Re:Verse passage – 1 Peter 2:18-25 (day three)
“Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect…”
Read “servants” as “slaves.” Nothing in 2022 sounds more unconscionable to one’s ears, perhaps, than a statement like this. Do these words minimize injustice by admonishing oppressed persons to refrain from seeking release from subjugation? Note carefully that the scripture here addresses enslaved persons without excusing societal oppression. The question the Bible deals with is this: How can the oppressed live in such a way that maximizes their well-being and simultaneously begins the project of dismantling the institution of slavery? The answer is the passage you see before you. The moment Peter associated the concept of injustice with slavery, its destruction began. That destruction still moves at the speed of the church’s obedience to Christ and advocacy for the marginalized – which is to say slowly – but the church is coming for the oppressed.
