During the time of the Roman Empire there was much to make life miserable. One of those things was slavery. Slavery was rampant and slaves were cheap and disposable. Masters held absolute power over their lives. In such a despotic environment the shakers and movers of the new Christian religion put ALL their faith in a God who could and did intervene in the affairs of men. These believers in Jesus learned and then taught that the engagement of ones FAITH in God, is more important than engagement in changing the social fabric of society (1 Pet 2:18; Tit 2:9; Col 3:22; Eph 6:5). Why? Because when one’s heart is truly knit to Christ the fabric of society will change!
My take away from this reality is that God is more interested in our character than He is in our immediate comfort. This lesson was brought home to me in a fresh way durning my devotional time this morning when I read from 1 Thessalonians 5:18. Paul told the folks in Thessalonica, “In every thing give thanks.” In everything!? YES, in every thing. He didn’t say for everything, He said, “in every thing.”
In the the face of injustice? Yes. In this face of mistreatment? YES. In the face of abuse? YES! “For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
If this is the will of God, and Biblically it is (Psa 100:4; Col 3:15; 1 Chro 16:34), then let us choose to “Be thankful in everything”, in direct obedience to God’s will. And when we do, we will receive a real and rich benefit, a divine blessing!
(read also Hebrews 11:6; John 7:17)