Freedom

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your... gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Daniel 3

In reading Daniel 3 I began to catch glimpses of the institutions prominent in our country. From the government, the financial, to the religious, I began to see this same pattern repeated: the leadership creates an "image"/ideal for the people to worship then demands that the people worship it. With a wide variety of manipulations, coercions, and Idealistic values to be revered, they have created systems of control.

For example,

I see the government creating a growing dependence upon themselves. To the degree we depend on someone, they have power over us. The gov demands our worship which is expressed through our taxes among other things- the more taxes they demand from us the more control they have over us under threat of punishment. Gov also has found it advantageous to create personalities with which to keep the people distracted from the reality of their slavery and through whom offers false/empty hopes that have the ability to make us patient for a tomorrow that will never come. This is the custom of all political parties for those of you who are blindly committed to a party.... See More

I see the financial institutions making slaves of just about all of us. If we agree to what the financial institutions declare as "good and ideal" then we must participate in their system- which enslaves us. "The borrower is slave to the lender" and to the degree that we get caught up in "more, bigger, better" we enslave ourselves further. The financial institutions too have found it beneficial to to create personalities through whom they can capture the gaze of the people. They idolize the rich and famous which effectively creates an idolatry that demands a life long dedication.

I see the religious institutions manipulating it's adherents with subjective and self-serving interpretations of their "good books" (the tithe as it is taught today is one example). I see the institutions creating virtues and rituals which are very shallow and largely powerless in the sight of God but have the ability to manipulate and influence an outward allegiance but leave the heart of man dry and disconnected from the Life that true religion/relationship offers. Few of the superstars that religion has created have been able to survive the idolatry they receive but this has not stopped institutional religion from creating them and using them for their own benefit. The institution has created, within their traditions a dependence on it's leaders, which they, often unknowingly, foster to the detriment of the people's spiritual health and freedom. This is witchcraft which produces idolatry!

As I have continued to draw closer to God/Jesus in relationship, not through religion, I have unexpectedly found the chains of slavery which have had my mind and heart bound to man and the worship of him. I did not set out on this path nor would I have chosen it. I do appreciate the freedom that I see down the road, not that I am there yet, but the cost is beginning to get expensive. I have heard it once said that "Freedom isn't free."