Doing Good

Title: Doing Good

Let’s begin with the elephant in the room since it’s impossible to avoid it. It is the topic of slavery. Fact is, the Bible does not directly condemn slavery. I know there are some mitigating factors to defend the Bible, and we will come to them later, but let’s start by calling a spade a spade. Jesus spoke nothing against slavery while most of the biblical writers encouraged submission for the slaves. For thousands of years, from the ancient Jews to the western Christendom, slavery was accepted as part of human society. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, when debates in the UK and the US on this issue started to get really heated up, passages in the Bible were used by both pro-slavery advocates and abolitionists to support their respective views. Actually, to be precise, it was the abolitionists who had “struggled to use Christian teachings in support of their positions.”[1] The pro-slavery advocates were the ones who could use biblical passages like today’s passage in a so-called “straight-forward” manner.

Yet in this day and age, unless you belong to some extremist group like the Ku Klux Klan, none of us would think that slavery was justified or even in line with our Christian faith. If I may be presumptuous, none of us would therefore look at a passage like this today and think that it could be applied in a straight-forward manner as well. We would immediately think that surely the Bible cannot be condoning slavery; and therefore be aware that in interpreting and applying this text, context matters. If we had a time machine and could travel back one or two hundred years to the huge debates on slavery or to the American Civil War, we would be perplexed with all those well-meaning Christians who understood these slavery passages literally. Isn’t it obvious that these passages are supposed to be contextual? Brothers and sisters, no, it is NOT obvious. It was never meant to be obvious to begin with. It is only obvious to us because we suffer from the Curse of Knowledge. “The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that leads better-informed parties to find it extremely difficult to think about problems from the perspective of lesser-informed parties.”[2] Simply put, once you know or understand something, unless you suffer amnesia, it is impossible to go back to the world where you didn’t know. That perspective of formerly-not-knowing is now alien to you.

Therefore we are always faced with a particular situation due to the curse of knowledge. The situation whereby it often appears rather obvious to us which passage is to be straight-forward in application and which passage is to be interpreted contextually. Some passages would readily appear straight forward to us out of our blissful ignorance. Other passages, due to the foresight of knowledge, would also naturally lead us to approach it contextually. The demarcation and choice of which-is-which would seem obvious. The mind works like flowing water, which instinctively chooses the path of least resistance. However, is it really as obvious as you imagined? My challenge to you is this: knowing the history of interpretation of these slavery passages, that what seems obvious to us today wasn’t really obvious to those before us, should we continue to be so certain about our abilities in demarcating biblical interpretation for application? Oh, this one is obviously direct application, Oh, that one is obviously contextual application. Can we continue be so certain? Or should we be painfully aware that actually this demarcation was never obvious all along. We are always under the influence of the current scope of our knowledge, even by the prevalent attitude towards morality of our society, and we had demarcated overconfidently, oblivious to our inner bias.

If this demarcation is not really as obvious as we think, and yet we strive to obey biblical principles for daily living, then how can we tell when to interpret a moral teaching contextually, and when to follow a biblical instruction directly? I would like to share a personal tip towards this matter. I believe that actually all biblical teachings are contextual, even the ones you think that are really straight-forward like 'thou shall not kill' or 'love your enemy'. They are all contextual. From the laws and commandments, to the wisdom writings and advice like Proverbs, to Jesus' sayings and teachings, to the exhortations from the apostles in the letters, they are all contextual in nature, no exceptions. They are meant to be understood with a specific situation in mind, and any form of application into today's context requires careful reconsideration. If only we had this level of humility, I believe we would have resolved tricky issues like slavery, women ordination, or homosexuality in a positive manner. But I've chosen this “all contextual” approach not just for conflict resolution purposes. I believe that such an approach preserves the spirit of the biblical word even better than a direct application understanding.

When God’s word speaks, whether through the prophets or the apostles or even Jesus himself, it is a creative word that aims to transform. Last week, Rev. ChangAnn said this is salvation. The ability to transform the situation or perspective and attitude would hinge upon a proper comprehension of the given word. In that sense, the word must be contextual in nature. When we make moral absolutes out of these words, we freeze the spirit of transformation in outdated forms. They become instructions and teachings to preserve the conservative and remain status quo, instead of a prophetic calling to shed new light into the darkness. Sadly, given a different context of new times and new people, the word is no longer serving as a salvation anymore.

And so I’ll be using the contextual approach to look at today’s passage as well. Not because slavery is no longer popular, but because that’s the way to hear its voice. What a revolutionary voice it must had been! “Slaves in ancient literature were not usually treated as being like normal people. Their disconnection from normal social obligations, their lack of family ties, their prohibition from public space, and their suppressed legal position meant that ordinary human virtues and vices were not expected from them.”[3] But Peter was speaking to them as a full ethical agent, with ethical freedom and understanding. They were placed on the same moral plane as the rest of the readers of the letter. In short, in a world which viewed slaves as properties and things, Peter was speaking to them as a full person. This is a voice that is ever more relevant today. You are not a statistic in the manpower headcount. You are not purchased as a function of your productivity or even your talents. You are a person with the dignity of choice, especially in the way you are managed.

Peter told the slaves that they had to make 2 interrelated moral choices. The first choice was that they had to choose to do good. What is doing good? In general, it simply means what is good for the general welfare of others, and specifically to the boss who owns you. It means good deeds and good quality work. The reverse would be doing wrong, such as faults and mistakes or deliberating sinning against others. Such a moral choice seems like common-sense, until you realize that sometimes that’s not how most workers think. Some people might feel that since you are paying me peanuts, I’ll just give you monkey work. Some people feel that since you are the boss, I’ll do whatever you say, even if I know it won’t turn out well. I understand that sometimes work is just for paying the bills, and you are also viewed and treated in that way. Yet, you are not just a worker. You are a person with the precious value of a moral choice. Peter was saying that even as slaves, they should choose to do good.

A little boy went into a drug store and asked him for a phone call.
Shop-owner replied, “Yes, but you can do only one call.”
The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation:
The boy asked, “Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?
The woman replied, “I already have someone to cut my lawn.”
“Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.” replied boy.
The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.
The little boy found more perseverance and offered, “Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North-Palm beach, Florida.”
Again the woman answered in the negative.
With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.
The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy and said,” Son… I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.”
The little boy replied, “No thanks, I was just checking my performance with the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!”[4]

For Peter, the work of doing good and the value of this choice are forever transformed by Jesus. In John 5:17, in his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” God works in his Creation, and sees that it is good. Jesus worked till it was finished. Peter was giving a higher calling to the slaves in telling them to do good in their work. The submission to their masters was not to preserve a stable slavery system, or to practice a good virtue. We do good in reverent fear of God. We do good because that’s who we are and who we choose to be.

The first moral choice is to choose to do good. The second moral choice is to choose to do good even if you have to suffer unjustly for it. I call it the choice to “do good anyway”. Isn’t it natural to receive praise and appreciation for a good work and a good job? Yes, if you are lucky, most of the time. But in life, it doesn’t always work out that way. Then what? The choice is to still do good anyway.
Some of you might have heard of the Paradoxical Commandments written by Kent Keith, and an inspiration to many around the world. As I was reading it, I expected to see the words “do good anyway”, yet I was still surprised because it was the line to be repeated twice.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.[5]
Peter needed no better justification than simply the example of Jesus. The good that Jesus did was the good for all mankind. Yet he suffered for it unjustly. Despite that, he committed himself all the way till the end, without retaliation and without threats. In our calling to do good, we might suffer unjustly. But the choice is for us to do good anyway. The word “anyway” may seem like a helpless resignation, yet it is anything but. It is not resignation but hopeful courage, because we are entrusting ourselves to him who judges justly. We do not waver in the face of worldly injustice towards the good we offer because the final judgement lies with God. Secondly, it is not resignation but recognition. Work is ultimately meaningless if we do not know the purpose of our work. But in reconciling our being to God, we are living and working for a purpose: we live for righteousness, and we work in tandem with the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

This is the revolutionary voice I hear in our passage today. “Slavery was a form of systematic, legalized dehumanization. A slave was the ‘property’ of his or her owner… But, as ‘property’, the slave could be ill-treated, physically and sexually abused, exploited in a thousand different ways. We look down our noses at such a world – without realizing that in many parts of today’s supposedly ‘free’ Western society there are many people in virtually the same position. Often hidden from view, they work long hours for minimal wages. They cannot take time off or look for another job. They may have families to support, and to lose even a single day’s wages, and perhaps their ‘job’ as well, could be disastrous. They are stuck. They are slaves in all but name.”[6] To the slaves in the past, as well as to many living today, Peter has given something truly precious: dignity and self-worth to all who believe. This is what it means after a new birth (1 Peter 1:3). When we work, we choose to do good for that’s the work of God. And even if we suffer unjustly for it, we do good anyway. For that’s who we are, and our faith and fate lie in God.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_views_on_slavery
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge
[3] Lewis R. Donelson, I & II Peter and Jude (The New Testament Library), p.86
[4] http://www.venkatmails.com/inspirational-stories/attitude-very-brilliant.html
[5] http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/
[6] Tom Wright, Early Christian Letters for Everyone, p. 70