Ep. 328 Why Some People Prefer Bondage over Freedom

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Shows Main Idea – Some people have been under so much bondage for so long that they learn to adapt to their harsh surroundings. It’s hard for them to think about a life of freedom. Even when freedom stares them in the face, they are hesitant about accepting it.

Show Notes

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Topic 1

Julie Passed Away on May 19, 2021

Julie Hansen was our lead administrator for our ministry. She was also a counselor on our forums and skilled in technological development, as she spent her days running the backend of our ministry since 2015. Christ saved Julie unexpectedly while listening to a podcast in the spring of 2010. She lived on a wheat farm located outside of Wilbur, Washington.

She met her husband Ron while attending college, and the two were married twenty-one months later in 1985. The Lord blessed them with an incredible daughter Ashley, who also wed her college sweetheart, Caleb, and they lived next door on the farm with their daughter Emma Lou.

• To help Ron with medical and funeral expenses, you may give at their GoFund Me Account

Topic 2

Mental Clarity In Close Relationships

“Few things cloud the mind and alter the judgment like someone close to you who does not change and dislikes you.”

• On Flea Training
• On Gaslighting
• On Taking Thoughts Captive

Mental Clouds

• You want the relationship to work too badly. You want [fill in the blank]
• You’re afraid of them; they are angry, overreactive, hostile, or other forms of pride.
• You’re afraid of saying the wrong thing. You’re scared of offending them or pushing them away.
• They have gaslit you to where you can’t think clearly.

Our Response

• Examine what they have that you want so badly.
• Tone down your “need.”
• Have a friend to keep you mentally aligned.
• Permitting the Canon (God’s Word) to keep you aligned.

Topic 3

Why Some People Prefer Bondage Over Freedom

• As soon as the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea, they were grumbling about what they had in Egypt.
• Sometimes, some people prefer bondage over freedom because it’s all they know.
• “In Order to Live,” by Yeonmi Park lived in communist North Korea. After coming to the states, she was overwhelmed by the freedom.
  • Too many choices
  • Too many risks for personal choices
  • Too much responsibility for my choices
  • Trusting her captors was an “easier life” than personal agency
• Missionary friend from Peru crying in the cereal aisle
• My brother choosing prison over freedom
• Legalism is a fertile context for those who are insecure and need someone to tell them what to do
• Victims, like Yeonmi Park, can start believing the bondage of their captors is preferable to freedom
• Any kind of addiction

Our Response

• Be patient with the captive
• Understand their perspective
• Help them to understand their thinking

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Rick Thomas

Rick launched the Life Over Coffee global training network in 2008 to bring hope and help for you and others by creating resources that spark conversations for transformation. His primary responsibilities are resource creation and leadership development, which he does through speaking, writing, podcasting, and educating.

In 1990 he earned a BA in Theology and, in 1991, a BS in Education. In 1993, he received his ordination into Christian ministry, and in 2000 he graduated with an MA in Counseling from The Master’s University. In 2006 he was recognized as a Fellow of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).