Grains of Sand

Pixabay They are referred to, and not always very kindly, as "ambulance-chasers"—you know, the lawyers who offer to get you a big payout when you  feel you have been mistreated, or misrepresented, in some way.  "Sue" is a three-letter word that lights up the eyes of lawyers, raises the hopes of victims, real or imaginary, and is a thorn in the flesh to those on its receiving end. Peter weighs in on victimology, specifically in the case of those who work for others, in 1 Peter 2:18-23. In his day that meant "slaves"—those who were obligated to work without compensation and often under harsh conditions. Many modern-day employees, rightly or wrongly, think of themselves in the same terms as the real slaves of Peter's day would have thought of themselves.—underpaid, overworked, abused, unappreciated, overlooked. For the believers to whom Peter is addressing his letter there might have been another item added to that list—persecuted for the...

Joanne Sher over at An Open Book , assigned 1 Peter 2:16 for today's MONDAY MANNA. Here are my thoughts. Check out the links on Joanne's blog for more. *********** Did that title get your attention? The original meaning of "libertine" is derived from the Latin libertinus , or freedman specifically, a freed slave or the son of a freed slave. Christians are the embodiment of this original definition—we are slaves liberated by Christ Jesus from our bondage to sin, from servitude to the sin master, and from the ultimate consequences of that bondage. I guess the early Christians (and we later ones) don't understand the Latin too well. Somehow "libertinus" quickly degraded into today's definition of freedom: "the power or right to act, speak, or to think as one wants without hindrance or restraint." Someone should have added: "without regard to the consequences" because there are ALWAYS consequences to the exercise of our freedom, whic...

Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Voluntary slavery? We think of slavery as something forced upon a resistant human being. The innocent victim is walking along minding his own business when a gang jumps out of the bushes and grabs him, carrying him off to some plantation or sweat shop where he is forced to work for nothing and confined against his will. In the physical world of slavery, the children of slaves are born into that state. The same is true when it comes to Paul's description. We are born as slaves to sin, thanks to our first parents, Adam and Eve. In that we have no choice. In the physical world of slavery, there are only two ways out (other than death): escape and keep running for the rest of one's life, or have one's freedom purchased. Jesus Christ paid the price of our ransom. Unlike the slave markets of the physical world, at this point the slave has a choice: stay with his current owner, or go with the man standing there with the price of emancipation in his ...