Ephesians 6 across cultures

Came to Ephesians 6 in the bible study I (John) lead before church this morning. And it raised a whole host of questions that hadn't even entered my Australian head. As we talked about relationships between slaves and masters, and what it means to be a godly employee or employer the whole area of 'favours' came up. What do you do if you are an employee and a friend asks you for a favour to get something moving along faster or to have an issue resolved sooner than it otherwise would be? What about if it was you, is it OK to ask a friend for a favour to get those slow or stationary wheels turning to have your situation attended to? Do you decide on the basis of legality, you surely wouldn't agree to something illegal, but if it was legal, would you go ahead and do it?

Hard questions to answer, so it meant a lot of listening for me! God's word has a lot to say to every culture but for as someone still learning this culture, it meant hearing how followers of Jesus here viewed some of these tricky areas.