Slavery?

I had the opportunity of visiting blue and sunny Mauritius this month.



But what fascinated me most was the sight of this mountain of volcanic formation near the place where I stayed: Le Morne Brabant.



The mountain is an intimidating sight, standing tall and dark against the mostly blue sky.



When I first arrived, I was told of its history, which invoked the strong feelings I had:

Le Morne Brabant was once a hiding place for many runaway slaves. After the abolition of slavery in 1835, an expedition was sent out with the news of their freedom. Seeing that many people (and soldiers with firearms) coming their way, they thought the expedition was for the purpose of capturing them again. So they jumped from the mountain cliff, preferring to die rather than being enslaved again.

So till today, Le Morne Brabant stands as a symbol for freedom.

The thought of slavery reminded me of the life of William Wilberforce, an evangelical member of the British Parliament, which was depicted in a recent movie called "Amazing Grace". He faced great obstacles in his fight for the abolition of the African slave trade and against slavery itself until they were both illegal in the British empire. The battle consumed almost 46 years of his life. The cause of abolishing the slave trade was defeated 11 times before its passage in 1807. And the battle for abolishing slavery itself did not gain the decisive victory until 3 days before he died in 1833. This decision in 1833 resulted in the British colony of Mauritius then to follow suit and abolished slavery in 1835.

Abolishing the African slave trade became for Wilberforce
“The grand object of my parliamentary existence. . . . If it
please God to know me so far may I be the instrument of stopping
such a course of wickedness and cruelty as never before
disgraced a Christian country.”

Christ died to set us free, let us not be slaves to any other except Him.

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1 (ESV)

What are some of the things today that the church is enslaved to? Rigid practices, institutional policies, domineering controls, etc?