Captivity is not Incarceration

I think I've mentioned before that I take notes during Mass. It's a great idea; I highly recommend it.

Sometimes I take notes at other times, too. The problem is, I don't always have a context for them, so later on, I often forget what the note was for--or even that I'd written it in the first place!

I had that experience the other day, when I came across a line I'd scrawled on the top of a piece of paper: Captivity is not incarceration.

I saw it and thought, what did I mean by that? I couldn't remember exactly, but it got me to thinking.

Sometimes, we are captives to our bad habits--or to sin, to be more honest about it. But it doesn't feel like we're in captivity. It's not like we're in some prison camp, flogged on a regular basis and fed scraps from the spoiled-food bin behind the supermarket.

It seems like we're in control. Like the alcoholic who says, "Hey, I'm not an alcoholic. I just enjoy a drink now and then." Or the girl whose had more sex partners than I've had fish dinners, but thinks she's just having fun.

These things can tie us with silken ropes. They can actually feel good--until we pull too hard against them, or worse still, try to remove them. Then we realize who's really in control...and it's not us.

Well, thanks to the scriptures, we know where this road leads, don't we, fellow prodigals? It's not incarceration, but it is captivity of the worst sort. And like the prodigal, we'll end up bankrupt--morally as well as economically.

So, then how do we get free? How do we make the jailbreak from sin?

By asking God for help, of course. God waits on us patiently, ready to respond.

"But isn't it really," asks the cynic, "just trading one form of captivity for another? Don't we exchange one master, the devil, for another, however benificent God might seem?"

Ummm...no. Because remember, God gives us many graces, and one of the most important is the ability to choose freely. We can choose to accept God or reject him. But once we accept satanic domination, once we slip those soothing, tempting, silken ropes onto our hands and feet--and around our neck--we can't so freely walk away from them. To use another old-fashioned word, we can't easily repent...unless we ask God for help.

Luckily, God is always there. And combining our determination with his infinite graces, we can succeed.

Now, does that sound like captivity to you?