Freedom or Slavery?

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Galatians 5:1

I have never been in a physical prison. Having visited before, I know that it is not a place I would choose to live. There are walls, glass, steel bars, and locked doors everywhere. Security is so tight, even for visitors, that you must be searched when you enter. You must remove everything from your pockets. Anything valuable must be left with the clerk before you are allowed to enter. This is slavery of sorts. They don't really pay you if you are a resident. Instead, they have the prisoners work doing tasks that support the operation of the prison or the government. Obviously the residents didn't choose to be there. They were forced because of their actions. Yet, they become used to that lifestyle and many find it impossible to live outside the prison walls.
    One day, a couple of years ago, I decided I would watch a movie by myself upstairs. While choosing the movie from the collection of DVDs, I kept being drawn to one particular one. The movie was "The Shawshank Redemption." I would not typically choose to watch this type of movie, but I honestly felt the Lord drawing me to it. So I did. In a short while, I was overcome by the depiction of desperation and loss the men had suffered. In one scene, an old man, who had been in the prison for most of his life, was released. Shortly thereafter, he committed suicide. He could not cope with the outside world. The scene switches to the men inside the prison who had heard the news. One of the men asked why he would do such a thing. Another replied, "He was institutionalized. When you first get here, you hate these walls. Then you get used to them. After awhile, you get so you can't live without them. That's institutionalized."
    Through tears, I searched my life to find areas where I was "institutionalized." I thought of Christians I know who are imprisoned by fear, addictions, and misunderstandings about God. I identified some areas in my life where I was not only imprisoned, but I had grown to be comfortable there. God challenged me to walk out of the prisons. And I did.
    Today, check out your own life. Are there any prisons you find yourself in? How did you get there? Have you become "institutionalized?" "It is for freedom that Christ has set you free!" In the Bible, when people were set free from literal prisons, God often opened the doors, removed the shackles and told them to walk out. He still offers that to us. He will make the way out. But ultimately, the choice is ours. We must do the walking.