Ball and Chain

It is often referred to in gest how that marriage is a ‘ball and chain.’ It is thought by many to be something that keeps you down or keeps you from enjoying life. Once you have said your vows and entered this sacred covenant with another person, it is for the rest of your life. This is difficult for some people to imagine how it can work and not be a burden. However, it is not meant to be considered a drudgery or bondage, but in fact the opposite. We have heard folks referring to Christians as being in bondage. Bound by a set of rules and regulations imposed upon them by the church or the scriptures, or by a certain lifestyle they must live, depending on their understanding or perspective. However, this would also be a false notion.

Wikipedia tells us that:

 “A ball and chain (also known as leg irons) is a physical restraint device historically used to bind prisoners of both adolescent and adult ages. Their use was prevalent in the Americas. From the 17th century until as late as the mid-20th century this form of punishment was often used in conjunction with other methods of confinement.

A type of shackle, the ball and chain is designed so that the weight of the iron ball at the end of the short chain restricts and limits the pace at which its wearer is able to move, making any attempt at escape much more difficult. The weight of the ball would typically be determined by the court, typically ranging from five to twenty-five pounds.

In modern times, it is mostly associated with cartoon depiction of criminals, much like the striped prison uniforms.”

There are those who might feel that their jobs are a ‘ball and chain,’ literally keeping them back from advancement, or from what they have dreamed of doing. They must be on the job from nine to five daily or longer; therefore, they have no freedom to live their lives as they would like. They feel like they are stuck being an accountant when they really aspired to be a teacher, because the pay would just not sustain their lifestyle. Or they wanted to be an artist; however, in the same token, they could not live on an artist’s salary. They feel trapped, yet they are in a prison of their own making, because this is so far from the truth. If they realized that a job is an opportunity and an asset to their existence, family, and situation, they could be set free from the rut they have carved out for themselves. If they could step back and look at their present circumstance as a stepping stone to something better that they are striving toward in their future, they would not feel so burdened down.

Others might feel that the place they are living in has become a ‘ball and chain’ to them. They may have had high hopes and big dreams about living on an exotic island or in a romantic place, yet they have never left the small, humid town in Mississippi that they were born in. They find themselves sitting on the porch mopping sweat and swatting mosquitoes and flies’ night after night. Yes, walking the streets of Tuscany, sitting by the seashores of Greece, touring through London, or basking in the sun in Bermuda may be a wonderful experience, yet some of us may never get to experience this even though our hearts may long for it. Not everyone’s reality is the same; however, you can make a difference in the town and community you live in. Rid your mind of the burden you have created for yourself and that you carry day after day. Allow yourself to be free from this constant nagging despair.

In the late eighteen hundreds, photography was emerging, and fast on its heels were motion pictures. Though there had been attempts to project pictures centuries before, using lanterns, modern technology was bringing these concepts to the masses. The first motion picture was 2.11 seconds long, in 1906, featuring four people walking in a garden, called “Roundhay Garden Scene.” The industry evolved from there, first offering black and white films, to full featured colored films. Many of the black and white movies were later turned into technicolor features because of the popularity and realistic look of the colored films. Of course, we know the industry and talent of the people creating films today are just off the charts, in comparison to its humble beginnings. We are constantly wowed by the talent, technology, and artistry of the producers, directors, and actors. What can be done using sound and visual effects today may not have even been a dream in the minds of the original inventors.

Along with the movies came more vivid storytelling than people had ever experienced before. This allowed people to fantasize about themselves in a more romantic and elaborate way. They were able to escape their own reality, if only for a few moments. Stories of princes or princesses marrying commoners could make one think they too might meet their ‘knight in shining armor’ someday. Documentaries about traveling to beautiful places and eating delicious new foods emerged, reviving the hopes and dreams of some and enticing others with a whole new world of possibilities, who may not have given travel a second thought, if they had not been exposed to it. Yet, the splendor and grandeur starts and ends in the movie theatre for most of us, it is not our reality.

I wonder if the Apostle Paul wrestled with some of these things in his life. He stated in 1 Corinthians 6:12, “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” And again in 1 Corinthians 10:23, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.”  So often it is not the circumstances, places, things, or people in our lives who are the ‘ball and chain’ that holds us down, but our own minds, thoughts, and perceptions of what should or should not be. John 8:36 says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

My mother used to reference a passage in 1 Timothy 5:3-16 that spoke of how to treat widows. The first three of those verses read like this, “Honor widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or nephews, let them learn first to shew piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.”  My mom would emphasize the point that if they were, indeed, a widow, and acting as such in their deeds, then they were to be taken care of and honored. However, if they had passed the point of their grief, they were actively looking for a new spouse, and the scripture even indicates they may be ‘playing the field’ so to speak, then they have put themselves in a different category and can take care of themselves. I thought of this concept when I read the verse in Jonn, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Are we as the widows indeed, “trusting in God, and continuing in supplications and prayers night and day”?

Merriam’s Webster Dictionary’s definition of indeed is, “without any question, truly, undeniably, often used interjectionally to express irony or disbelief or surprise. In reality, all things considered, or as a matter of fact.”  However, if you look up the meaning of ‘in deed’ as two words used together in a sentence, you will see a different meaning altogether, like, “Something that is done, usually an illustrious act or action, a feat, an exploit, the act of performing an action.”  I can see where my mom came up with her interpretation of that chapter on widows, and it could also apply to the state we find ourselves in both literally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and figuratively speaking. Though we do not literally have a ‘ball and chain’ around our legs, we often live as if we are in bondage, because we are not ‘indeed’ or ‘in deed,’ “trusting in God, and continuing in supplications and prayers night and day.

There is a Contemporary Christian song that I heard recently called, “Glorious Day” by Passion, featuring Kristian Stanfill, which says,

I was buried beneath my shame. Who could carry that kind of weight? It was my tomb, Till I met You. I was breathing but not alive. All my failures I tried to hide. It was my tomb, Till I met You.

You called my name. And I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness. Into Your glorious day. You called my name, And I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness, Into Your glorious day.

Now your mercy has saved my soul. Now your freedom is all I know. The old made new, Jesus, when I met You. I needed rescued, my sin was heavy. But chains break at the weight of Your glory.

I needed shelter, I was an orphan. Now, you call me a citizen of heaven. When I was broken, you were my healing. Your love is the air that I’m breathing. I have a future; my eyes are open. You called my name, And I ran out of that grave. Out of the darkness, Into Your glorious day.

We can choose to live as a ‘bondsman indeed,’ literally, truly, and undeniably, or as ‘free indeed,’ literally, truly, and undeniably; and these will be seen by what we do ‘in deed.’ How we choose to live our life will show through our approach to life and our actions. Jesus took our sins upon himself, so that we could be made free. Paul stated in Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” If we confess with our lips that Jesus is the Lord of our lives, our actions and lives should show that we have been made free. We should no longer live in bondage; however, if he has unlocked the ‘ball and chain’ from around our ankles, we still must make the conscious choice to walk out of those chains and that grave we have been living in.

The story called, “The Elephant and the Chain” published in 2012 on Possible Mind website, goes like this,

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller, we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

Satan will take advantage of us if we allow him to. He will let us think that we are still in bondage to grief, addictions, sin, shame, and our past, even though Jesus has made us free. He will keep us in an immobile state of fear for as long as he can. However, Jesus said in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that lives, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”  2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 tells us, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” We no longer must be bound or feel stuck in our present circumstances, if we can allow the Lord to lead us out of darkness into our rightful, new place in him, even if we never leave the town we were born in. He is the Prince of Peace, he is our bridegroom, and we are the commoner whom he has chosen to be His bride.

Acts 16:22-33 tells us this story of Paul and Silas, “And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bonds were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.”

“But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spoke to him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straight away.”  Even though their bonds had been loosed, they were not free until they acted upon their newly found freedom ‘in deed.’

There are those who are of the persuasion that people cannot change. They would propose that those who have been in prison once, will continue to return to their life of crime and end up back behind bars their entire lives; however, this is not the God we serve. It is possible for them to walk out of the graves they have dug for themselves and be free by the power of the blood of Jesus. Paul stated in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Another song I heard recently by Big Daddy Weave called, “Redeemed” tells it this way,

Seems like all I could see was the struggle. Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past. Bound up in shackles of all my failures. Wondering how long this is gonna last.

Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “Son, stop fighting a fight that’s already been won.” I am redeemed; you set me free.

So, I’ll shake off these heavy chains. Wipe away every stain, now I’m not who I used to be. I am redeemed; I’m redeemed.

All my life I have been called unworthy. Named by the voice of my shame and regret. But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head.” I remember, “Oh God, you’re not done with me yet.”

Because I don’t have to be the old man inside of me. Cause his day is long dead and gone. Because I’ve got a new name, a new life, I’m not the same. And hope that will carry me home. I am redeemed; you set me free.

We can accept the gift of freedom and salvation from our Savior Jesus Christ who has redeemed us. We can stop fighting a fight that has already been won, and start living as free indeed, in deed. We can let discouragement, depression, grief, and shame go finally. Get up, move out of the prison walls that were built around you, but are no longer there physically, only mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. God used the incident at the Philippian jail not only to set Paul and Silas free physically but to make the Jailer and his family free spiritually. That is the God we serve. Serving him is to be free indeed, not to be tied down to a ‘ball and chain.’ There are no chains or ropes that He cannot break!

We must begin to view our marriages, jobs, the places we live or go, and things we do differently, and not allow them to enslave us. Another song, by Johnathan David and Melissa Helser of Bethel Music makes this bold statement, “I’m no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God.” What a difference perspective can make to our entire outlook on life. Let us look at our lives as opportunities to use the creativity, gifts, and talents we have been given, right where God has planted us, to change those around us and see others made free indeed as we have been. We should use each day as a learning experience and a stepping stone to our next adventure walking hand and hand with the Lord, wherever that may take us or look like.

In Acts 22:26-28, we see Paul defending his citizenship. “When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said to him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, with a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, “But I was free born.”  If we are born again of water and the Spirit, spiritually our citizenship has been paid for by the blood of Jesus, and we are free born! 2 Corinthians 3:17 tells us, “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” In Luke4:15-19 we read of Jesus, “And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and stood up for to read. And there was delivered to him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” This is the God that we serve! Therefore, we can archive the old ‘ball and chain’ that we have been trying to carry around in our daily lives and begin to enjoy the liberty of His Spirit today.