MAKING SENSE OF SUFFERING (17 OF 30)
by Scott Maze
Scripture: 1 Peter 2:18-23
This content is part of a series.
Making Sense of Suffering (17 of 30)
Series: Navigating Home
Scott Maze
1 Peter 2:18-23
William Jackson was a slave in the home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. It turns out he was also a spy for the Union Army, providing key secrets to the North about the Confederacy. Jackson was Davis' house servant and personal coachman. He learned high-level details about Confederate battle plans and movements because Davis saw him as a “piece of furniture.” Jefferson Davis ignored his slave, William Jackson, and would discuss military plans and strategies because he just simply ignored his presence. Jackson, in turn, took this information across enemy lines to the Union forces in the North. The use of slaves and the place of slavery has been an blight on the history of America. Abraham Lincoln and the Union rightly fought for the end of slavery more than a century ago. We like a story like this one of slave William Jackson and Confederate leader Jefferson Davis. We think to ourselves that Davis got exactly what he deserved by his actions. Yet, what about those slaves who never got a measure of revenge against cruel treatment?
Readers of the Bible will find no blanket condemnation of slavery. Instead, what you’ll find are ethical guidelines for slaves and slave-owners to adhere to. What you’ll also find is as surprising as it is revolutionary.
“Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, ...
Series: Navigating Home
Scott Maze
1 Peter 2:18-23
William Jackson was a slave in the home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis during the Civil War. It turns out he was also a spy for the Union Army, providing key secrets to the North about the Confederacy. Jackson was Davis' house servant and personal coachman. He learned high-level details about Confederate battle plans and movements because Davis saw him as a “piece of furniture.” Jefferson Davis ignored his slave, William Jackson, and would discuss military plans and strategies because he just simply ignored his presence. Jackson, in turn, took this information across enemy lines to the Union forces in the North. The use of slaves and the place of slavery has been an blight on the history of America. Abraham Lincoln and the Union rightly fought for the end of slavery more than a century ago. We like a story like this one of slave William Jackson and Confederate leader Jefferson Davis. We think to ourselves that Davis got exactly what he deserved by his actions. Yet, what about those slaves who never got a measure of revenge against cruel treatment?
Readers of the Bible will find no blanket condemnation of slavery. Instead, what you’ll find are ethical guidelines for slaves and slave-owners to adhere to. What you’ll also find is as surprising as it is revolutionary.
“Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, ...
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