It's Still a Jail

Pretty Jails:

I'm privileged to periodically minister at the regional jail in my town.  I remember when it was built.  It replaced an old facility that had housed prisoners who had failed to get away on horses rather than cars.  Since the new facility looked so much nicer than the old one, and cost tax-payers so much to build, there were lots of comments about the "country club prison."  While it is a modern facility, it is bottom-line a jail.  The court puts you in, and you can't get out until they let you out. That is the essence of prison.  No matter how nice it may be it is designed to keep the prisoner in. In his book, Transforming Culture, A Challenge for Christian Mission, Sherwood Lingenfelter, talks about the prison of culture.  Sometimes those prisons are very nice, like the "Palace of the Secret Garden," where he 19th Century King of Korea lived.  "Because of his extremely high status, custom declared that the king could not leave the palace grounds; he was in fact a prisoner in his palace. . . . He enjoyed the most beautifully furnished, heated, and decorated living quarters in Korea. He had household servants to care for every need. He enjoyed a beautiful garden and pond where the finest scholars, poets, and artists in Korea came to do their work. The only catch: he was a political prisoner."  (Kindle Locations 219-222)  Josh Harris speaks of an even more perverse prison.  A noble named Edward led a revolt against his older brother Raynald, who was commonly called "Crassus," Latin for fat.  Edward built a room around his brother, with a door that a normal person could easily pass through.  Raynald was told he could leave whenever he wanted, but Edward made sure that his brother, with the uncontrolled appetite, had all the rich food he wanted.  Years later, Raynald, faithfully guarded by his own lust, died, having never left his prison. I know some people who were once in jail, who now live free and productive lives.  Sure someone opened their cell and let them out, and the court gave them a paper indicating that their debt to society was paid, but that is not the key to their ongoing freedom.  They remain free because they are changed.  Only the Gospel of Christ has the ability to free us from the jails of culture and lust.  If you listen carefully you can hear the keys jangling. It’s STTA. The link above will take you to an archive of things to think about.  This one will take you to one that I add to less often.  It tends to be a bit more serious. You can read about the liberating Good News  here.