When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. From the outside, all jails look bad. But from the inside, some prisons rate better than others. In 1992, The Associated Press published an inmates' list of the nation's 10 best jails. Included in the survey were cell capacity, TV service, meal quality, and visitation rights.
Some jails provide a smoke-free environment, continuing education, and a good library.
That got me thinking about our relationship to Christ. To an unbeliever, obedience to the faith may seem confining. But from the inside, obedience to God actually opens the door to a whole new world of freedoms. Paul was familiar with the inside of a cell. He also knew that whether we are slaves to sin or to God isn't determined by where we are doing time.