1 Peter 2:18-20 (NKJV) Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
Submission in Hebrew means yielding and assuming a lower position. It has to do with ranking. God is the supreme authority over all authorities that He has established, and He has ordained a structure of authority for the family, company, church, and country. We are instructed to submit to this authority. Submission involves maintaining the right attitude towards work and the superiors God has placed above us. Therefore, opposing our bosses is unwise unless it concerns an ethical or moral issue.
We all have different expectations of our bosses, and there are various types of leaders. Nevertheless, the Bible encourages us to be submissive to our bosses. It is commendable to submit and continue to produce good work under a demanding and challenging boss. Submitting to our bosses is key to being successful in the marketplace. This can be challenging and complex and involves laying ourselves down, which takes humility and dealing with our attitudes. Nonetheless, the level of peace and joy we experience in the workplace often depends on how submissive we are to our bosses.
Some people find it particularly difficult to submit due to their pride and personality. It is easy to think that we can do better than our bosses because of our education, qualification and experience. However, when we make unilateral decisions without consulting our bosses about matters outside of our sphere of responsibility, we encounter problems. All of us are employed as a team to achieve a common goal for the company. The company employed us to resolve their problems and not create issues or disunity. We risk losing our jobs if we do not follow instructions or support the team.
To submit to authority, we must understand and differentiate between the individuals in authority and the positions of authority. We may not like the individuals in authority or agree with their decisions, but we can choose to submit to their positions of authority because we understand the necessity of submitting to them simply because they occupy those positions. Submission is only required when we disagree with a decision; if we agree, no submission is necessary. By separating the two, it becomes easier to submit to the individuals in authority, and God will grant us the grace to do so.
To submit means to yield your will and to obey a command. The Centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant understood submission when Jesus gave a command. That’s why he said a Word from Jesus will suffice. This yielding is how God deals with our pride and leads us toward godliness: kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Sermon Series: Hopefully Contented
敬虔必经之路
彼得前书2:18-20 你们作仆人的，凡事要存敬畏的心顺服主人；不但顺服那善良温和的，就是那乖僻的也要顺服。倘若人为叫良心对得住神，就忍受冤屈的苦楚，这是可喜爱的。你们若因犯罪受责打，能忍耐， 有甚麽可夸的呢？但你们若因行善受苦，能忍耐，这在神看是可喜爱的。
顺服在希伯来语中的意思是服从并接受较低的地位。顺服涉及等级。上帝是祂所设立的所有权柄中的至高权柄，祂为家庭、公司、教会和国家设立了权柄结构。我们被教导要顺服这权柄。顺服包括对工作和上帝赋予我们的上司保持正确的态度。因此在职场上，除非涉及道德或伦理问题，否则反抗我们的上司是不明智的。
我们每个人对上司都有不同的期望，而且领导也各有不同。然而，圣经鼓励我们要顺服我们的上司。当我们在严苛和充满挑战的上司手下工作，却依然顺服并继续出色地工作时，这是值得称赞的。 顺服上司是职场成功的关键。这是非常具有挑战性和复杂的，需要我们不断放下自己、谦卑并调整态度。尽管如此，我们在职场中能享受到多少平安和喜乐，很大程度上取决于我们对上司的顺服程度。
有些人出于骄傲或者性格问题而很难顺服。我们很容易觉得自己比上司做的更好，因为我们来自更好的大学，拥有更高的资历和更多的经验。然而，当我们在不征求老板意见的情况下就擅自作出超出自己的职责范围时，我们就会遇到问题。我们所有人都是以团队的身份被雇佣的，目的是为了共同实现公司的目标。公司雇用我们是为了帮助解决问题，而不是制造麻烦或使团队不和。如果我们不服从指示或不支持团队，我们就有可能失去工作。
要顺服权柄，我们必须理解并区分“掌权者”和“权柄中的职份”。我们可能不喜欢掌权者，或不同意他们的决定，但我们可以选择顺服他们的权柄，因为我们知道仅仅因着他们的权柄职份，我们就必须顺服他们。只有当我们不同意某个决定时，才需要顺服；如果我们同意，就不需要顺服。将两者区分开来，顺服掌权者就变得更容易了，上帝也会赐予我们恩典来如此行。
顺服意味着放下自己的意愿并服从命令。那位请求耶稣医治仆人的百夫长深刻理解顺服，就是耶稣只需下令。这就是为什么他说，耶稣只要说一句话就足够了，无需亲自前往。这种顺服正是上帝修剪我们骄傲的方式，并引导我们走向敬虔的道路：也就是仁慈、良善、信实和节制。
讲章系列：希望知足
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