in the church that did it. What has happened to the modern church?  Why is it so ineffective?  Why are there such scadalous things happening in the church today?  Why do church leaders think we need a program for every person in the family to be involved in?  What's with this busyness we see in churches?  

Now I've gone off bird walking, but since this is largely a personal journal, I guess that is okay.  :)