I suppose every little brother or sister has bristled at being told what to do by a bossy older sibling.  When my older sister would boss me around, I used to sass back, “I’m not your slave.”  Nobody likes being bossed around.  As a little kid, my sister would try to get me to do the chores she was supposed to do, but which were particularly unpleasant to her.  My objection to doing her work wasn’t based on how hard or unpleasant the job was.  I rebelled at being told to do it.

Have you ever observed how hard self-employed people work?  Often, they work ridiculous hours and take calls and emails at times that would make any reasonable person want to quit if their boss bothered them at home like that.  But they still do it, and they often enjoy it.  Why?  Because despite working harder and longer than they might as an employee, they feel a sense of self-determination.  They are nobody’s slave even though they often have less free time than those who punch a clock.

Being able to call your own shots is appealing, but none of us is really our own boss.  Even if your name is on the door, you are responsible to clients and to employees who depend on your hard work to keep them employed. 

Peter talks about false prophets who lead astray the gullible with promises that sound appealing but which are untrue.

They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption; for people are slaves to whatever masters them. (2 Peter 2:19)

“People are slaves to whatever masters them.”  Truer words have never been spoken.  Who among us hasn’t been mastered at times by our worst impulses?  Think of the awful consequences of being mastered by addiction, pride, selfishness, envy, greed, fill in the blank.  When these dark tendencies master us, what are we if not slaves?

The antidote to our self-imposed slavery is found in the words of the old hymn: “Make me a captive, Lord, and then I shall be free.”  Serving God liberates us to be truly who we are without compulsion or deception – living as children of God.

Prayer:  Gracious Spirit, I want to do things my own way.  Help me yield control of my heart to you so that I might know the freedom of living as you intend me to live.  Amen.