Who says Slavery is Wrong?

(This is essentially a rip-off from a concept started by a friend of mine named Mickey. Check out Mickey's post here.)

Slavery. Why is it bad? "Coz a slave has no freedom", you say. Ah! But what is freedom?

If one did whatever one wanted to, one would soon be dead. That's because, when one does whatever one wants to, one tends to get in other people's way. And when other similarly free people do what they want to (i.e. get you out of their way) there is a likely chance that they will endeavor to make a permanent job of it.

So freedom is either:-

Doing whatever you like, unless other people object. (Which is not freedom at all)

Or

Doing whatever you like, provided it benefits you. (And since you would like to do something that benefits you… and you wouldn't like to do something that brought harm to you, it's essentially doing what you like.)

But there's a twist… who decides what's best for you?

When you're young, and haven't seen the beauties life has to offer, and are merely depressed about your acne, your weight, and that you don't have any real friends, you might be tempted to kill yourself.

Clearly not the way to go. You might think you would like to die… but that's not what you'll say 10 yrs later.

So who decides?

I'll get to that in a later post.

Here's something not so black and white…

What if it isn't a matter of life and death? What if you merely get to improve your standard of living?

Would that qualify as a benefit to you?

Say you're a beggar. Nothing wrong with you physically, you were just born poor, never received an education, never got a decent job coz of the population, never got hit by the green revolution (this is turning into a rap song)… and you make a decent 'wage' by begging, all of which goes for two square meals, but its more than many around you get. You don't have any possessions, decent clothes, or shelter, but you make do.

Say I came along, said I owned a piece of land, and was looking for some laborers to cultivate it for me. I would provide the seed and the machinery… I just needed you - and others like you - to run it for me. I would provide you with food, clothing and shelter. I would also give you one day a week off. You would work for no salary, aside from the food clothing and shelter I provided, but as you brought me wealth, I would be generous in my gifts to you. I would also create opportunities for you to grow in rank among your peers. After seven years, you would be released from your lease with some money to start a new life. If you had children, I would get them educated, provided they did chores around the house, like children in any normal family. They would also have to work, once their education was over, but once their schooling was paid for, they would be free.

Right now, you're a free beggar trying to do what's best for you… get money to buy food to eat.

I'm suggesting we cut out the middle man… no money… I provide food, clothing shelter, the works… which is what you would buy with your money anyway, were I to give it to you.

Going by the definition of 'Freedom is doing what's best for you', your best chance of being free is to become a slave.

And if you get past the stigma of 'Gasp! Slavery!' You'll realize this ideal (yes, I admit, ideal) life of a slave is a lot better than what most people in India get today. It's also Biblical. (The releasing after seven years bit, I mean.)

In fact many slaves refused to get released because the life their masters provided for them was better than that they could make for themselves. (It's like choosing to stay in an MNC, vs. starting your own business. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone…) The master would then pierce the slaves ear with an awl, signifying his permanent slave-hood. Permanent slaves had greater responsibilities, and thus greater perks. Israel's son, Joseph, you would remember, was in charge of Potiphar's entire household.

Thus I propose… slavery is not bad. Slavery is only as bad as the master who practices it.

 

na na na na na na na na na na...

things 've bin kinda hectic. till later...

btw.., u gotta click on the pic to actually see it... still not sure how to work this site...

All In

The greatest thrill a Christian can have is to live his life in such a way that if Christ is not God, he is ruined. Piling everything on one thing is an exciting gamble. You have the rush of all the odds against you, the assurance of the Creator Himself and just enough self-doubt in your own perception of Him to keep you on your toes, constantly wondering, hoping, wishing and ultimately pleading that it pays off.

And it is in that moment at the top of the rollercoaster, flying out of your seat, weightless and unaware of anything except the present moment... your future, past and everything you are in the hands of the creator of the ride... that you truly live life.

Temptation

"I believe that if one man were to live out his life fully and completely, were to give form to every feeling, expression to every thought, reality to every dream - I believe that the world would gain such a fresh impulse of joy that we would forget all the maladies of medievalism, and return to the Hellenic ideal - to something finer, richer than the Hellenic ideal, it may be. But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself. The mutilation of the savage has its tragic survival in the self-denial that mars our lives. We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also.”

- Lord Henry Wotton in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray

(Reproduced without permission from anyone! I'm a WILD Man!)

Oscar Wilde's philosophy is quite attractive. It’s attractive because we want to believe it. And the dirty little secret it that many of us do. We figure, “Hey, there’s no way you’re going to last under this temptation… and when you finally do give in, all the time you spent resisting it will be a waste. So you may as well give up now, and spare yourself the torture.”

The truth is, temptation is like a heavy weight attached to us. Once we stop pulling against it, it may seem like it’s not there anymore, but once we try to get back up, it’s there alright.

So what does that mean? There’s no way to get rid of temptation? Your choices are to either put up with it all your life, or keep falling and never move ahead?

Sadly, yes. And of those two choices, it’s actually a tough choice. Clearly the ‘putting up with temptation all your life’ path is the only one with the positive outcome… but the ‘keep falling’ path is a whole lot easier to do! Going though life being constantly tempted and never giving in seems like an impossible task. No one can possibly live like that.

Enter Jesus.

‘Oh Sure!’ you say. ‘But Jesus was God! He couldn’t sin! So what’s the point of quoting Him as an example to follow? He didn’t feel the real strain of temptation, like I do!’

Uncle Varghese Chacko spoke at CYF (Christian Youth Fellowship) about three weeks back, and he put it this way:

Let’s say a scrawny guy goes up to a twenty kg weight and tries to lift it. He tries his best, but fails.

He then says it’s impossible to lift it.

Then, a person who has trained himself to lift the weight comes along.

He too, strains against the weight, but manages to lift it. And the scrawny guy reasons, ‘Oh… he’s strong... he didn’t feel the real weight, like I did…’

The truth is, the person who really feels the weight is the one who stands under it… not the one who can’t.

There's a thought.

The sad part is, no one has ever stood under the weight all his life.

Except Jesus.

The good news is, Christ gives you the ability to do the same!

That’s the secret to dealing with temptation... stand under it, not in your own strength… (You can’t, remember?) But in the strength of the one who can.

So don't listen to the voice inside your head that's telling you to give up. It's lying. This song by Casting Crowns really helps me when I'm struggling...

Oh,what I would do to have
the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
You you'll never win

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the Voice of truth tells me a different story
The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the Voice of truth
I will listen and believe
'Cause Jesus you are the Voice of truth
And I will listen to you.. oh you are the Voice of truth

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

My Life

Right... just realized i hadn't posted anything other than a song, in like two months, so here's an old poem... pregenant with meaning and all that...

My Life

This is my life:

An Empty stretch of time, slowly filling in with words

And musical vibrations reverbrating in my world;

With concepts and arrangements composed upon my bed

Perfuming random syllables that pour out of my head.

And thoughts that have no meaning return as dreams within my sleep

And dreams hyperbole into goals that only time can keep;

Like promises and deadlines - flourecent days that pass me by

Filling weeks and months of lazy years that tick away my life.

'Scientifically' speaking, God does not exist.

Logically thinking, neither does coincidence.

Religiously trusting your faith in a belief system

That systematically conditions you to guard your own prison.

'A prisoner by choice', they say 'serves the master out of love.'

'Don't think so much,' others say, 'life ain't suppossed to be this tough'

There's meaning in this somewhere [which will suck out all the fun]

Once you find the destination, the journey will be done.

I can't pretend to know truth from lies, though some do that quite well.

What or who lies at the end of life? Those who know can never tell.

'Your life's an image of the Way of Truth,' says a voice inside my heart.

And as I quietly listened, I realized, thats a start.

Voices echo all around, if we'd pay attention once in a nod

'Stead of blindly following advice to not to blindly follow God

Man's always a slave to something - to who is his free will

A System, Saviour, Self or Satan, the Master is eternal.

This was my life

Empty... time, slow... random... perfume

Until I had to make a choice

Now, so do you.

Life is Wonderful

One of my favourite songs