Disciples should treat others justly and fairly. This will demonstrate how God treats us. This daily devotional looks at how disciples of Christ treat those who are superior, inferior, and equal to them.
Nuggets
- God requires that we honor those who have authority over us without denying Him His ultimate authority.
- We are to treat those over whom we have authority as God would treat us.
- Bottom line is, regardless of their position in life, we are to treat others as equals.
- Following the Golden Rule helps us treat others justly.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Moralities Lead to Godliness series
Manton wrote that we must be fair to all with whom we come into contact. This includes superiors, inferiors, and equals.
Manton discussed that in his sermon entitled The Moralities of Christianity. We are going to step through his sermon and see what we can glean to aid us in redoing our character.
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Let's Put It into Context
“Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable — if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy — dwell on these things” (Phil. 4: 8 CSB)
The definition of moral, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior.” Morality, then, is “a doctrine or system of moral conduct.” When it is the plural form — moralities — it is a “particular moral principles or rules of conduct.”
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Our morals determine our character. Character, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group, or nation.”
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The definition we use for just is those men and women who have been regenerated and who live lives showing evidence they are following God’s laws and commandments and fulfilling every moral obligation. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
The Just Treatment of Our Superiors
“… Then he said to them, ‘Give, then, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’” (Mt. 22: 21 CSB)
God requires that we honor those who have authority over us without denying Him His ultimate authority.
The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus. They were using their hatred of being ruled by the Romans to do it.
However, they hated Jesus as much, if not more. Seiss wrote, “Here was a profession of great piety and holiness, conjoined with very inexcusable hatred. The Pharisees were the most pretentious religionists of the day; this no proof of genuine piety. They could not refute Christ, but hated Him.” They wanted to look like they loved God, but their character did not substantiate that.
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The Pharisees convincingly sold the dilemma. They teamed up with someone else they hated — the Herodians, who were their enemies — to make it sound like Jesus was telling them which one was correct in their opinion. They poured on just enough flattery.
But the bottom line was still the same. The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus.
I am sure the Pharisees wanted Jesus to say that the church was above the secular government. It isn’t.
God expects us to acknowledge those in authority and submit to that authority freely. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom. 13: 1 ESV).
True, the government should not enslave people. Neither should it dictate their religious conscience.
Bersier argued that Christianity shouldn’t align itself with any political party. One, it is not dependent on majority rule. Two, political parties focus on this world, not eternity.
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Jesus took their question a step further. He said that, just as the penny was made in Caesar’s likeness, we are made in God’s image. We need to have His character, His morals.
Glossary
What Jesus was saying was that the earthly governments have the authority to govern actions of this world. While they have their rights, they cannot govern God.
Noel wrote, “His rights are supreme, and the rights of the human government terminate where the rights of God begin.” Governments are still subordinate to God.
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So, how does this fit with our morality? It think the first, most obvious one is that, if we refuse to submit to authority here on earth, how are we going to submit to the authority of a God we do not see?
Second, we can’t have the whole we-make-our-own-decisions-no-one-can-tell-us-what-to-do thing going. We have to allow the all-knowing God to inform our decisions.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
But we aren’t just talking governments when we say we can have superiors. We are talking employers, parents, spouse, etc. We have to follow God’s laws and commandments and fulfill every moral obligation.
The Just Treatment of Our Inferiors
“Masters, deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven” (Col. 4: 1 CSB)
We are to treat those over whom we have authority as God would treat us.
Most of us are not slave owners. We can, however, have people who report to us and who are under our authority.
Haynes contended that this verse is about respecting the relationship we have with those under our authority. We are all human beings and should be respected as such.
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Byfield presented a good list of how we are unjust in our treatment of our subordinates. When we ask them to preform more than they are able — either through their abilities or sheer time to devote to the project — we are being unjust.
Another way is when we inconvenience them in order to show our superiority. This could be either by making them perform the task on our timeline regardless of their responsibilities or asking them to do something totally out of “other duties as assigned.”
Unjust supervisors work their subordinates through breaks — whether lunch breaks or days off. This can even manifest itself as working when we are sick.
How we treat those over whom we have authority shows them God’s treatment of us. We show His love and provision. We show His concern. It shows evidence we are following God’s laws and commandments.
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The Just Treatment of Our Equals
“Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Rom. 13: 8 CSB)
Bottom line is, regardless of their position in life, we are to treat others as equals.
We start by giving others the respect they deserve as creations of God. We give them their due.
But we are to go beyond that and love them. That is what the second greatest commandment says. “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mk. 12: 30 ESV).
Glossary
Romans 13: 8 tells us that we owe a debt of love. To me, that means we are to love because God loved us enough to design the Plan of Salvation to pay the penalty for our sins.
Hambleton contended that, if we obey the second greatest commandment, we will give others their due. We will recognize that we have a duty to them.
How do we pay this debt? Hambleton said it was by loving God.
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Remember, grace does not allow us to ignore the laws. The moral laws are still in tact. The ceremonial laws and civil laws have been fulfilled, but we still have to follow the moral laws.
Krotel said something that got me thinking. He said that our relationship with God is the highest we can have. Some non-believers argue they don’t have one.
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But they do. We all do — even without knowing it. God told Jeremiah that, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you …” (Jer. 1: 5 NIV).
No, Jeremiah wasn’t the only one who was gifted with this honor. God knows all of us before He forms us.
God has a relationship with us — even if we don’t acknowledge it.
That means we have obligations to God. Yes, He gives us the free will to choose whether we are going to fulfill those obligations. Free will is the ability within us to make decisions, which determine actions that produce character.
Did you see that? Our choices to follow God’s laws and commandments and His Will produces our actions. Our actions make our moral character.
Krotel said something else that I liked. He wrote, “Love is the inexhaustible fountain out of which all words and deeds of kindness flow. That fountain must ever remain open and full.
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The fountain is to run 24/7/36. It comes from God and is inexhaustible.
This love fulfills the law. The law also tells us what sin is. Thankfully, it leads us to Christ, through Whom we can ask forgiveness.
The Just Treatment of Others as Ourselves
“Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt. 7: 12 CSB)
Following the Golden Rule helps us treat other justly.
We’ve talked about this verse, known as the Golden Rule, several times. We said
- Our responses have been determined prior to the situations take place — we have to choose to respond the way in which God wants.
- The whole law is fulfilled in one word: love.
- We are to love our neighbors (i.e., everyone) because, when we do, we are imitating God.
To read a related devotion, click on the appropriate button below.
Tollotson brought up a good point. He wrote, “The equity of the rule stands upon these foundations.”
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If mankind does not love mankind, the equity will not be there. The worldview definition of tolerance as love does not get down to the personal level. It stays on the action level. It can’t be a surface love.
Tolerating someone else’s actions does not mean we approve of the actions. It does not strengthen a relationship — or even start one in the first place. It leads to staying away from that person.
That doesn’t lead to love.
Making the Connections
How we treat others is not a prerequisite for salvation. It is evidence that regeneration has occurred.
How Do We Apply This?
- We need to give God our time, talents, hearts, and loved ones — every aspect of our lives.
- We need to treat others as God treats us.
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Father. Relationships are important to us. They are also important to You as we use these relationships to witness to others and disciple them. Help us to treat others how You treat them — with love. Amen.
What do you think?
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