" Though I am free and belong to no man . . . " (1 Corinthians 9:19).

This may seem an inane thing to say; as if anyone these days could really be owned by another person. But look deeper. If I refuse to speak out against injustice because I fear loss of prestige, I am the servant of other people's opinions. If I am afraid of being ridiculed for my faith; if I act against my own conscience in order to keep my job, I belong to someone else's conscience. This phenomenon has another side. Those who bring sanctions to bear against people who differ from them show their willingness to enslave their fellows. Here's the thing: neither he who belongs to another, nor he who enslaves him is a free man.