We
have a problem. We are slaves. You and
me, in modern day America. We are slaves.
Ok, so maybe we aren’t currently slaves, but hear me out. As part of the human condition. We are all
slaves. We don’t wear physical shackles,
we haven’t been whipped or beaten. But we are slaves. We weren’t sold, we sold out. We sold out to sin. And we are slaves to sin. Humans, as disobedient and selfish creatures
allow sin to be the master of our lives.
We are overrun by pride, selfishness, lust, greed, hatred, malice,
vengeance, anger, and fear. Maybe not
all day every day, but often enough that sin can still claim to have authority
over us, because if we aren’t choosing against sin, we have allowed sin to
win. That’s Paul’s understanding anyway.
It’s pretty black and white. Either you
choose sin or you choose God. No choice is to default to choosing sin. We, as part of humanity, are slaves to
sin.
But
there is an alternative. God offers us the option of no longer being subject to
sin as our master. God offers to spare
us, at no cost to us. Free and clear
with no debt to pay, God will buy us out of slavery to sin. Hallelujah!
Freedom!
We
hear that God, as a master, offers us freedom and so we clamor for freedom. All
too often, our first priority becomes freedom.
We recognize that sin enslaves and we would do anything to gain
freedom. And so we jump into the God
boat, not because it’s God’s but because it’s called “freedom”. Only the freedom God’s got in mind is not the
freedom we had in mind. God sees living in obedience to God’s rules as freedom.
We see that as slavery to a master with a different name. The freedom we envisioned allowed us to do
what we wanted when we wanted with whom we wanted for as long as we wanted.
That’s how we define true
freedom and so when we learn that God’s freedom only requires more rules, we
hesitate. Maybe it’s not worth choosing
God. After all, we aren’t actually free.
Paul
presents an idea that’s pretty radical. It’s not will we serve a master or
won’t we? Are you a slave or are you free?
Paul says that no matter what we serve a master and no matter what we
are slaves. Either one rules or the other does. There’s no master-less middle
ground. No matter what, we serve a master and no
matter what we are slaves. The choice is which master we will serve, whose
slave will you be and what will you gain for it?
That’s
highly counter-cultural. Not a great
selling point for inviting people to Christ.
“Hey, did you know that without God you’re a slave to sin? But there’s
good news! With God you’re free, no not
free where you get to do what you want, but free to play by God’s rules
instead.” It’s hard to pit slavery
against slavery. Do you want to be a slave or do you want to be a slave? Tough choice.
Do you want to wear shoes or shoes?
Do you want to eat food or eat food?
It hardly seems like a choice.
So
then why bother? If you’re a slave
regardless, what does it matter whose slave you are? It matters because the masters are totally
different in how they treat the slaves.
As slaves to sin, the master of sin doesn’t care if we get hurt in the
process, the master of sin doesn’t care if we are healthy, or happy or whole,
the master of sin only cares that sin’s purposes are served. But God is a completely different type of
master. God is the type of master that is generous, the type of master that
shares with his slaves as if they were family, the type of master that gives
all He has in order for the people to be blessed. The type of master that invites the lost, the
losers, and the liars to be a part of the party of the year. It’s not a simply a choice between shoes and
shoes, it’s a choice between too-small shoes that cause blisters and dig into
your feet, and comfortable shoes that feel like you’re getting a massage all
day. Certainly, both are shoes, but
there’s a difference. Likewise, it’s not simply a choice between food and
food. It’s a choice between rancid food
that’s barely recognizable and gourmet food that melts in your mouth. It’s the details that matter. Just like with the masters. It’s not one
master or another. It’s a selfish self-serving master or one who is loving,
kind and generous.
We
may be slaves regardless, but we have the opportunity to choose our master. We
have the opportunity to choose a master who will care for us and our needs over
the master’s.
AND,
the pay is different. Talk about a
disparity in wages. The salary sin pays out is death. The salary God pays is righteousness and
justification which lead to eternal life.
You choose. Different masters with
different motives with different salary packages. We may be extremely uncomfortable with the
notion that we are slaves. But our reality is that we offer our obedience to
something. We play by somebody’s rules. And if we aren’t choosing God’s rules,
we are choosing sin’s. And the
consequence of choosing sin is death.
Not just physical death, but emotional and spiritual death, in this life
and in the next.
To
choose God is to choose God’s rules. Our
obedience matters. Our actions matter.
What we do doesn’t save us, God did that when God offered to take us
away from sin. But our works do prove
which master we serve.
1)
To serve God is to put God first in our
lives
2)
To serve God is to know that God is
bigger than pictures or statues or symbols, the God we worship is bigger than
any image we might conjure in our minds.
3)
To serve God is to use God’s name with
reverence, using the power of God’s name to bless and not curse.
4)
To serve God is to allow ourselves rest
to be restored, to not work tirelessly and ceaselessly under the illusion that
our power is sufficient for success.
5)
To serve God is to honor our parents, not
without boundaries, not without healthy relationships, but in a way that
respects the role they were given in our lives.
6)
To serve God is to honor the sacredness
of life, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.
7)
To serve God is to be faithful and loyal
and honoring of our partner.
8)
To serve God is to find satisfaction in
what we have, sharing so that everyone has enough.
9)
To serve God is to be honest and humble
in our communications, using our words to build up and not to tear down.
10) To
serve God is to look with gratitude on what we have, rather than allowing lust
for more things and more money to consume our hearts and our spending.
To
serve God is to live with an open and generous heart. To serve the master of righteousness is no
easy task. Easy is not our selling
point. But to serve the master of
righteousness will mean reaping the sweetest harvest.
And
so the choice is ours. Once we get over
the fact that we are slaves, that we must be obedient to some set of rules, to
some master, we get to choose. Which
master will it be? Which master will you
serve?
