We are slaves

There is a truth that is undeniable, despite the protests of many; we are slaves. You are a slave. I, too, am a slave. Of course, this comes across, initially, as a very depressing thought. Our culture's obsession with 'liberation' has rendered the concept of slavery in general very detestable. Of course, the question is, "to whom you are a slave"? Depending on your 'master', slavery can in fact be a desirable state of affairs.

Romans 6:16 "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

Our Self Worth

We all want to feel 'important'. It's just part of our nature. The worldviews that try to convince us that life has no purpose never tend to be very popular. The reason is simple; we know it is untrue. We know that life has purpose. We know that we should make something of ourselves. In the end, we all simply know that life is somehow 'measured', and each of our lives has some kind of 'worth'.

However, human nature also tends to try and define our own worth. We all know that feeling as though we have worth is far greater than feeling worthless. Our sense of 'self' is of utmost importance, and those who feel worthless are almost invariably depressed, or suicidal. We recognize that if 'I' have no value, then 'I' am a mistake.

The next obvious question is, where does our sense of value come from? One of the most remarkable aspects of human nature is the inconsistency between our universal recognition of the need for worth and universal disagreement on what defines our worth. Almost every human being has some creative way of defining their personal identity, and gauging their self worth. It seems as though no two are identical.

What's an example? For many people, they measure their value based on their number of friends. If a person has few, or no, friends, they tend to be shunned by others, making it more difficult to make friends. Some people's sense of worth is tied to their physical abilities. The athletic person may take great pride in the fitness of their body.

For most people, it's a specific combination, yet these all have one common theme; self. All of these examples share the core value of personal abilities defining one's worth. What's the problem with this?

The biggest, and most unavoidable problem with defining one's worth by their personal standards, is that they will inevitably fail to meet those standards. Always. A person who finds their value in the quantity of friends will always need more and more (and 'better') friends. A person who finds their value in their physical abilities will always want to be bigger and stronger. The rich man will never be rich enough. The communicator will never have enough communication. The activist will always be looking for the next, bigger, better cause to fight for. And on, and on, and on.

Of course, the other problem with picking arbitrary standards by which to measure your personal self-worth, is that the standards are arbitrary. If you were to somehow reach that pinnacle of success, you would wake up one morning, look yourself in the mirror, and ask yourself, "So what?". You've accomplished so much, yet there are no long lasting effects of your accomplishments. Your physical fitness will deteriorate. Your friends will become strangers when you get alzheimers. Your personal assets will rust, break, depreciate, or get stolen. In the end, you find that it didn't matter which standard you used, you would have still accomplished a temporary sense of 'worth', and it would have still been followed by the realization that, when it's all said and done, it amounted to nothing.

Selfishness

The core truth of Christianity is our slavery to 'self'. This master, ourselves, is the master to whom we are born. None of us have a choice in that matter, as it is the inevitable consequence of receiving the gift of life. Throughout our lives, we invariably have a tendency to make decisions that seem to favor ourselves, and our immediate gratification. Most people can quickly and easily identify some of these tendencies in their own lives, and some of these have already been discussed.

What do all of these have in common? ME! They all focus on 'the self'. Humans have a need to feel significant, and to have a sense of worth. In order to acquire this sense of meaning, they DO things to help them feel significant. However, even if their actions might be for the benefit of others, the underlying agenda was personal self-gratification. I may help others because 'I feel good' when I do. Many examples are far more blatantly selfish. I earn more money because 'I want more'. In the end, how we live our lives is influenced largely by our focus on ourselves. We are truly slaves to our own selfishness.

So then, what choice do we as humans truly have, if we are born selfish? We have only one choice, and that is to take control of our lives away from ourselves, and give it to someone else. Of course, this is sheer lunicy, if we were to give control to another human being. In what way could one selfish human being do better by controlling the life of another selfish human being? There's just no way it would work. So, we can give control to someone bigger and better than ourselves.

God is the only option.

Escapism

We all recognize that we want value. We all find ways to try to define our worth. Some people eventually reach a point in their pursuit of worth where they realize that no worth is to be found in this world. They have tried to define their lives through their actions and abilities, and have reached a dead end. They realize that one cannot attain worth through their behaviors and attitudes.

But, what's the alternative? Feeling worthless and understanding that value cannot be earned, some people begin to fear the conclusions. Everyone realizes that we need to have worth, but these people have tried to attain worth and failed. On the one hand, life without worth is worthless, on the other hand, they cannot attain worth.

In walks escapism. Fearing the results of truly investigating these philosophical insights, they choose to look away. However, the mind inevitably draws them back. It's a battle in which victory seems impossible so the only solution is to call it a draw. Calling it a draw, though, is unfulfilling, because the need for worth returns again and again like a possessed boomerang.

So, we fight the need. We try ignoring it. That fails. We steal from the yearning the one thing it needs to survive; our mental attention. By living in a constant state of distraction, we can force the constant nagging of that need for value out of our minds. This is only possible by filling our minds with something else, something that is obviously incapable of providing purpose and worth for our lives.

Maybe it's alcohol. That's often seen as a traditional "escape mechanism", but there are others. Perhaps it's the constant need to be entertained. Maybe it's consumerism. Many of the same things that people use to try to gain their self-worth can also be used to escape the reality that they cannot provide self-worth. Either way, they can turn into addictions that govern our lives, and consume our thoughts. There is a fine line between a hobby and an obsession.

At that point we find ourselves in a vicious cycle. It's a meaningless cycle that robs us of dignity, and replaces it with worthlessness. It is an escapable cycle.

Freedom

There is only one worldview that does not attempt to free ourselves from ourselves by ourselves, and that is Christianity. Jesus left us with the only liberating message the human race will ever need; liberation through submission, NOT liberation through personal efforts. Rather than attempting to 'DO' our way to freedom, we simply need to 'GIVE' our way to freedom. We get freedom by giving it away. We are liberated from ourselves by losing ourselves. It's ironic, somewhat confusing, but the absolute, undeniable, truth.

Romans 6:18 "You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

Perhaps you are already realizing the futility of trying to use human endeavors to establish your sense of worth. Perhaps you are already at a point of knowing that 'there must be something more'. You are right! There is so much more. That 'more' is the mindset that comes with realizing that your human worth will never change, it is already complete. You are already worth as much as you are going to be worth in God's eyes. He made you, he is proud of you, and he wants to free you from yourself, and your futile effort to 'become something' in this world. You can be free.

Romans 6:20-21 "When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!"

Perhaps you are not at that point yet, and you still think your human value will somehow be measured by your activities. You will learn. Just remember that there is a far greater standard by which you can measure your sense of value than anything in this life. When you come to that point, just remember that you can be free, and you can discover the value that you had all along.

You are a slave. So am I. You have the choice to submit yourselves to the master who frees you from a self-damaging life of self-obsession. It is worth it.

Romans 6:22 "But now you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."

Which master should you choose to be a slave to? I say that Jesus is your best answer.