⁵ As for slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling and with sincere devotion to Christ. ⁶ Don’t work to make yourself look good and try to flatter people, but act like slaves of Christ carrying out God’s will from the heart. ⁷ Serve your owners enthusiastically, as though you were serving the Lord and not human beings. ⁸ You know that the Lord will reward every person who does what is right, whether that person is a slave or a free person. ⁹ As for masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Stop threatening them, because you know that both you and your slaves have a master in heaven. He doesn’t distinguish between people on the basis of status.