Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the church in Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey. In the Roman world of Paul's day, slavery was a deeply embedded institution, and many households — including those of early Christians — included enslaved people. Paul addresses the slave-owning "masters" directly here, telling them to give those under their authority what is "right and fair." His reasoning is striking: because they themselves answer to a Master in heaven — meaning God — who holds them equally accountable. Paul is not endorsing slavery, but he is fundamentally dismantling the power dynamic. No one, however much earthly authority they hold, is the final authority over anyone. The chain of accountability always continues upward.
Father, remind me that every person under my authority is seen and loved by you, and that I answer to you for how I treat them. I am not the top of the chain. Help me lead with the same fairness I am counting on you to show me. Amen.
This verse was written into a world where certain people held almost total power over others — legally, economically, physically. And Paul, rather than leaving that power unchecked or simply blessing it with religious language, inserts a mirror. He looks at the most powerful people in the household and says: you have a Master too. It is not a polite suggestion. It is a leveling. The person who holds the keys to the household still bows the knee somewhere. Power, in Paul's economy, never ends with you — no matter how much of it you have accumulated. You probably do not own enslaved people. But you almost certainly have authority over someone — an employee, a child, a student, a contractor, someone who depends on you for a paycheck, a grade, or a reference letter. Paul's word to you is unchanged: give them what is right and fair. Not just what is legal. Not just what is expected or convenient. What is right. What is fair. Because you — wherever you sit in the hierarchy of your particular world — are being observed by a Master who does not grade on a curve and does not play favorites. That is sobering. But it is also quietly freeing: you do not have to perform for anyone's approval. You just have to answer to him.
Paul grounds his instruction in the fact that every master also has a Master in heaven. Why does upward accountability to God matter so much here? What changes morally and practically if you remove it?
Think honestly about the people who are under your authority or depend on you in some way — at work, at home, in any role. Are you treating them with what is "right and fair," or primarily with what is convenient for you?
Paul frames how you treat people with less power than you as a spiritual issue, not merely an ethical one. Does that framing change how seriously you take it? Why or why not — be honest?
This verse challenges everyone in a position of power to remember their own subordination to God. How should this reshape the way Christians think about and exercise power in workplaces, families, and institutions more broadly?
Name one specific person who is under your authority or influence in some area of your life. What would treating them more justly look like in concrete terms, and what is one step you will take toward that this week?
And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.
Luke 16:1
And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
Ephesians 6:9
Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
Deuteronomy 24:14
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:22
For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
James 2:13
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Luke 16:13
Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
Ephesians 6:8
These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Revelation 17:14
Masters, [on your part] deal with your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
AMP
Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
ESV
Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.
NASB
Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
NIV
Masters, give your bondservants what is just and fair, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
NKJV
Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master — in heaven.
NLT
And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don't forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master—God in heaven.
MSG