Slave to Prince(ss)

Back in high school, I remember one afternoon when my stepfather had commanded me to clean our downstairs area. Typically, I didn’t mind doing chores much, but I was irked. I had already tidied up the kitchen the night before of my own accord, and had other objectives on my agenda. I was stuck doing housework for a step-parent whom I felt didn’t appreciate it.

I complained to a friend via text, I feel like Cinderella.

Instead of taking the bait and asking why, he responded with, “You are God’s princess!”

After a brief pause of shock, I chuckled to myself. My attitude flipped. I had power over the situation again. I couldn’t change my circumstances. I still had to clean whatever it was, but I did so knowing that I was loved by the Creator of the universe. I chose to work for His glory and pleasure, and not my stepdad’s. My rewards that day were earned in Heaven, not on Earth.

Our attitudes make all the difference. The Bible tells us that we are slaves, but we get to choose who our master is. If we listen to all the passions of our hearts and physical desires, we are obedient to them and are their slave, yet if we bring our hearts and desires before the cross and choose to obey Jesus, we make ourselves His slave. There is no middle ground. (Romans 6:16-22).

 Therefore when it comes to doing chores and cleaning up after others today as a mom, I know that I have two choices. I can work for God or “sin”. Sin, in this sense, is anything other than God; an idol, including ourselves.

The Master of Sin is deceptive, and the works we do can look the same. You can wash a sink load of dishes for Sin or you can do so for God. The difference comes from the attitude of our hearts. You see, if you’re working to please yourself or working to please the people around you, if you’re grumbling and complaining through your work, you are obeying the Master of sin. 

We receive wages for our work when we’re slaves to Sin. Those wages are death (Romans 6:23). Sometimes that is a slower physical death. The effects of alcoholism are obvious. But more often, we can notice the wages of death as a separation from the Living God. We become burdened by anger, shame, jealousy, and anxiety. 

But there’s good news! If we choose to say Jesus is Lord and submit our physical bodies and our heart’s passions to His will thereby becoming His slave, He lifts up us to become children of God. “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:6-7). Just like in the story of the prodigal son, God longs to lift us up to be His children. God is the King of the Universe. You are His son or daughter. That makes you a Princess (or Prince).

Not only that but when we work to please God, whatever we do becomes an act of worship. We are rewarded for those acts. We obtain eternal life. Now, this isn’t the same as our salvation into eternal life because we obtain that by faith in Jesus Christ alone, but we have a choice to enjoy the life Jesus gives us here and now. We get to live with the mentality of knowing that we are cherished by the King of creation.

“Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”

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