Slavery Is Easy

I know, I know. But let’s talk about this. Heading back to the Old Testament book of Exodus, we’re reminded that God led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, not to the Promised Land . . . but into the Wilderness. 

Christians tend to consider the Wilderness as only that place of wandering we sometimes stumble into from time to time. But the reality is that the Wilderness is where we live, and there is no leaving it until such time as we are granted admission into the Promised Land at the end of our great journey.

We look at the history of the Israelites having spent several generations as slaves in Egypt, not knowing any other kind of life. In fact, God allowed them to remain slaves long enough to erase their memory and history of any other existence. And that’s why He inspired Moses to write down their history, so that they could learn where they came from after the fact.

And just like the Israelites, we too have no idea what life before slavery looked like. Our slavery to sin is all we’ve ever known. We were born into slavery, raised by slaves, and grew to become great slaves.

When Pharaoh got closer, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified. The Israelites cried out to the Lord, and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What in the world have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” Exodus 14:10-12 NET

Now don’t misunderstand me. Being a physical slave—whether an Israelite in Egypt, a black in the Confederate South, or the victim of human trafficking—must be and must have been amazingly painful, distressing, and challenging. A slave must endure all kinds of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual abuse. Life expectancy is short, and life is defined by hopelessness and helplessness. It’s a hard life, if one considers slavery living at all. Of course, those few who manage to gain their freedom frequently work with those still enslaved to help them find their freedom too. And isn’t this the message of the Gospel? 

But when I say that slavery is “easy,” what I mean is that remaining in slavery is typically a much easier choice than surviving in the Wilderness. When a slave is freed, she is lost. For in most cases, she has lived longer as a slave than not, and that is the only life she knows. There are no dreams of something better, and no hope for rescue. So if and when the day comes that she receives her freedom, she is at a loss. She doesn’t know what to do next. She has no resources, no friends, nobody to trust, and is continually fearful that someone else will just capture her and force her back into the life she just escaped, only worse.

A man who just spent twenty years in prison, after being in and out of jail for years prior, knows no other life. He has been separated from goodness, and has no resources, no friends, nobody to trust, and is continually living with the label of an “ex-con” that will stymie nearly everything he tries to do in the future. 

Just like the Israelites, they find themselves in the Wilderness, ill equipped to navigate this dangerous territory they have never known. They have no experience out there on their own, and they have no one to help them along the way. It becomes almost insurmountable, and as the odds stack up against them—when it gets too hard to remain free in the Wilderness—they long to return to a place of safety and security. A place that’s familiar. It doesn’t have to be good or healthy, it just has to be something they know.  Something . . . easier.

The entire company of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger!” Exodus 16:2-3 NET

Wandering in the Wilderness is hard. Especially when we don’t have anyone to walk alongside us on the journey. The Israelites had Moses, and God Himself traveled with them as a pillar of fire and cloud. They were not alone in the Wilderness, but because they didn’t know where they were going, they were afraid. And yet, for forty years, they continued to follow Moses, all the while rebelling against God and living in fear. Even though God literally walked with them, their faith was only strong enough to keep them from turning back, but not enough for them to live confidently in God’s Word.

And every time the Israelites came upon some new challenge, they rebelled in fear and challenged their leadership:

Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded . . . tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?” Exodus 17:1-2 NLT

Like the Israelites, we were born into slavery. Sin is all we’d ever known, and it was our master. We didn’t know any better, we didn’t have dreams, or hope of a life apart from sin. Because it was all we knew, it defined us. We found our identity in our sin, and we used to gather together with others who reveled in that same sin. Of course, we despised ourselves, which is why we found some semblance of peace by participating with others in that sin. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, the shame and guilt remained, and it grew over time.

It became unbearable. For many, it is covered over by alcohol and other substances. Many live in the shadows of depression, or fail to live amidst their anger and rage, pouring their misery on others, especially those closest to them. But for a small few who have allowed the blood of Jesus to cover it all instead, the great weight of those shackles of sin have been lifted away, and the torment of servitude to the evil one has been undone.

We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. Romans 6:6-7 NLT

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:20-23 NLT

Walking through the Wilderness is hard, and it’s even harder when you’re doing it alone. So we need to embrace those who walk alongside us toward the Promised Land. Even though we have only an idea of where we’re going, we trust the One who leads us. And as we acknowledge our fellow travelers’ pasts, and recognize that we each have come from a place of isolation and pain, it becomes easier to lift each other up, through the power of Christ—advocating for one another—and not living as if we are still on our own in the Wilderness with no one to help us or guide us.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-26 NIV

Slavery is easy because it’s familiar. When it becomes too difficult to live like Jesus, we just return to what’s easy, to what we know. 

And it takes a long time in the Wilderness, walking with Jesus and alongside our brothers and sisters, before our hearts and minds are transformed Romans 12:2 and we begin to forget what slavery was like. Yes, there will always be false memories that make us question whether or not it was all that bad, if not even beneficial, living that way. And we might even try putting on the old way just for nostalgia’s sake. But much like recalling an old game or TV show from our childhood, and remembering with great fondness the joy we experienced at the time, attempts now to play that game or watch that show are met with disappointment, as we find that our fond memories reflect a different perspective based on who we once were, not the reality of who we’ve grown to be.

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:16-18 NIV

The Wilderness is hard because it’s fraught with chaos. Slavery has rules, boundaries, and discipline. The Wilderness is harsh with wild animals and poisonous fruit. As slaves, we are cared for enough so that we remain alive and useful enough to benefit our masters. As nomads, there is nobody to claim responsibility for us. We are left to fend for ourselves, foraging for food and fighting to keep it. We have to look out for ourselves because nobody else will. In Egypt, we had flowing rivers, a place to lay our heads, and everything we needed. Life was tough, but we were content. Unhappy, but content. In the Wilderness, we have nothing to eat and we don’t know where we’re going. The lion prowls around waiting to devour us 1 Peter 5:8, and thieves are constantly taking what little we have.

But while we were slaves, we cried out to God to save us. And now that He has freed us from captivity, we must walk with Him through the treacherous Wilderness towards the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey. We must not look back to what’s easier, but ahead to what’s better. It’s a long, hard road indeed, and it’s a narrow road. But it’s a good road, and God is not only leading us to our destination, but walks arm-in-arm with us along the way.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. Romans 8:14-15 NIV

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. Leviticus 26:13 NIV

The Holy Spirit guides us and reassures us whenever we feel it’s time to turn back to Egypt. And like the ghost of Christmas past, He shows us how far we’ve traveled, and that what lies ahead is far greater than anything we’ve experienced thus far. And He whispers, “The worst day before you will be far greater than your best day behind you.”

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 NIV