This monning one of the elders gave the sermon, and it was not from the texts that I am quoting, but from Philemon. This led to the issue of slavery, and what it meant. How the slaves in the Roman era — who were seen as animals talking, and any Master could kill at any time — were given a dignity as fellow sons of creation.

And from there the sermon pointed out that in the end, we belong to God equally. We are all his servants: the question is one of obedience. In faith we trust that God is transforming us — from unformed to useful, from useful to beautiful, from beautiful to glorious. For we trust a God who is not capricious, but will work with us to make good.

If we let him. And there is the cost. We have to discount all, for Christ. for he gave all to us.

Jeremiah 18:1-11

¹The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ²“Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” ³So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. ⁴The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.

⁵Then the word of the LORD came to me: ⁶Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the LORD. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. ⁷At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, ⁸but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. ⁹And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, ¹⁰but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. ¹¹Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings

Luke 14:25-33

²⁵Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them, ²⁶“Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. ²⁷Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. ²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? ²⁹Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, ³⁰saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ ³¹Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? ³²If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. ³³So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

This applies across the board. We are stewards, we are not owners, as Zippy quite correctly points out.

Liberalism has always used the fallenness of actual human beings in authority as a rhetorical means of attacking authority in general. In manosphere terms this represents a colossal multi-century cultural “reframe”: rather than expressing outrage at actual abuse and attempting to get actual abuse corrected, distinguishing between legitimate authority/hierarchy and its abuse, authority/hierarchy in general is treated by liberalism as intrinsically abusive.

Ironically, by attacking all hierarchy/authority as abuse liberalism leaves us with only arid concepts of authority (including the authority of ownership), concepts which are intrinsically abusive. My comment in the Orthosphere thread:

I’ve been saying for a long time now that it isn’t just slavery that is intrinsically wrong under modern conceptions of property: all “ownership” is intrinsically wrong under modern conceptions of property. The proprietor understood as tinpot god, completely unfettered triumphant Will, unchecked lord and master over some (any) material thing at all is morally problematic.

When ownership is understood properly, as a cognate of stewardship and sovereignty, the supposed problems disappear.

In attacking all authority/hierarchy (monarchy, aristocracy, male headship of the household, etc) as intrinsically abusive – because the mere existence of nonconsensual authority/hierarchy violates the core liberal tenet of equality – liberalism creates a world in which nothing but abuse is possible.

Now to be a new creation, we need to sacrifice our ego. [I should add that after church I got a lecture on the morals of Breaking Bad from my son. He pointed out that it was the pride, the ego, the wish to be remembered for something, anything, that eld to the protagonist deciding to cook methamphetamine — for he will then make his mark before he dies, and the medical bills are a mere rationalization. He did not consider the alternatives: from seeking redemption and putting his house in order to rejecting treatment and seeking the comfort of the poppy.

He is not prepared to pay the cost of salvation. For that is repentance. That is accepting shame, and responsibility. The move to make the protagonist an existential hero — because he is doing something — reflects the existential tragedy of this age, and for that reason (togehter with the archetype mother and wife from hell he’s lumbered with) the play resonates with many, and has remained on air.

The const of salvation si repentance, It is action, doing what is the duty placed upon us by Christ, and going against our habits and instincts,

…He was quite promiscuous before marriage and committed adultery a number of times over the first thirteen years of our marriage. He is a serious Christian now and strives to avoid sexual sin, but I know that despite enjoying regular sex with his wife, it is nevertheless difficult for him to live monogamously. The temptation is always there.

Of course, almost all women like alphas and almost all men are somewhat aroused by the idea of a novel female sex partner, but those women who actually had sexual relations with an alpha and those men who spent a number of years chasing after (and often catching) numerous women seem to be at an increased risk of being unable to bond properly in their marriages.

Salvation comes at a price. We have to undo the habits of many years. Activities that have given us pleasure and comfort have to be sacrificed. This applies to us all — it is not merely an issue of property or sexuality. For it profits us nothing to gain much but lose our very integrity, our very soul.