Choosing to be a slave
Fighting for human rights, especially the right of freedom is a great and noble cause. Nobody can deny its worthiness. But how about fighting for the right to be a slave? That’s not noble at all. In fact, it’s stupid. And yet, that is what ‘freedom’ amounts to for many people. The right to enslave ourselves to ‘all kinds of passions and pleasures’ (Tt 3:3). But for Paul, the right to be a slave is something different, and something very worthwhile. For him it’s all about being a slave to Christ, a slave to the gospel, and a slave to salvation – that of himself and others. That is a ‘slavery’ worth fighting for: setting aside temporary, personal freedom for the sake of eternal, shared salvation.
