“We are going to free ourselves from mental slavery because while others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind. Mind is your only ruler, sovereign. The man who is not able to develop and use his mind is bound to be slave to the other man who uses his mind.” -Marcus Garvey
“You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” – Romans 6:18
Introduction
August 1st is celebrated in most Caribbean Islands as Emancipation Day when slavery was abolished on August 1st 1834.While this is a great milestone to celebrate in that the slaves were physically free, the mental state of many individuals to this day from generation to generation remain enslaved.
One of the reasons we have mental slavery is due to the fact that we are in spiritual bondage. If you know who you are and know who your God is, you do not need to be enslaved mentally. The word of the Lord says in John 8:36 says “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”
Free from the bondage of sin
One of the first steps in freeing yourselves from mental slavery is to free yourself from the bondage of sin. We were all born in sin and until we become free from sin, we will be slave to sin. If you are a slave to sin, you will be controlled by the Enemy. The bondage of sin will be a heavy burden on you and you do whatever the Enemy tells you to do.
“When you control a man’s thinking, you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his “proper place” and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.” – Carter Woodson
Jesus is the answer to be free from the bondage of sin. The Bible is the guide on how you can live your life and if you live your life according to the word of God, you can be free from mental slavery.
Free from Fear
Too many of us are afraid and hence we remain enslaved mentally. It all has to do with our minds. We still have this fear of stepping into the unknown. If we know for sure of our destination and that is everything will be fine, we will not be fearful. However, if you have accepted the Lord as your Saviour, you should not be afraid and you should live by faith.
If you are free from Fear, you can truly celebrate being free because you will not be afraid of anyone or anything. You cannot continue to be tied up in chains of fear. Once you remove the chains, you will be free to speak out, you will be free to change the status quo, you will be free to take risks and do the impossible. You will be free to lead with confidence.
Free from inferiority complex
During slavery, slaves were treated less than a human being. They were used and abused. The slaves were black and in America, blacks were considered 3/5th of a human beings. As a result, from generations to generations, blacks suffered from inferiority complex. Today this inferiority complex remains with many people thinking they are inferior to others especially if they are very dark skinned and do not have any money.
We still think we are not good enough and our own is not good enough and we think everything outside of us must be better. We have been programmed to think for years.
The Bible clearly states that we are all equal and therefore we have to emancipate ourselves from this feeling of being inferior. Accept your dark skinned and stop bleaching your skin to become light skinned. Stop thinking you are nobody because of who society thinks you are. Remember what the Lord said in Deuteronomy 28:13. “The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.”
Free from the blame game
Many of us spend all of our energy on blaming everyone and everything for our downfalls. This is part of mental slavery. Emancipate yourself from mental slavery by taking responsibility for your own actions. Be the change that you want to see or what you blame others for.
Blaming people will not free you. In fact you are giving the people and institutions that you blame power and authority. This will make you become depressed and in so doing you are enslaving yourself mentally.
Free to think independently.
Too many of us think the way certain things have been done must be the right way and so we continue to adopt those methods.
For example, many countries in the Caribbean have adopted the Westminster System for Governance but it is not working for us in the Caribbean. Try something different.
Even after Countries have received their independence continue to incorporate many of the symbols and procedures from the Colonial Masters such as the role of Governor General but yet we brag and celebrate that we are independent.
By the way, you do not have to be an independent country to think independently as some independent countries will want you think.
Free from the past
Too many of us dwell on the past and because of our experiences in the past, we still have chains of mental slavery. While we can learn a lot from our past, do not let your past stop you from achieving your purpose.
I copy the story below from the internet about the Baby Elephant syndrome which is applicable to dealing with your past.
“When an elephant living in captivity is still a baby, it is tied to a tree with a strong rope or a chain every night. Because it is the nature of elephants to roam free, the baby elephant instinctively tries with all its might to break the rope. But it isn’t yet strong enough to do so. Realizing its efforts are of no use, it finally gives up and stops struggling. The baby elephant tries and fails many times, it will never try again for the rest of its life.
Later, when the elephant is fully grown, it can be tied to a small tree with a thin rope. It could then easily free itself by uprooting the tree or breaking the rope. But because its mind has been conditioned by its prior experiences, it doesn’t make the slightest attempt to break free. The powerfully gigantic elephant has limited its present abilities by the limitations of the past—-hence, the Baby Elephant Syndrome.”
Conclusion
You have the free will to choose whether you want to remain enslaved mentally or whether you want to be a slave to righteousness. With that said, I will conclude this article with Romans 6What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.