Slavery in the United States was abolished by the 13 Amendment on December 18th, 1865. How many slaves were there on December 19th? In reality, none, but many still lived like slaves. Many did because they never learned the truth; others knew and even believed that they were free, but chose to live as they had been taught.
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Several plantation owners were devastated by this proclamation of emancipation. “We’re ruined! Slavery has been abolished. We’ve lost the battle to keep our slaves.”
But their chief spokesman slyly responded, “Not necessarily, as long as these people think they’re still slaves, the proclamation of emancipation will have no practical effect. We don’t have a legal right over them anymore, but many of them don’t know it. Keep your slaves from learning the truth and your control over them will not even be challenged.”
“But, what if the news spreads?”
“Don’t panic. We have another barrel in our gun. We may not be able to keep them from hearing the news, but we can still keep them from understanding it. They don’t call me the father of lies for nothing. We still have the potential to deceive the whole world. Just tell them that they misunderstood the 13th Amendment. Tell them that they are going to be free, not that they are free already. The truth they heard is just positional truth, not actual truth. Someday they may receive the benefits, but not now.”
“But, they’ll expect me to say that. They won’t believe me.”
“Then pick out a few persuasive ones who are convinced that they’re still slaves and let them do the talking for you. Remember, most of these free people were born as slaves and lived like slaves. All we have to do is to deceive them so that they still think like slaves. As long as they continue to do what slaves do, it will not be hard to convince them that they must still be slaves. They will maintain their slave identity because of the things they do.
The moment they try to profess that they are no longer slaves, just whisper in their ear, ‘how can you even think you are no longer a slave when you are still doing things that slaves do?’ After all, we have the capacity to accuse the brethren day and night.”
Years later, many have still not heard the wonderful news that they have been freed, so naturally they continue to live the way they have always lived. Some have heard the good news, but evaluated it by what they are presently doing and feeling. They reason, “I’m still living in bondage, doing the same things I have always done. My experience tells me that I must not be free. I’m feeling the same way I was before the proclamation, so it must not be true. After all, your feelings always tell the truth.” So they continue to live according to how they feel, not wanting to be hypocrites!
*One former slave hears the good news, and receives it with great joy. He checks out the validity of the proclamation, and finds out that the highest of all authorities has originated the decree. Not only that, but it personally cost the authority a tremendous price which He willingly paid, so that he could be free. His life is transformed. He correctly reasons that it would be hypocritical to believe his feelings and not believe the truth. Determined to live by what he knows to be true, his experiences began to change rather dramatically. He realizes that his old master has no authority over him and does not need to be obeyed. He gladly serves the one who set him free.
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I have seen the slavery analogy used before to illustrate the ways in which we often don’t hold on to the freedom that is guaranteed us. But, there was something different about this illustration.
Thank you, Jonathan Welton, for so articulately using this analogy. I’m convinced that one of the largest, if not the largest, problem we face as humans is this: what we believe about ourselves. I pray you, reader, receive a new revelation today of who you are. And that this revelation comes from The One who believes things about us that we often find un-believable.
If your feelings about yourself line up with the truth, then believe. If not, believe the truth.
