Can Anything Good Come from Slavery?

Is slavery good? 

Absolutely not! The first book of the Bible makes it clear that being sold into slavery against one's will is the epitome of evil. Scripture also shows how this specific evil (as well as all evil, suffering, and affliction) will ultimately be used by God for good.

In Genesis, chapters 37 through 50, the Bible recounts the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. Joseph was a favored son among his brothers and faced betrayal when they sold him into slavery out of jealousy and resentment. His captors took him to Egypt, where he served as a slave in Potiphar's household. Despite enduring hardship and adversity, Joseph eventually earned the trust of Potiphar. Unfortunately, he was unjustly accused of a crime and imprisoned.

While enduring this affliction in prison, however, Joseph's ability to interpret dreams caught the attention of Pharaoh. This eventually led to his eventual release and promotion to a high-ranking position in Egypt. His gift for interpreting dreams proved vital when famine struck the land, as he helped Egypt prepare and survive the harsh times.

Years later, his brothers came to Egypt seeking food, but they did not recognize Joseph (after all, he was much older and probably wearing a cool Egyptian headdress). Upon revealing his identity, Joseph did not seek vengeance or reparations. Instead, Joseph forgave his brothers who had wronged him in the past. This love and forgiveness exemplified Joseph's transformation and ultimately showed that the painful path of the evil of slavery led to a greater purpose, reconciliation, and a powerful position to save many lives -- which would not have happened if Joseph had not been sold into slavery in the first place.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today (Genesis 50: 19-20).

What can we learn from the biblical account of Joseph's life? 

First, slavery ought to be opposed and called out as a horrendous evil that opposes the objective purpose of humanity. Indeed, the objective purpose of humanity is love, and thus, we ought to seek to stop those who are opposed to the very reason humanity exists. Second, when evil does occur, we can have a "peace that passes understanding" (Philippians 4:7) by knowing that God uses "all things together for good" (Romans 8:28). Although we are not always in a position to see the good that comes from evil, sometimes we do get glimpses into God's divine sovereign plan, as Joseph and his brothers did in Genesis. When we do not get to see the details work out, however, we can have peace by reflecting on Paul's words in 2 Corinthians:

¹⁷ For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17).

James underscores the thoughts of Paul:

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,³ for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.⁴ And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).

Indeed, it's easy for a maximally great being (God) who is necessarily omniscient and omnipotent -- and thus possesses what theologians refer to as middle knowledge -- to create a world in which He knows that all of the evil thoughts and actions freely performed by humanity would -- and will -- end with the ultimate good. As Jacobus Erasmus and I recently authored in a journal article entitled, "A Molinist Response to Schellenberg’s Hiddenness Argument," 

“For all we know, the actual world is the best feasible freedom-permitting world, even with its moral, natural, and gratuitous evils, as well as its divine hiddenness. For example: it is possible that the actual world is the one feasible freedom-permitting circumstance where evil is ultimately defeated and all are saved (the bracketed words leave room for hopeful universalism). If this specific feasible “maximal harvest world” exists, then a perfectly wise and loving God would either create it—no matter how much finite suffering, evil, or divine hiddenness existed—or refrain from creation altogether. <. . . an omniscient god is in a position to know.>”

Bottom line: Two things can be true at once. (i) Slavery ought to be called out as an objective evil and opposed by those who follow Christ. (ii) God uses all things together for good, and it is not wrong to point out these goods when we are in a position to know what they are. In fact, it glorifies God when we highlight how God uses "divine jiujitsu" on the evil intentions of mankind by making evil "tap out" by using it for good. 

Stay reasonable (Isaiah 1:18),

Dr. Tim Stratton