prison

I was looking back through my old notebooks in Evernote and came across this. This is something I wrote in the first half of last year.

Most often when we think of prison we think of being bound involuntarily, thrown into some cage with iron bars and some external force holds the keys.

In reality, however, our prisons are slowly built up over time. We aren’t thrown in them by some malevolent power, we build them around ourselves with our own two hands. We build them by piling desire upon desire, comfort upon comfort, and before we know it the walls are high around us, but there is no thought of escape because we don’t realize we are bound.

If only we saw iron bars, then we might try to flee. But instead we see the familiar visions of sensuality or self indulgence. If only we felt the cold cement floor, then we may long for the warm embrace of our Father. But instead we feel the comfortable, worn in cushion of our favorite prejudices, prides, or whatever it is we chase after and fill ourselves with.

With our own hands we have built our prison. But with the hand of God it can be torn down. We have only to recognize ourselves for what we are – bound – and in that moment all the grace of God comes rushing in and our prison is decimated. And in the place of our prison God builds a palace. He builds a temple for Himself, and He makes himself at home in us.

This thought lines up with a scripture I’ve been thinking about lately. The scripture is Colossians 3:1-15. I won’t copy the whole verse here, because it’s a little long, but the basic gist is that we are being instructed to get rid of certain things in our lives – sexual immorality, lust, greed, anger, and lies, to list several – and to begin living a different way – full of mercy, kindness, gentleness, patience.

Something interesting to me about verses like these is that we tend to balk at them. We throw around words like “suppression.” We act like we are losing something by aligning ourselves with scripture. To be sure, it isn’t always (or even generally) pleasant to be actively foregoing something that you really desire. However, something in verse 15 stands out to me. It says, “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts…” It stands out because of that word “peace.”

When I look at that list of things that the preceding verses tell me to get rid of in my life and I think about the consequences of those things that I’ve seen in my life or in the lives of friends and loved ones, I see a clear lack of peace. Culturally, we don’t want to be told how to live sexually. However, we have high divorce rates, little honor among families, children who don’t respect their parents, spouses who don’t love each other, and a high degree of drama in our relationships. Culturally, we champion wealth. We also see people driven to distraction by their pursuit of wealth, we see families fall apart due to the stress of the job and the neglect of everything else, we see a focus on materialism over meaningful relationships. We could go through every one of the items listed that we are told to get rid of in our lives and we can match with them an unhealthy repercussion that brings brokenness and drama to our lives.

But what does God want? He wants to bring peace to our lives. Maybe God cares less about telling us no to certain things, and he cares more about telling us yes to fulfillment. He knows that if we continue to live the way we want, we will be building a prison around ourselves, and he wants us to enjoy real freedom. He gives us a limitation now that takes the bricks and mortar out of our hands so that later we can run free in the land of peace.

Chastity now means a fulfilling marriage tomorrow, or, in the case of a single person, it means not being tied to dramatic relationships that have been forged around anything other than the other’s best interest. Guarding my eyes and thoughts against sensual images now means more enjoyment in the sight of my spouse later. Living generous now means I’m not bound by money later. Being quick to forgive takes the weight of anger and resentment away – not to mention, blood pressure, anxiety, insomnia and all kinds of other physical counterparts to holding on to anger and resentment. Telling the truth now means I can be trusted later, it means I don’t have to keep my story straight, it means I don’t have to try to save face in front of different people, it means I can walk and talk freely an unashamed.

There is a peace and a freedom to living the way God intends. It isn’t always easy, but I would contest that it is always better.