The Slave Makers

What does it mean to be truly free?

Is it a lack of responsibilities, a freedom to do as we wish with no tethers or restraints?  Or is it something else, something quite different?

Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, 'We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’- John 8:31-33

In today's Gospel reading from John, the descendant fo Abraham believe they are free.  They claim to have freed themselves of the bondage of slavery when they left Egypt, yet they live as second class subjects, not citizens, of Rome.

Are they free?

I heard a story yesterday that surprised me.  It was about a young couple abducted and stolen away from their country to be enslaved in another, with no chance of returning home.

They were not from Africa and this did not happen a long time in the past, before we "knew better".  This took place in 1978 in Japan, and they became slaves in North Korea.

When we think of losing our freedoms, we tend to think of incarceration or wartime encampments, and we are moved at times to stand up and protest the inhuman treatment of others.  We cannot imagine someone intentionally handing themselves over to be held captive.  It is against our nature.

Yet Jesus tells us we do it all the time.  We become slaves to sin.

Not the same thing, you may say.  We still have our freedoms; we are able to make choices; we are not slaves under someone else's control.

It's true.  When we compare the atrocious behavior of those who capture and enslave others, something that in this modern era should be a relic of the past, we cringe, filled with anger and resentment, wanting justice.

But what about those who find themselves slaves to domestic violence, or drug addiction, or gang influence, or any one of a dozen other social and economic situations that can lead to a lack of freedoms?

The life that truly matters is the life of the soul and we should be at least equally angered by the many paths that lead to its entrapment and enslavement.   When we turn from God, we put ourselves on the path of destruction.

We become our own slave makers.

So, why not take a stand against that form of slavery?  Why do we accept more and more of the actions and beliefs that lead us to darkness and death?

I believe we have muddied the waters, when it comes to knowing what is right and what is not.  We accept each others choices and say live as you wish.  There is no standard against which to be judged.  It is not our place to judge others.

Compared to kidnapping, abuse, terrorism and violence, we might view sin as the least of many evils.  We might even say there is no such thing.

To whom are we listening?

I suggest we stop, look and listen to each other, and to the words of the Gospel.  

Maybe we will hear something that will set us on the right path, and we will truly be free.

More to come...