If I Were A Slave: A Tribute To My Redeemer and Ancestors (6)

"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God..." Romans 6:22




Freedom from one master can only come as a result of accepting another master. 


Make no mistake.  We do not belong to ourselves, as it is written,




"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies."  1 Corinthians 6:19-20


The most vivid portrayal of this I've ever seen is in the movie "The Lord of the Rings:  The Twin Towers."  There is a scene where a character named Gollum is talking to "the precious," which is the ring of power, a ring made by an evil villain named Sauron that enslaves all life to it.  There is an inner turmoil, a love hate relationship, between "Sméagol," and "Gollum." 




Frodo, a hobbit assigned to destroy the ring, reminded Gollum that he used to be something like a hobbit, and that his name used to be Sméagol, but he became Gollum, a slave of Sauron, subject to the ring of power.






On this night where Gollum is being tormented by "the precious," he has an epiphany.  "The Precious" is making it clear that Gollum has only made it in life because of the protection of the precious ring of power.  Sméagol realizes that this is no longer true. Why? Because Sméagol has a new master: Frodo.






"Master takes care of us now.  We don't need you anymore.  Leave now and never come back!"




Sméagol says this three times, and "the precious" leaves.






The key to Sméagol's freedom was in renouncing one master and accepting another.


click here for part 7