A Functioning Society

However, you may purchase male and female slaves from among the nations around you. You may also purchase the children of temporary residents who live among you, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat them as slaves, but you must never treat your fellow Israelites this way. [Leviticus 25.44-46]

You know, we are faced with some serious considerations when reading this passage of scripture.

In context, this scripture is part of a larger group of instructions God gave to Moses for the people of Israel much of which is the basis for our modern law today.

How is it, that we as a society, embrace the parts of this scripture we wish to embrace, and utterly reject other parts we wish to reject?

The hypocrisy of humanity really knows no bounds.

People are so quick to claim "Jesus" when considering the parts of scripture they wish to ignore, but have no problem quoting the Ten Commandments when they feel the need to impose standards. The problem is, the Ten Commandments are entwined in the context of the greater sum of the same instructions from which the scripture above (endorsing slavery) is extracted!

We wholeheartedly embrace the Ten Commandments (but not really) and wholeheartedly reject the socioeconomic remedy of slavery. Who exactly gets to decide what is enforceable and what is reject-able when it comes to the Scriptures?

In days gone by, I myself have stated that slavery was not about ethnicity. However, slavery did in fact have national considerations. So, slavery would have followed ethnic lines only as those ethnic lines related to the nationalism of the people. Any person who construes this as racism is simply not reading what is written.

With this in mind, the Bible, in more than one location, addresses the treatment of slaves.

For anyone who would argue that "slavery" was really just about "employees," they should understand verses 39-43 of Leviticus 25 where God distinguishes the difference between the two as it pertained to Israel.

Slavery was simply a reality in history. In fact, it was an important facet of national social and economic functionality and harmony. That is why it was addressed on more than one occasion BY GOD HIMSELF! Slavery was the welfare program of the people. There were guidelines given by God for the fair treatment of slaves. Slavery provided for the hard times people sometimes encounter and provided for options to exit it. Again, nationality had much to do with it, but, the discussion about nationals/foreigners is another matter altogether (which not ironically, also is addressed by the Bible).

I find it interesting that "rights" are actually discussed in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading (regarding land ownership). What we must realize is that those rights were associated with nationality - not race. Rights were unique to nationality. We see this clearly in the context of this discussion.

As functional however as slavery might have been as a practice, we, as the human race have chosen to discard it and have embraced government welfare instead. The problem is, just as history revealed the abuses of slavery, so today we witness the abuses of government welfare. The problem may not be in the method, but in fact the abuse of whatever method that is in place. People, in their sinful nature, simply cannot seem to work with a good thing, but seem compelled to abuse it.

A life not controlled by the Spirit of God will ultimately contribute to social and economic chaos. A God-less society simply will not work economically - whether utilizing slavery or government welfare. A God-less society will abuse whatever socioeconomic remedies are offered. Government welfare is no more functional than slavery when abuse runs rampant within it.

Father, Your Word is good because You are good. Help me - help us - to embrace You and Your Word as You are our only hope for a functioning society.