Pro 29:21 | KingComments | STEP | It is not enough to instruct a slave to be obedient by words alone ( ). There is no perfectly obedient slave. That was only the Lord Jesus. A slave, or employee, must learn to obey because he is naturally disobedient. A disobedience must be punished not only with words, but also with other, palpable, means of discipline. We can think of being denied food for punishment or temporarily deprived of certain privileges he enjoyed. If no palpable discipline is applied, the slave will simply go his own way. The master, or employer, can talk and command all he wants, but he does not respond. He does hear and understand what is asked, but he simply does not do it because he does not feel like it. Teaching obedience is important in the family ( ) and in society. One must obey the authority of parents, the employer, the government, and above all, God. Those who do not learn to obey in earthly relationships will not bow to God either, with the dramatic result of eternal judgment. The Christian is a slave of Christ and as such must be taught obedience. In the Word of God he hears what Christ asks of him. The Christian is not always obedient to what Christ says. Then He disciplines him out of love (cf. ). By this He leads him to do what He has commanded. Since is between two verses dealing with slaves, perhaps we can connect this verse primarily with them, without ruling out a broader application. One who speaks only to his slave, but receives no response ( ), loses his patience and is “hasty in his words”. This applies to all interpersonal relations. Those who respond out of irritation react impulsively, thoughtlessly. It is not about an incident, but about a habit. Someone who talks alone sees in it his strength, while he is blind to the fact that it is his sin. If he is not listened to, he will speak more words. He is sure of his business, does not think, does not deliberate and is uncorrectable. The warning is that we should be slow to speak ( ; ). It is better to deal with a fool than a hasty, fast talker. There is “more hope” that something meaningful will come out of a fool than out of a hasty, fast talker. That does indicate what a hopeless case the hasty, fast talker is. He has no time to listen. A fool does lack wisdom, but sometimes he still takes the time to listen to what is being said. As in , in the fault lies with the master. Here the master’s fault is that he pampers his slave. By doing so, he makes him feel not like a slave, but a family member. One would expect the slave to thank him for that, but the opposite is true. The master “will in the end find” the slave “to be a son” has the meaning that the slave will “ultimately be ungrateful” to him, as it is translated in the Dutch translation I use. By indulging his slave, he creates certain expectations in him, perhaps that he will share in the inheritance. If that then does not happen, he will be ungrateful. Such unfounded expectations are the result of skewed relationships. The master is responsible for this. He must ensure that the master-slave (employer-employee) relationship is properly respected. The master must tell the employee what to do. This has nothing to do with domination, but with recognizing authority relationships established by God.

‏ Proverbs 29:21

Relationship Between Employer and Employee

It is not enough to instruct a slave to be obedient by words alone (Pro 29:19). There is no perfectly obedient slave. That was only the Lord Jesus. A slave, or employee, must learn to obey because he is naturally disobedient. A disobedience must be punished not only with words, but also with other, palpable, means of discipline. We can think of being denied food for punishment or temporarily deprived of certain privileges he enjoyed.

If no palpable discipline is applied, the slave will simply go his own way. The master, or employer, can talk and command all he wants, but he does not respond. He does hear and understand what is asked, but he simply does not do it because he does not feel like it.

Teaching obedience is important in the family (Pro 29:17) and in society. One must obey the authority of parents, the employer, the government, and above all, God. Those who do not learn to obey in earthly relationships will not bow to God either, with the dramatic result of eternal judgment.

The Christian is a slave of Christ and as such must be taught obedience. In the Word of God he hears what Christ asks of him. The Christian is not always obedient to what Christ says. Then He disciplines him out of love (cf. Rev 3:19). By this He leads him to do what He has commanded.

Since Pro 29:20 is between two verses dealing with slaves, perhaps we can connect this verse primarily with them, without ruling out a broader application. One who speaks only to his slave, but receives no response (Pro 29:19), loses his patience and is “hasty in his words”. This applies to all interpersonal relations.

Those who respond out of irritation react impulsively, thoughtlessly. It is not about an incident, but about a habit. Someone who talks alone sees in it his strength, while he is blind to the fact that it is his sin. If he is not listened to, he will speak more words. He is sure of his business, does not think, does not deliberate and is uncorrectable. The warning is that we should be slow to speak (Jam 1:19; Ecc 5:1).

It is better to deal with a fool than a hasty, fast talker. There is “more hope” that something meaningful will come out of a fool than out of a hasty, fast talker. That does indicate what a hopeless case the hasty, fast talker is. He has no time to listen. A fool does lack wisdom, but sometimes he still takes the time to listen to what is being said.

As in Pro 29:19, in Pro 29:21 the fault lies with the master. Here the master’s fault is that he pampers his slave. By doing so, he makes him feel not like a slave, but a family member. One would expect the slave to thank him for that, but the opposite is true. The master “will in the end find” the slave “to be a son” has the meaning that the slave will “ultimately be ungrateful” to him, as it is translated in the Dutch translation I use. By indulging his slave, he creates certain expectations in him, perhaps that he will share in the inheritance. If that then does not happen, he will be ungrateful.

Such unfounded expectations are the result of skewed relationships. The master is responsible for this. He must ensure that the master-slave (employer-employee) relationship is properly respected. The master must tell the employee what to do. This has nothing to do with domination, but with recognizing authority relationships established by God.