Slavery
December 14, 2003
Dear Friends,
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Emancipation Proclamation forever outlawing slavery in the United States. In it he declared “slaves within any State, or designated part of a state…then…in rebellion…shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Thus, in a single stroke of the pen, several million people became free (although for most it would not have practical implications for nearly two and a half more years).
In a spiritual sense, the vast majority of mankind still lives in slavery. Most are not under the whip of an earthly taskmaster (although tragically some still are), but the vast majority live and die under the cruel scourge of sin. Perhaps the even greater tragedy is that freedom is so readily available and yet so universally ignored. The Scriptures are full of this type of analogy from the Exodus analogy to letter letters of Paul. “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness….now being made free from sin, and become servants to God.” (Rom. 6:20,22)
Many people simply do not seek for deliverance from sin by giving in to sin with all of their might and making it their chief pursuit. Many seek do seek for it, but do so from the idols of the world and false religion. Some seek it from God and Christ but do so without a true commitment. Whatever is the case, they remain in slavery and subject to their master’s wages. “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23)
For those of us who know Christ, we may willingly subject themselves to slavery by putting things ahead of our service to him. Many are slaves to careers. Many are slaves of fashion and the trappings of affluence. Yet others are slaves to alcohol, sexual addictions, gossip, self-righteousness and the like. The Apostle Peter gives us fair warning of this condition when he says “a person is a slave to whatever has defeated him.” (2 Peter 2:19 – The Jewish Bible)
In the book Walden, Thoreau makes an observation concerning housing. He muses “the cost of a thing is the amount of what I will call life which is required to be exchanged for it… An average house in this neighborhood costs perhaps eight hundred dollars, and to lay up this sum will take from ten to fifteen years of the laborer’s life, even if he is not encumbered with a family…so that he must have spent more than half his life commonly before his wigwam will be earned.” It seems we may think that we are masters of our little piece of the Universe — our house, our furniture, our mode of transportation, etc. — when in fact they really have the mastery over us. They sap so much of our life that we have really lived, not for us, but for our possessions. Jesus attempts to offer us a clue on this when he says “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” Our reward, as the writer of Ecclesiates points out, is to pass our bobbles onto someone who lives after us. We have been possessed by our possessions. We have been enslaved by what we own. This cannot simply be limited to material possessions, but anything that takes our time and energy away from the truly important things in life.
Jesus wants to be our master. So many people seek peace, contentment and freedom in this world, but they don’t know where to find it when it is really right under their noses. Jesus said “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:28)
Hidden in our excuses are the shackles that bind us. “I don’t have enough money” because I spend it on foolish things. “I don’t have enough time” because I expend it on things that are fleeting. “I don’t know what God wants” because I have not taken the time to find out. What is your excuse?
We each need freedom from something in our lives. Everyone of us needs to create their own Emancipation Proclamation. What is yours?
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
Have a great week!
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