There are many movies portraying slave trade,
especially stories of black people experiencing unimaginable ordeal during a
particular time in history. In this grim period, President Abraham Lincoln
played a pivotal role in abolishing slavery in America. The movie
‘Emancipation’ is one such movie which gives a good portrayal of the slave
trade. We learn that President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of
bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as
slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be
free.". Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery in the United States is one
of the most discussed aspects of his life. Lincoln frequently expressed his
moral opposition to slavery in public and private. "I am naturally
anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.".
However, though centuries have passed there is still slavery rampant but in new forms. Some of the modern forms of slavery are:
- Human trafficking.
- Forced
labour.
- Debt
bondage/bonded labour.
- Descent–based
slavery (where people are born into slavery).
- Child
slavery.
- Forced
and early marriage.
- Sex
slavery
- Forced
begging.
The above are recognized and
brought to control, thanks to the governmental and non-governmental organizations
that relentlessly work hard in curbing the perpetrators and rescuing the
vulnerable and the oppressed.
There is also a form of slavery where people are enticed with false promises of freedom and adventure. Some fall for these promises to fulfil their selfish desires only to later realize that they are in bondage for life, in most cases. Addiction to smart phone has become a common form of bondage with gambling, online games, pornography being some of the baits that we bite on. A casual visit to these sites traps us into slow deterioration. The need for self -gratification makes you a modern slave.
Somebody once said: ‘Opportunity may knock only once, but “Temptation’ leans on the doorbell.’ Temptation by itself is not a sin. Rather it is a call to battle. The devil works on our selfish desires. The Bible says, “each of you is tempted, when by your own evil desire, you are dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full-grown gives birth to death’. Alcoholism is one such addiction where you start off as a social drinker, only to be pulled in and the habit goes out of hand.
As one of the writers in Bible refers this state beautifully. “For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate… For I know nothing good lives in me, that is in my flesh. For the desire to do good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.”. If you are able to relate to this state of affairs, then you need help from a Saviour, Christ Jesus who can deliver you from the clutches of sin, guilt and bondage. Stop justifying your inability to say ‘no’ to sin. It will cost your soul and lose eternity forever. If you confess your sin and ask for forgiveness from all your wrongdoings, then you will have the power to live with true freedom.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_and_slavery
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