The pain of freedom

Freedom is costly. Painful. It is easier to remain a slave than to endure the painful struggle that leads to freedom. A slave knows where he will find his food: among the crumbs from his master's table. Knows where he will sleep: his master cottage. But a man striving for freedom has no idea where he will lay his head, nor any idea where his next meal will come from.

The slave finds comfort in familiarity. The familiarity of the plantation, his chains, his master's brutality & degrees of benevolence. The slave knows that as long as he behaves, submits, then tomorrow will be as today. The slave is familiar with the vices that comfort his soul. The materialism that keeps him grounded. He looks forward to the bonfire pleasures after a long day of work to numb his pain. The nightclub on the weekend to dance away his anxieties. The uncommitted sex to temporarily make him forget his condition, his brokenness, his emptiness.

The man seeking freedom has no such comfort. Picture him as a man fleeing from the plantation of a harsh master. He flees because he understands his condition. He realizes the comforts of slavery are not comforts at all. The master’s food doesn't fill him, for they are only crumbs. His cottage is not fitted for him, but for a dog. The plantation work robs him of his human dignity. The dance club, the meaningless sex, are simply coping mechanisms that further his degradation, and make a mockery of both his humanity and manhood.

Life is more than constant work on a plantation, constant rounds of pleasures. And so he says "I will depart this evil place and I will seek freedom at all costs. I will endure privation in order to truly gain. Better to lose all comforts of bandage to gain my soul.” And so after much reflection, he sets out on the path of freedom, not knowing what to expect. On the way to freedom lies death, wild beasts, forests, deserts, swamps, the pursuit of the master upon him, the unexpected, but better to face all these than to remain in cruel bondage. And so he sets out.

The path towards freedom is hard, for he must leave behind his former life and former thoughts. As he walks away from the plantation, from the friends he knew, the master he hated, the certainty he knew, he faces the emptiness of separation. A darkness sweeps over him-“have I made the right choice? Am I foolish? Why would I throw away my life in pursuing such a foolish endeavor? Why am I not content with my slavery? Should I turn back to the world of bondage?”-But he remembers the emptiness, the soul degradation from slavery, the false promise of freedom if one is ‘obedient enough’, and he says “I will go forward no matter what.

I will escape from the bondage of consumerism, the pursuit of pleasure to numb my pain. I will endure the dark night of the soul so that I may see the light of freedom.” Day and night he walks, resting a little, with one goal in mind, liberty or death. “I will not turn back.”

A man who seeks freedom must be willing to endure hardship, privation, heavy sorrows and uncertainty. 

So is the life of a Christian. The true Christian is kne who recognizes that he has been a slave to a cruel master, even Satan. Satan had him on his plantation, working to death, with glimpses of pleasure and a false hope of future liberation to keep him in bondage. Satan promises him, if he simply works hard enough, he will be rich and can retire without a care in the world! But he hides from him the fact that as wealth increases so too does the fear of losing it. Satan promises him “you can have this girl” or if the slave is a woman, “you can have this man. After a long pursuit, if you can sleep with her, then you will finally enjoy bliss.” But he hides the fact that in casually sleeping with someone, your depression, sense of worthlessness and meaningless of the relationship and of life itself will simply increase. The Christian is one who realizes the deception of the slave master to keep him in a state of degradation in order to fasten his rule over him. 

The Christian hears the true promise of freedom  and decides for himself- “I will pursue it at all costs. I will pursue it even though my family stays behind, even though my friends stay behind, even if I have to leave behind my former identity, the identity of a slave. I will pursue freedom even though I become emptied of all I used to know. I will pursue freedom even though I have no certainty of what tomorrow will bring. I may get wounded in the way,  but I will continue. The master's arrow may strike me, but I will crawl. The only thing that will stop me is capture or death, but turning back, I will not. 

In order to be freed from the bondage of sin, we must be willing to endure the dark night of the soul. The emptiness that comes as a result of being separated from all we used to know in order to prepare us for things we knew not. The slave is degraded and doesn't know what it means to be a free man or woman. For him to experience true manhood, for her to experience true womanhood, she must be willing to be separated from the false identity that slavery has given her.

The slave master told her she is only her physical beauty, so cater to this shell at the neglect of your inner beauty. Tells him you are only the amount of money you have, so pursue money at the neglect of your soul.

He must be willing to separate from all these false notions in order to know that a true man, a true woman is one who understands that our value comes only from God. The old master used chains of iron, whips of cords. The new master uses the chains of materialism, pleasure,  and fear of the quiet time with self to reflect.  The whips of conformity to worldly customs to keep us in check and subdued. The master is the same, but has simply changed his method. He has simply put on velvet gloves to hide his iron fists. 

To be truly free we must experience the pain of freedom, the pain that comes in letting go of the old man, the old way of life, to embrace the new. Each step I take away from the plantation is another step towards dignity, true manhood. There can be no turning back, no doublemindedness, no stopping to relax and explore. To do so is to risk the master and his hunters to steal me back. I must flee from slavery no matter how painful, to the city of refuge no matter how far. I must flee to Christ no matter how difficult, how soul trying , how dark the process is, I must go forward to Christ. I might fall along the way, but no turning back. Get back up and continue the journey. Thoughts may come to you that says this journey is futile, turn back to your old master, he will welcome you, you will find rest. But remember, the fact that you took a step out of the plantation of sin means you are already free, you are making decisions for yourself. Your old sinful master is no longer commanding you as he once did. You have tasted freedom, so keep moving forward towards Christ. Too often we think freedom is when we are finally at the goal, but freedom is a process and begins with the first revolutionary act, the act of leaving the plantation of sin. Many have thoughts of freedom, but never take the first step and as a result have died in slavery. The man or woman who has taken the first step towards Christ has already overcome the fear of the master's wrath and are already enjoying liberty.

No turning back