| Invisible Chains |
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Other than life itself, our liberty
is the most precious thing we
possess.
I Bob has been an alcoholic for thirty years. Drink has cost him his marriage, children and home. He clings to his company by the skin of his teeth. The longing for the next drink dominates his thinking, lifestyle and income. Freedom is something Bob hasn’t known for decades.
Steve had so much going for him – until child pornography was discovered on his computer. He Harry doesn’t drink, but his gambling addiction has dragged him into debt. Still, he’s convinced he’ll hit the jackpot and that will make everything right. Then he’ll win back his family’s respect and he’ll stop, he says. Harry may serve a life sentence behind bars of his own making. There are others who also lack freedom.Elizabeth was a nurse for forty years. Now elderly, disabled and widowed, she’s confined to the ground floor of her home, dependent on others for daily needs. Outside she has an acre of garden, but she hasn’t set foot in it for 20 years. Elizabeth is a prisoner in her own home. Joe had major respon-sibilities at an internationally respected company. Financially able to take early retirement, his enjoyment was cut short when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Six years on, Joe’s mind holds him back from true freedom.
So many things can rob us of our liberty. The Bible says none of us are truly free. Sin-wrong things-rule over us, like a dictator.
It corrupts our lives and our world. |
n our democratic society, we claim freedom as our right, yet many don’t experience it. I’m not talking about the 81,000 people in British prisons. I’m referring to people all around us, who may look free, but aren’t.
I know quite a few…
avoided a prison sentence, but he’s locked in a cell of shame.
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By age 7, I was regularly smoking, drinking and stealing. It seemed like I’d already been through hell. My mother died when I was a baby, and at six weeks old I was adopted. Five years later, death struck again; I lost my adoptive mother.