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by Nathan Buck

For context on this next series of blog posts, read my previous posts "Are You a Gray Hat?" starting here.

There was something I learned in criminal justice courses in college, and I found it to be true in every sphere of life. Someone who uses the letter of the law to undermine the spirit of the law is still a lawbreaker. Why is that important to us today? Well this thought touches the focus of this series of blogs as we explore how to get out of the "gray" way of living.

Look at the book of Jude. It’s one chapter, 25 verses. And in it Jude not only confronts the "gray" we live in, but he shows us how to deal with it and escape it.

Read verses 1-2. Right there in his greeting he says he is a “bondservant” of Christ. This is someone who is a slave by choice. Slaves in Jesus’ day were not slaves in the same way as we have known them in American history. Yes, there were people who were forced to be slaves, but typically salves in Jesus’ day were people who owed a debt and were indentured. These people had to serve as a slave until they had paid the debt. Slaves were to be cared for by their masters then released as a freedman when the debt was settled.

A bondservant was different. They were someone who was free, but chooses to bind themselves as a servant to a master, for life. They and their family would serve that master as long as the bondservant (or the master) lived. They would usually pierce their ear with something to indicate their status as a bondservant, and they were well cared for by their masters.

If we call ourselves Christians and Christ followers, are we just are we following Him through religious habits, or are we dedicated to Him above all else? Have we satisfied the technicalities of “getting saved” in the Bible, or are we living out the Spirit of that? Are we like Jude, a bondservant? If not, there may be a whole lot of gray we need to deal with. 

Take time this week to consider who or what you really serve and how that displays what you believe. Come back next week and continue exploring how to get out of the "gray" in the next part of this series.

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