CHOOSING BETWEEN BEING FREE OR SLAVERY

Choosing Between Freedom or Slavery

    Being Human is not easy. On one hand, we're basically lazing, yet on the other  hand we're always striving for more. We often chose to evade responsibility and yet bridle and complain when we don't get our own way.
    The myths of the ancients, those old stories that tell of universal truths, remind us of these conflicting forces that are within us. The biblical stories tell of this struggle. At first, the ancient Hebrews (Jews) had no king (unlike all other peoples around them), only Yahweh. They were free to figure out things for themselves. They couldn't pass on responsibility to any other. But, eventually, they chose to choose a king. From then on, they could blame all their problems on that figure.
    Jesus plainly thought of himself as a child of God, a teacher, not an authority figure in any way, not one who longed for or sought power or control. Many around him were searching and longing for a messiah, a king to  lead them in a revolution against Roman occupation. He declined, time and time again. He couldn't have been more plain and direct.
    Yet, even in his death, he was re-created as a risen Messiah, and came to be thought of as being even as part of God by later Greek-thinking followers The churches still proclaim him as such. The only responsibility Christians have is to 'believe'. All else is the Will of God. We PRAY. God DOES.  Such a shame. And completely against all that Jesus said, lived and died for. (You can see why Good Friday is not my favourite time.)
    Each of us lives in this dilemma. We want to be free, whatever that means to us. And yet we'd much rather leave the 'heavy lifting' in most areas to others. When these two forces meet within us, we feel much discomfort. We are well aware of the great powers that influence our lives, powers that we can do little about. Yet we usually do little in those areas we CAN affect. Few of us are active in any real political way but we rarely hesitate to complain about those exact same areas. Many of us are still 'going to church', listening to 'priests' of one stripe or another who 'tell us like it is' from an official point of view, but we rarely share spiritually with each other or take the risk of questioning, learning and growing like Jesus of Nazareth urged us. Leave the 'spirit stuff' to the paid/trained staff.
    In other words, we're just human. That's both a hope and a curse. It's up to each of us, and us together, to chose which force will be given the most power. If we believe in the kind of God that Jesus knew, we'll know that we've got to do it ourselves. LOVE shares that responsibility. The slavery and powerlessness that we might feel is self imposed, although traditional. It is still chosen. Let's not waste our time, but choose for freedom. It might be costly (the Cross demonstrates that fact), but it's worth it.
    Again, thank you for your time and thoughts.
    Anthony