Two thoughts wrestled for my attention. One overarching theme from this chapter seems to be how one’s behavior cannot be separated from one’s ‘faith.’ The false teachers described in this chapter are known as much for their godless living as their heretical teaching.
My second thought, which eventually won control of my devotions today, comes from verse 19. Slavery is an ugly word. It conjures up all kinds of negative, mean, cruel and exploitive images in my thoughts. It is not something I would want to endure and yet Peter suggests that I may unwittingly or voluntarily subject myself to slavery. Verse 19: … they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. It is those last words that grabbed my attention, for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
Thoughts in question-form flooded my head. What have I allowed to master me? Am I mastered by food? By pleasure? By adrenalin-seeking? Am I mastered by laziness? By a foul tongue? By self-centered attitude? Am I mastered by money and riches? By sex? By power? By success? By acclaim or fame? And so the question mushroomed.
The possibility of being mastered by something, doesn’t sit well with me. And yet, the more I contemplate, the more its reality seems possible…
O. God. have I subjected myself to slavery? Have I allowed myself to become fettered to a master other than You? Have I become a debtor to something other than love (Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…).
O, Jesu,s come and break any bonds that ensnare me and set me free to follow and worship You with all my heart and soul and mind and strength. Come set me free, Jesus. Only You can redeem me from any slavery that shackles me. In Your name I pray. Amen.
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