“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says:  Let my people go, so that they may worship me”’.” — Exodus 9:1

“Let my people go” is probably the most famous line in the entire exodus story. God, via Moses, commands Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave Egypt. However “let my people go” is only half of the line, and it represents only half of the story.

The rest of the verse reads “so that they may worship me.” God wants the Israelites to be freed . . . so that they can become servants to Him! The New King James Version actually translates this verse as “Let My people go, that they may serve me.” Then why is Passover celebrated as the holiday of freedom when the whole point of leaving Egypt was for the Israelites to become slaves once more?

So, let’s take a closer look at this concept of slavery and freedom. What is slavery? Slavery means living a life without choices. You are not the master of your own life. Someone else is. Someone else tells you what to do and when to do it. You have no choice but to obey.

What is freedom? Freedom is the chance to choose your own life. You get to decide how you spend your time, your money, and your energy. It’s all up to you.

Now here’s the key. A person can be physically free and yet still live completely in bondage. Pharaohs come in all shapes and sizes today. Slavery is alive and well.

If your phone rings to let you know that a text has come in, and you know you should ignore it because you are in the middle of a real conversation, but you can’t – that’s slavery. If you can’t resist the piece of chocolate cake even though you know it’s bad for you – that’s slavery. Need to have the latest fashion? Slavery. Can’t help but snap at your spouse? Slavery.

Every time you go on autopilot, everywhere you don’t make conscious decisions, you experience slavery. The exodus story is not just about a bunch of Jews in ancient Egypt. Every human being experiences slavery. Yet we can all experience redemption. Here’s how.

No one can tell me what to do when I only listen to The One. Nothing can force me to do anything when I only do what He tells me to do. And what does God tell us to do? He tells us to rise above money. He teaches us to transcend popular opinion. He asks us to become masters of our desires. Everything that we do in service of God puts choice back in our hands. That, my friends, is why only a servant of God is truly free.

Celebrate freedom by exercising it! Before every decision you make today, ask yourself who is calling the shots. Is it the servant of God or the servant of Pharaoh? Choose accordingly.