1 Timothy 6:1-10. Paul is urging Timothy to preach some pretty countercultural teachings. He says any Christian who is a slave must regard their master as worthy of all honor, so that God's name is not defamed. If their master is also a Christian, all the more reason to serve him well, he is a beloved brother. If anyone teaches contrary to this teaching, Paul says that person is conceited, knows nothing, and "has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling among men who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth." (I guess Paul foresaw the American media of the 21st century!) Paul reminds Timothy that there is godliness in contentment, "for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world."

This is surrender, abandonment, trusting in Divine Providence. I am more and more learning that this is the key to everything. No matter what situation you find yourself in, even if you are a slave, treat people with love and respect - they are all fellow children of God. Does this mean a slave who is being treated poorly must meekly accept mistreatment? No, but it does mean that he must forgive his abusing master as God would forgive him. There is a striving for justice, and that is good, but it is God's to achieve. The way it is achieved is by the true believers acting like true believers and accepting misfortune with forgiveness and love. (This does not mean we have to accept abuse, we do not, but we must always seek the most peaceful, loving path of protection for ourselves and others. We are never to act out of vengeance or retribution. This is why there have been so few "just wars" in human history.) This kind of behavior is countercultural, and it affects people - it affects the abuser who, when met with loving resistance, often eventually comes to see the wrongness of his ways. It affects people who see the love and forgiveness shown by the mistreated person. It changes the world (spiritual physics again!)

Paul warns about people who do not teach this loving way, but instead try to stir up trouble. At the time, slavery was a part of life. This does not mean that slavery wasn't wrong - of course slavery is wrong, always and everywhere. God does not want people to be slaves, but he allows humanity our ways, while gently leading us out of them. The slavery of Paul's time was usually more like indentured servitude. In such a relationship, the slave was being clothed and fed and treated well, but he was still a slave. Changing the cultural mindset on slavery was going to take a lot of time and a lot of love. If the Christian slave accepted his place in life (a life that, itself, is a complete gift from God), and treated his master as worthy of honor, this would be the beginning of change. Love begets love. A good master, treated thusly by his slave, cannot help but feel love towards his slave, and then they start to see each other as brothers, not as slave and master.

But this can only happen when people act as Paul recommends. He warns against those who, seeing the injustice of slavery (and maybe using the fight against it to inflate their own egos - hence "puffed up with conceit"), teach the slave to act in a non-loving way. They stir up controversy, and cause dissension and mistrust.

God's plan has all of history to play out. He knows what he is doing, and how to change people - he created them, after all! God (and Paul) tell us that love is the command - not "achieve justice" or "fight for [insert just cause]". God knows the injustices of the world and he will fix them. He will use us to help him, if we accept our place in this world and act with love. If we take the fight onto our own shoulders, we are acting out of our ego and discontentment, and we will produce a lot of bad fruit. - a lot of "envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling."

There are many injustices we face today, some just as bad as slavery. We must face the perpetrators of those injustices with love, not vengenace. Only then will things start to change.