1. What one thought or idea from today's lesson especially intrigued, provoked, disturbed, challenged, encouraged, warmed, warned, helped, or surprised you?
2. Share a story about a significant wilderness experience in your life — either literal or figurative.
3. What do you think it means in today's world to "get the slavery out of the people"? What kinds of slavery do you think we are still stuck in?
4. What's the longest trip you've ever taken? What was one of the best parts of the trip? What was one of the worst parts?
Activate
5. Each day this week, reread the Ten Commandments as worded in this chapter. (Maybe send them to yourself and others via e-mail or social media.) Look for ways this ancient moral code is relevant in today's world — and in your life.
(1) Put the God of liberation first, not the gods of slavery.Meditate
(2) Don't reduce God to the manageable size of an idol — certainly not one made of wood and stone by human hands, and not one made by human minds of rituals and words, either, and certainly not one in whose name people are enslaved, dehumanized, or killed!
(3) Do not use God for your own agendas by throwing around God's holy name. If you make a vow in God's name, keep it!
(4) Honor the God of liberation by taking and giving everyone a day off. Don't keep the old 24/7 slave economy going.
(5) Turn from self-centeredness by honoring your parents. (After all, honor is the basis of freedom.)
(6) Don't kill people, and don't do the things that frequently incite violence, including:
(7) Don't cheat with others' spouses,
(8) Don't steal others' possessions, and
(9) Don't lie about others' behaviors or characters.
(10) In fact, if you really want to avoid the violence of the old slave economy, deal with its root source — in the drama of desire. Don't let the competitive desire to acquire tempt you off the road of freedom.
6. Relax for a few moments in God's presence in silence. Think of the Sabbath not as being deprived of activity, but as a day of liberation from the 24/7 workweek of a slave. Breathe deep. Let go. Thank God for rest.
1 comment:
Points that I found interesting in this chapter were that we are all on a journey from some kind of slavery and that competitive desires to acquire lead us off the road to freedom.
Using the term slavery for behaviors that have such a grip on our life instead of actual slavery of people seems to make light of the horrors experienced by people enslaved by others. Even though using the term slavery to describe the impact addictions (such as drugs or never satisfied acquisition desires) does help describe how they rob us of our freedom, I still am hesitant to take away from the word's meaning by this usage.
It is interesting that competitive desires can lead to the breaking of several commandments. Competition is one of the driving forces in our culture with most people buying into wanting to be the best and have the best. Too bad this desire isn't to compete to do the best to others.
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