Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents always, for that is what pleases God.

As a servant depends on his master, as a maid depends on her mistress, so we will keep looking to you, O LORD our God, until you have mercy on us.

The LORD Almighty says to the priests, "Children honor their parents, and servants honor their masters. I am your father---why don't you honor me? I am your master---why don't you respect me? You despise me, and yet you ask, 'How have we despised you?'

I, too, am a man under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, 'Go!' and he goes; and I order that one, 'Come!' and he comes; and I order my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and yet don't do what I tell you?

I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one, 'Go!' and he goes; I order that one, 'Come!' and he comes; and I order my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere heart, as though you were serving Christ.

Do your work as slaves cheerfully, as though you served the Lord, and not merely human beings.

Those who are slaves must consider their masters worthy of all respect, so that no one will speak evil of the name of God and of our teaching.

Slaves belonging to Christian masters must not despise them, for they are believers too. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their work are believers whom they love. You must teach and preach these things.

Slaves are to submit themselves to their masters and please them in all things. They must not talk back to them

or steal from them. Instead, they must show that they are always good and faithful, so as to bring credit to the teaching about God our Savior in all they do.

And now he is not just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a dear brother in Christ. How much he means to me! And how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave and as a brother in the Lord!

You servants must submit yourselves to your masters and show them complete respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.

God will bless you for this, if you endure the pain of undeserved suffering because you are conscious of his will.

Does this sound as if I am trying to win human approval? No indeed! What I want is God's approval! Am I trying to be popular with people? If I were still trying to do so, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives.

"The eyes are like a lamp for the body. If your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light;

Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,

Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere heart, as though you were serving Christ.

On the third day Joseph said to them, "I am a God-fearing man, and I will spare your lives on one condition.

Then I said, "What you are doing is wrong! You ought to obey God and do what's right. Then you would not give our enemies, the Gentiles, any reason to ridicule us.

Every governor who had been in office before me had been a burden to the people and had demanded forty silver coins a day for food and wine. Even their servants had oppressed the people. But I acted differently, because I honored God.

No matter how much you dream, how much useless work you do, or how much you talk, you must still stand in awe of God.

A sinner may commit a hundred crimes and still live. Oh yes, I know what they say: "If you obey God, everything will be all right,

After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey his commands, because this is all that we were created for.

All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.