Slaves

Did you know that there are an estimated 27 million slaves throughout the world today? In countries such as Mexico, Pakistan and China, children are born into slavery, purchased or kidnapped for slave use. In fact, there are more slaves worldwide today than were involved in the pre civil war transatlantic slave trade.

Some of these slaves are sold into use for drug smuggling. Others are sold into slavery for labor, such as camel jockeys in the middle east. Most of them however are young girls sold into slavery for sexual reasons, for prostitution, and other various sex acts.

Check out www.amazingchange.com to learn more about the issue of modern slavery, also known as "Human Trafficking". To me, it was such a shock to learn about the slavery that continues today. When most of us think about slavery, we think of African American, pre civil war slavery. The human trafficking going on today is much different than that. An estimated 50% of the 27 million slaves worldwide are children under the age of 13.

None of us could fathom going through this. None of us can fathom being a slave, or can we? Truth of the matter is that we all are slaves. That's right. YOU are a slave. John 8:34 records Jesus telling us this: “ I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”

We might be apalled to think about the slavery still going on today's society. But, the truth be told, we are all slaves to our sin. We are slaves to the memories of sin that haunt us to this day. We are slaves to the sins of conceit and selfishness. We are slaves to our image and self esteem.

Romans 6:19 says: I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

Some of us may have "used to offer" ourselves to the slavery of sin, but most of us continue to do so. Even though God has forgiven us, we can't forgive ourselves. The sin is still strapped to our ankles as we run from it. Sure the chain gets longer each time we flee from it, but it always seems to pull us back.

We have to remember what it continues to say in Romans. It goes on to say in 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! Paul reminds us that these things we used to be slaves to gave us nothing but death.

Dear God, help us to flee the grasp of sin. Help us not to be slaves to sin. Help us to be slaves to righteousness instead. Amen.