Kindness in Authority

Peter tells Christian servants to work for their masters with a clean conscience (1 Pet. 2:19). He knows that the sinfulness of the human heart meant that a certain amount of mistreatment was inevitable — he calls it “suffering wrongfully” (adikos). But he also knows that this same human heart was found in the servants as well, and says it is no glory if a servant is chastized for his faults and takes it patiently. But if a person under authority is wronged (which is not hard to imagine), Peter says that such patience is acceptable to God. The caution from this text ought to be directed to all who have positions of authority — parents, employers, board members, branch managers, and lieutenants. Do not treat those under your authority in such a way that they must suffer wrongfully.