To What Are You Bound?

Thought for the Day:  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  Galatians 5:1 ESV
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Galations 3:20 ESV
 
     Bound, what an interesting word.  If you look for the definition of this term the following explanations can be collected: 1) placed under legal or moral restraint or obligation; and
2) fastened by as if by a band : confined.  There are other descriptions for this word, but I think we get the picture.  To be bound means there are restrictions; legal, moral or perhaps physical.  No one truly wants to be bound by anyone, anything, anywhere or anyhow.  It’s the human carnal way.
     The world, which I feel is currently is running amuck, is demanding we need to break free of our historical connection with the subject of slavery.  In order to break free this new movement is requiring the removal of any reminder concerning the existence of slavery and anyone associated historically with its use.  Although you could interview various individuals all day, I dare say you would come up empty with even one person that has experienced this lifestyle.  I would go so far as to say genealogies of past generations would need to be consulted before any family member surfaced that lived a life of slavery. 
     It’s not a pleasant recollection and it personally makes me sick to my stomach to think about the injustices that people with a different skin color had to endure in yesteryear.  But the fact we don’t agree with past history certainly doesn’t make it disappear.  I decided to investigate by way of the internet concerning this subject and try to uncover the actual number of slaves that were involved in slavery from 1776-1865.  This is not an exhaustive search, mind you; but I wanted a bit of information regarding the numbers.  I found through an article written by an Alex Kasprak, that at the peak of slavery in 1860, only about 1.4% of Americans owned slaves.  Surprisingly, there was a number of 3,000 blacks who owned a total of 20,000 slaves.  That was something I didn’t expect to find.
     But let’s move from this particular issue being addressed throughout the country today and focus on the many individuals truly bound in every sense of the word living in today’s society. I believe we should recognize their plight and place these men, women and children within the core of mainstream attention.  These are not generation past injustices and historical facts. These are current alarming and upsetting situations and percentages that were given three years ago…can you imagine what the percentages are today?
     Sex trafficking; (written by the Human Rights First Organization) in 2017, 24.9 million victims are trapped in modern day slavery.  Sixteen million (64%) exploited for labor; 4.8 million (19%) sexually exploited; 4.1 million (17%) exploited in state-imposed forced labor.  Out of that number 71% are women and girls; 29% are men and boys with 15.4 million victims (75%) 18 and older and sadly 5.5 million are children under 18.  These numbers are not reflective of only the United States, but we have to be kidding ourselves to think it’s not happening within our borders.
     Abortions; a subject that is taboo for most, (American Life League) states in 2017, there were 862,320 abortions conducted.  Although our numbers have declined, can you imagine 862,320 babies being discarded??  As a point of comparison, in 2020, the state of South Dakota was recorded to have a population of 892,631 people!
     Abuse; (Martin R. Huecker and William Smock) state family and domestic health violence are estimated to affect 10 million people in the United States every year!  A power struggle ensues and abusive behavior surfaces.  Intimate partner violence; sexual or physical, psychological aggression, stalking.  There is child abuse of any and all kinds; once again it all made me ill while I was researching therefore I will not go into detail as to what is occurring.  To top it off we have elder abuse; the elders of our nation being abused by those who are supposed to be taking care of them!
     And let’s not forget depression.  There are estimated about 16.2 million adults in the United States; 6.7% of American adults dealing with at least one major depressive episode in a given year.  Whether it be bipolar, seasonal, postpartum or a hormonal imbalance due to stress, depression is real, and people are walking through this cave of darkness while the nation is filled with unrest and unresolved issues.
     And we in America are placing all our focus on issues that happened so long ago we can’t identify anyone that is currently living under those restraints?
     Let’s stop blaming others and start loving our neighbors, friends, family and even those we don’t like too much.  God has commanded us to love Him first and then to love others as ourselves.  You wouldn’t throw a two-liter frozen water bottle at yourself, or someone you love, would you?  And yet recently policemen standing in defense of private property suffered frozen bottles of water being hurdled at them from several stories above where they were standing, and they did not engage. 
     It only takes one person to change his/her attitude and a possible chain reaction might begin.  I am appalled at some of the historical behavior that is recorded, but I believe it’s been left behind so we learn from our past and be better citizens and neighbors, not resurrect the feeling of indebtedness.  Exactly who is supposed to pay the debt?  Didn’t Christ die on the Cross to settle the sin debt for all time?  For ALL sins of EVERY person regardless of what decade they occurred?
     Honestly, we are all bound to something.  We need to lay all those situations whether physical, mental, emotional, financial or spiritual at the foot of the Cross and begin to live as one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for ALL.  We will never move forward if everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes without any regard for God at all.  How can this nation be blessed and heal when we have asked our Creator to take a backseat so we can personally direct the focus of our own lives?  God help us all!
 
We call out to you, Lord.  With sad and broken hearts for our nation and one another.  Please anoint us and fill us with love, peace, and the firm assurance You will make all things new…but until then, may we be the people of God we were created to be.  In the Name that is above all Names, Jesus, I pray, Amen….
 
    
    
    

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