Chris,

You are posting great questions lately. We seem to be dealing with a lot of the same issues.

3 things we must give up:

1. Rugged individualism - Slaves work as a team and are interdependent in the household. (I've talked about this plenty on other sites, so I'll be sketchier here.)

2. Privacy - Where did we get the idea that being a slave of Christ meant we could keep others out of our private sphere? Many churches today do not publish personal member information in order to keep people's privacy intact. What that means is that we cannot rely on each other since we know nothing about others, especially in a big church. I personally think that not only should a church directory always exist, but that it list professions, workplaces, hobbies, talents, and interests.

3. Ownership of our selves - Our lives are now the Lord's. A slave does not get to determine his own fate. Too many Christians have all their life and goals laid out just so, but who says that's what the Lord wants?

3 things we need to practice:

1. Humility & submission to the Lord - Sadly lacking as we pursue our own ends.

2. Prayer - The Master tells the slave what to do--if the slave will listen. Not listening leads to chastening.

3. Hard work - The life of a slave is not one of leisure, but we have let our lifestyles reflect that of the world and not that of our Master.

Thanks so much for this post, you really made me think.

It all depends on what kind of lense you look through.

"What practices, attitudes, or values would many (or most) of us need to give up in order to better live as slaves of Christ?"

We have to give up being a slave to everything else in order to be a true slave and servant of Christ or righteousness.

"And finally, is slave-related terminology so loaded and negative, that we need to look for other ways to describe the attitude and lifestyle that the New Testament seems to encourage?"

I guess the term slavery is harshly taken because we depict it in its worst conception. In those times, I believe slavery was more on the lines of servanthood instead of the slavery that took place in the US long ago, except in the case of Pharoah.

I think slavery had more diverse forms in biblical times, though I'm sure it was as bad for some people then as it was in the US prior to the civil war.

Because of the US history with slavery, and the fact that it was a slavery of blacks rather than prisoners or debtors, maybe a better metaphor is needed for communication purposes. The term is pretty loaded, and it's loaded racially.

But the concept is one we all need to hear. Die to self. Take up your cross. Don't set it down. Follow Jesus.

Thanks for the reminder.

Naked. Purchased. Poor. Dependent. -- Good observations, Charlie.

I enjoyed reading your thoughts, Jakers. "Slaves of Christ being free" -- this is yet one more of the beautiful tensions of our faith. It's enigmatic; counter-intuitive... just the stuff that our Enlightenment-influenced brains need!