Respect your Boss

1 Timothy 6:1-2

Paul is specifically referring to relationships in the passages before and after this one, and the specific relationship in verses 1 and 2 is that of slave and master. However, I think the things that he says are completely consistent with the way that employees should relate to their supervisors. Substituting "supervisor" for "master," this means that we should respect our superivsors. Doing so reduces the chance that someone will say bad things about Christianity because of your actions. Think about that. If you treat your supervisors poorly and are disrespectful, people might say, "well, Jones is a Christian and look how he treats the boss." God's name is not honored. There's no qualification in the passage, no "treat your boss with respect if he/she deserves it." Regardless of how your supervisor acts, we are to show respect.

That doesn't mean automatic agreement. I've blogged before about the value of dissent. But dissent can be respectful as well. Think about tone of voice, the words you use, where you speak to your supervisor (calling him/her out in public versus speaking privately).

The next verse is important as well. Be especially respectful of Christian supervisors. Don't let the values that you share be an excuse for not treating them well.